Numerical Investigation of Textile Reinforced Cement Structural Stay-in-Place Formwork Designed as Beam-Column Joint Shear Reinforcement

This study investigates the feasibility and structural performance of textile reinforced cement (TRC) stay-in-place (SiP) formwork designed as shear reinforcement for beam-column joints under monotonic loading through the nonlinear finite element package ABAQUS. This was achieved by conducting numerical analysis on 24 beam-column joints using different parameters that affect the joints’ performance, including column axial load ratio, concrete compressive strength, beam tensile reinforcement ratio, joint shear reinforcement ratio, and thickness of TRC. The models were first calibrated to the results obtained from the experimental program of previous studies. The start of the yielding behavior of the composite beam-column (73 kN) corresponds well to the conventional beam-column joint (72 kN). A similar correlation can be observed at the ultimate load with only a 3.7% difference, 84 kN in the case of the composite beam-column joint and 81 kN in the case of the conventional beam-column joint. The findings of this investigation showed that a beam-column with a full steel stirrup and TRC SiP formwork as shear reinforcement at the joint exhibits similar yielding behavior, such that TRC SiP formwork can replace the full steel stirrup at the joint, as proved by comparison analysis. Furthermore, the numerical analysis results due to the effect of these essential parameters on the structural performance of the beam-column with TRC SiP formwork at the joint were also discussed.