Numerical simulation of the nonlinear bending response of fibre-reinforced cementitious matrix beams and comparison with experimental results

The aim of this work is the efficient numerical simulation of the bending behaviour of fibre reinforced cementitious matrix (FRCM) beams. For the production of the FRCM specimens, a high-strength cementitious matrix with hooked-end steel fibres is used. Two types of FRCM beams are considered. The first type has no conventional steel reinforcement, while the second one includes longitudinal and transverse reinforcement steel bars. For comparison reasons, conventional reinforced concrete (RC) beams are also studied. The beams are tested under static and cyclic loading. The response of the tested beams is simulated by means of effective two-dimensional finite element models, in which the contribution of the FRCM is taken into account by means of two different layers of finite elements. The first one represents the cementitious matrix while the second one accounts for the contribution of the steel fibres in a homogenized manner. The presented models are able to follow the nonlinearities that appear in the corresponding physical models. The validity of the proposed methodology is established by comparing the numerical results with the corresponding experimental results.