Influence of mechanical characterization technique on Carbon-TRC constitutive relations

The behavior of textile reinforced concrete (TRC) structures depends on the properties of the matrix and fiber used, as well as on the interface between them. A variety of tension and compression tests has been developed towards the derivation of constitutive mechanical relations for the material. This article investigates the influence of testing conditions on the carbon TRC mechanical properties and the experimental program includes pullout, tensile and compressive tests. TRC materials with four different types of coating, namely plain and sand-coated styrene-butadiene, acrylate, and epoxy were analyzed. Compression and tension tests revealed a strong influence of setup and type of coating on both properties and TRC compressive strength showed a reduction concerning the plain matrix in all cases investigated. Constitutive relations can be indirectly determined from tensile tests, including nominal bond stress, effective modulus of elasticity, and concrete tensile strength. The application of various sets of properties to the beam mechanical models and comparisons with experimental results showed tensile tests with screws of 80 mm width and 400 mm gauge length are the most suitable technique for the determination of properties to be used in moment-curvature and moment-crack opening relations. •Mechanical properties of carbon-TRC composites and their interface are obtained for four coating conditions.•Different testing methods are adopted to obtain directly and indirectly the constitutive relations.•Constitutive relationships can be indirectly obtained through tensile test and applied in analytical models.•Analytical models are compared to beam results with good agreement.•Most suitable characterization techniques to derive constitutive laws of carbon-TRC beams are indicated.