Freeze-thaw influence on the flexural properties of ductile fiber-reinforced cementitious composites (DFRCCs) for durable infrastructures

Ductile fiber-reinforced cementitious composites (DFRCCs) are innovative cementitious materials characterized by multiple cracking and pseudo strain-hardening behavior under static flexure. This paper investigates the effects of freeze-thaw cycles, and water-to-binder ratio (W/B) as well as reinforcing fiber combination on flexural properties and cracking procedure of DFRCC prismatic specimens. The DFRCC materials used in the present study are reinforced with hybrid polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (PE) at the 1.5% volume fraction. These DFRCC materials were tested for modulus of rupture (MOR), relative dynamic modulus of elasticity, and change in mass. The test results for freezing and thawing actions within 300 cycles indicate that freeze-thaw cycles have little effect on the MOR of the DFRCC materials, whereas freeze-thaw cycles have a negative effect on multiple cracking behavior and deformation capacity of DFRCC prismatic specimens under flexural loadings. The results of durability tests show that the DFRCC specimens remain durable after 300 cycles of freezing and thawing actions.