The present study addresses an optimization strategy for maximizing the structural ductility of Fiber Reinforced Concrete (FRC) with long textile fibers. Due to material brittleness of both concrete and fiber in addition to complex interfacial behavior between above constituents the structural response of FRC is highly nonlinear. Consideration of this material nonlinearity including interface is mandatory to deal with this kind of composite. In the present contribution three kinds of optimization strategies based on a damage formulation are described. The performance of the proposed method is demonstrated by a series of numerical examples; it is verified that the ductility can be substantially improved.

The present study addresses an optimization strategy for maximizing the structural ductility of Fiber Reinforced Concrete (FRC) with long textile fibers. Due to material brittleness of both concrete and fiber in addition to complex interfacial behavior between above constituents the structural response of FRC is highly nonlinear. Consideration of this material nonlinearity including interface is mandatory to deal with this kind of composite. In the present contribution three kinds of optimization strategies based on a damage formulation are described. The performance of the proposed method is demonstrated by a series of numerical examples; it is verified that the ductility can be substantially improved.