ABSTRACT

The tensile behavior of high-performance fiber-reinforced cement composites (HPFRCC) with twisted fibers was sensitive to the strain rate, while hooked fiber-reinforced specimens showed no rate sensitivity. Textile-reinforced concrete (TRC) is a strain-hardening composite, and as such it is expected to have a unique and favorable response to dynamic loading, whether high strain rate or impact, which are dependent on the nature of the textile reinforcement and its geometrical characteristics in the composite. The importance of specimen geometry and size in dynamic material testing has been recognized by the Society of Automotive Engineers, which coordinated the standardization of "High Strain Rate Tensile Test Techniques for Automotive Plastics" in order to develop guidelines for dynamic tensile testing at medium strain rates. The International Iron and Steel Institute (IISI) also formed a consortium to develop a high–strain rate tensile test standard for sheet steel, while European researchers have been working on an ISO standard.