TY - JOUR
T1 - Experimental and Numerical Investigation of Fracture Behavior of Particle-Reinforced Alkali-Activated Slag Mortars
AU - Nayak, Sumeru
AU - Kizilkanat, Ahmet
AU - Neithalath, Narayanan
AU - Das, Sumanta
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors sincerely acknowledge support for this study from the National Science Foundation (CMMI: 1353170) and the College of Engineering and Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Rhode Island. The contents of this paper reflect the views of the authors, who are responsible for the facts and accuracy of the data presented herein, and do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the National Science Foundation; nor do the contents constitute a standard, specification, or a regulation. We gratefully acknowledge the use of facilities in the Laboratory for the Science of Sustainable Infrastructural Materials (LS-SIM) and the LeRoy Eyring Center for Solid State Sciences (LE-CSSS) at Arizona State University. Raw materials provided by Holcim US, Schuff Steel, and Iron Shell LLC are acknowledged.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2019 American Society of Civil Engineers.
Copyright:
Copyright 2019 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2019/5/1
Y1 - 2019/5/1
N2 - This paper presents fracture responses of alkali-activated slag (AAS) mortars with up to 30% (by volume) of slag being replaced by waste iron powder that contains a significant fraction of elongated iron particles. The elongated particles act as microreinforcement and improve the crack resistance of AAS mortars by enlarging the fracture process zone (FPZ). An enlarged FPZ signifies increased energy dissipation, which is reflected in a significant increase in crack growth resistance as determined from R-curves. Fracture responses of notched AAS mortar beams under three-point bending are simulated using the extended finite-element method (XFEM) to develop a tool for direct determination of fracture characteristics such as crack extension and fracture toughness in particulate-reinforced AAS mortars. Fracture response simulated using the XFEM framework correlates well with experimental observations. The comprehensive fracture studies reported here provide an economical and sustainable means of improving the ductility of AAS systems, which are generally more brittle than their conventional portland cement counterparts.
AB - This paper presents fracture responses of alkali-activated slag (AAS) mortars with up to 30% (by volume) of slag being replaced by waste iron powder that contains a significant fraction of elongated iron particles. The elongated particles act as microreinforcement and improve the crack resistance of AAS mortars by enlarging the fracture process zone (FPZ). An enlarged FPZ signifies increased energy dissipation, which is reflected in a significant increase in crack growth resistance as determined from R-curves. Fracture responses of notched AAS mortar beams under three-point bending are simulated using the extended finite-element method (XFEM) to develop a tool for direct determination of fracture characteristics such as crack extension and fracture toughness in particulate-reinforced AAS mortars. Fracture response simulated using the XFEM framework correlates well with experimental observations. The comprehensive fracture studies reported here provide an economical and sustainable means of improving the ductility of AAS systems, which are generally more brittle than their conventional portland cement counterparts.
KW - Alkali-activated slag
KW - Digital image correlation
KW - Extended finite-element method
KW - Fracture response
KW - Particulate reinforcement
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U2 - 10.1061/(ASCE)MT.1943-5533.0002673
DO - 10.1061/(ASCE)MT.1943-5533.0002673
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85059571303
VL - 31
JO - Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
JF - Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
SN - 0899-1561
IS - 5
M1 - 04019043
ER -