Concrete is a strong material as to its compressive strength. However, it is a material with a low tensile and shear strength, and brittleness at failure. Concrete has to be reinforced with appropriate materials. Steel fibre is one of the most common materials currently being used to develop reinforced concrete, which may replace partially or completely conventional steel reinforcement. Successful reinforcement of concrete composite is closely related to the bond characteristics between the reinforcing fibre and matrix. The effective utilisation of steel fibre reinforced concrete (SFRC) requires in-depth and detailed understanding of bonding mechanisms governing the tensile behaviour. In response to this demand, this study embraced two main areas: understanding the reinforcing mechanisms of fibres in SFRC and material's post-cracking behaviour. Comprehensive experimental and theoretical programmes have therefore been developed: the experimental work is subdivided into three parts. The first part was to investigate the effect of various physical parameters, such as fibre characteristics (i.e. geometry, inclination angle, embedded length, diameter and tensile strength) and matrix strength which controls the pull-out behaviour of steel fibres. The second part is concerned with the assessment of the bond mechanisms of straight and hooked end fibres after exposure to elevated temperatures and varying matrix strength. The third part is devoted to gain further insight on the bond mechanisms governing the post-cracking behaviour through uniaxial and bending tests. It was found that the varying hook geometry and matrix strength each had a major influence on the pull-out response of hooked end fibres. As the number of the hook's bends increased, the mechanical anchorage provided by fibre resulted in significant improvement of mechanical properties of SFRC. The reduction in bond strength at elevated temperatures is found to be strongly related to the degradation in properties of the constituent materials, i.e. the fibre and concrete. The most effective combination of matrix strength and fibre geometry was found to be as follows: 3DH (single bend) fibre with normal-medium strength matrix, 4DH (double bend) fibre with high strength matrix and 5DH (triple bend) fibre with ultra-high performance matrix. Two analytical models to predict the pull-out behaviour of hooked end fibres were developed. Both models were able to predict the pull-out response of SFRC made from a variety of fibre and matrix characteristics at ambient temperature. This work has established a comprehensive database to illustrate the bonding mechanisms of SFRC and anchorage strengthening of various hooked end fibres, and this should contribute towards an increasing interest and growing number of structural applications of SFRC in construction.

Yes / This paper investigated the bond characteristics between eight types of nanofillers modified reactive powder concrete (RPC) and plain steel bars, aiming to explore the modifying mechanisms and establish a bond-slip relationship model for nanofillers modified RPC and steel bar interface. The experimental results indicated that the incorporation of nanofillers can increase the bond strength and reduce the slip between RPC and plain steel bars. It was shown that a 2.15 MPa/20.5% of absolute/relative increase in cracking bond strength, a 1.25 MPa/10.3% of absolute/relative increase in ultimate bond strength, a 2.35 MPa/22.4% of absolute/relative increase in residual bond strength, a 0.592 mm/56.5% of absolute/relative reduction in ultimate bond slip, and a 1.779 mm/52.1% of absolute/relative reduction in residual bond slip were the best achieved due to the addition of various nanofillers. The enhancement of nanofillers on RPC-steel bar interface has been mainly attributed to RPC microstructure improvement, optimization of intrinsic compositions, and elimination of defects in the interface, especially the underside near steel bar, due to the nano-core effect of nanofillers enriched in the interface. In addition, the bond-slip relationship of nanofillers modified RPC-steel bar interface can be accurately described by the proposed model considering an initial branch. / The authors would like to thank the funding offered by the National Science Foundation of China (51978127 and 51908103), and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (DUT21RC(3)039).

Textilbewehrter Beton zur Verstärkung von Stahlbetonbauteilen ist neben den klassischen und etablierten Verfahren eine äußerst interessante Alternative, die die Vorteile der leichten Kohlenstofffaserklebeverstärkungen mit denen von Spritzbeton mit Bewehrung verbindet. Aus den theoretischen und experimentellen Untersuchungen in dieser Arbeit können wichtige Erkenntnisse zum gemeinsamen Tragverhalten von Betonstahl und textiler Bewehrung sowie zu den Auswirkungen der verbundbedingten Unterschiede abgeleitet werden. Mit den theoretischen Betrachtungen werden das gemeinsame Tragverhalten und der Einfluss des unterschiedlichen Verbundverhaltens auf die Zugkraftaufteilung gezeigt und qualifiziert. Die Behandlung der verbundbedingten Unterschiede bei gemischt mit Betonstahl und Textil bewehrten Zuggliedern ist analog dem Vorgehen bei gemischter Beton- und Spannstahlbewehrung bzw. Klebebewehrung mit Verbundbeiwerten darstellbar. Zur Ableitung entsprechender Kennwerte werden verschiedene Möglichkeiten diskutiert. Zudem wird eine vereinfachte Bemessung vorgeschlagen. Insgesamt sind die Ergebnisse ein wesentlicher Schritt auf dem Weg zur baupraktischen Anwendung von Textilbetonverstärkungen und ermutigen bereits zum umsichtigen Einsatz unter Beachtung der Sicherheitsaspekte. Noch offene Fragen und notwendiger Klärungsbedarf sollten die Wissbegier anregen und vertiefende Forschungsvorhaben und weitere experimentelle Untersuchungen ermöglichen. / Textile reinforcement represents an excellent alternative to existing techniques for strengthening of concrete structures, combining the benefits of lightweight fiber reinforced polymer strengthening with those of shotcrete with reinforcement. The theoretical and experimental studies in this thesis provide essential insights into the common load bearing behaviour of reinforcing steel and textile reinforcements as well as on the impact of the different bond characteristics of both types of rein-forcement. With the theoretical investigations, the combined load bearing behaviour and the influence of the different bond characteristics on distribution of the forces could be shown and qualified. The inter-action of both reinforcement types, taking into account the different bond characteristics, can be represented by bond coefficients analogous to the approach to mixed steel and pre-stressing-steel reinforcements. So as to derive the appropriate parameters, several options were discussed. Moreover, a simplified approach to design a TRC-strengthening-layer was proposed. Overall, the results are an essential step towards the practical application of textile reinforced con-crete for the strengthening of concrete structures and should already be encouraging the prudent use while considering the necessary safety aspects. Remaining issues and necessary clarifications should stimulate curiosity and in-depth research projects and allow further experimental studies.

Textilbewehrter Beton zur Verstärkung von Stahlbetonbauteilen ist neben den klassischen und etablierten Verfahren eine äußerst interessante Alternative, die die Vorteile der leichten Kohlenstofffaserklebeverstärkungen mit denen von Spritzbeton mit Bewehrung verbindet. Aus den theoretischen und experimentellen Untersuchungen in dieser Arbeit können wichtige Erkenntnisse zum gemeinsamen Tragverhalten von Betonstahl und textiler Bewehrung sowie zu den Auswirkungen der verbundbedingten Unterschiede abgeleitet werden. Mit den theoretischen Betrachtungen werden das gemeinsame Tragverhalten und der Einfluss des unterschiedlichen Verbundverhaltens auf die Zugkraftaufteilung gezeigt und qualifiziert. Die Behandlung der verbundbedingten Unterschiede bei gemischt mit Betonstahl und Textil bewehrten Zuggliedern ist analog dem Vorgehen bei gemischter Beton- und Spannstahlbewehrung bzw. Klebebewehrung mit Verbundbeiwerten darstellbar. Zur Ableitung entsprechender Kennwerte werden verschiedene Möglichkeiten diskutiert. Zudem wird eine vereinfachte Bemessung vorgeschlagen. Insgesamt sind die Ergebnisse ein wesentlicher Schritt auf dem Weg zur baupraktischen Anwendung von Textilbetonverstärkungen und ermutigen bereits zum umsichtigen Einsatz unter Beachtung der Sicherheitsaspekte. Noch offene Fragen und notwendiger Klärungsbedarf sollten die Wissbegier anregen und vertiefende Forschungsvorhaben und weitere experimentelle Untersuchungen ermöglichen. / Textile reinforcement represents an excellent alternative to existing techniques for strengthening of concrete structures, combining the benefits of lightweight fiber reinforced polymer strengthening with those of shotcrete with reinforcement. The theoretical and experimental studies in this thesis provide essential insights into the common load bearing behaviour of reinforcing steel and textile reinforcements as well as on the impact of the different bond characteristics of both types of rein-forcement. With the theoretical investigations, the combined load bearing behaviour and the influence of the different bond characteristics on distribution of the forces could be shown and qualified. The inter-action of both reinforcement types, taking into account the different bond characteristics, can be represented by bond coefficients analogous to the approach to mixed steel and pre-stressing-steel reinforcements. So as to derive the appropriate parameters, several options were discussed. Moreover, a simplified approach to design a TRC-strengthening-layer was proposed. Overall, the results are an essential step towards the practical application of textile reinforced con-crete for the strengthening of concrete structures and should already be encouraging the prudent use while considering the necessary safety aspects. Remaining issues and necessary clarifications should stimulate curiosity and in-depth research projects and allow further experimental studies.