Lattice modeling for the influence of geometrical patterns of 3D spacer fabric on tensile behavior of concrete canvas

Tensile behavior of concrete canvas (CC) mainly depends on the geometric patterns of 3D spacer fabric. A lattice model is proposed to model the three-dimensional structure of CC to investigate the influence of geometric patterns of 3D spacer fabric on the tensile behavior of CC. The stress intensity factor is also applied into the lattice model to study the crack development of CC subjected to tensile load. The simulation results are compared to the experiments to verify the model. Finally, the influence of geometric pattern of outer layer and spacer yarns on tensile behavior of CC are simulated based on our proposed lattice model. The results indicate that the tensile strength of CC increases as the loop unit size of outer surface decreases or the amount of spacer yarns increases; the tensile strength of CC with rhombus loop unit of outer surface layer is higher than that of CC with rectangle loop unit. The tensile strength of CC significantly increases with the increasing inclination angle of spacer yarns in 3D spacer fabric. Furthermore, CC specimens subjected to uni-axial tensile exhibit a multi-cracking behavior, the average crack spacing of specimen decreases with the decreasing inclination angle of spacer yarns in tensile direction.