Experimental Research on Mechanical Performance of Hybrid Fiber Reinforced Cementitious Composites with Polyvinyl Alcohol Short Fiber and Carbon Textile

Combining the advantages of both carbon textile reinforced concrete and strain-hardening cementitious composites, research on hybrid fiber reinforced cementitious composites with polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) short fiber and carbon textile has been carried out for developing a new kind of anticracking technique, which can disperse the cracks innocuously and improve durability, service life, and load-bearing capacity of concrete structures. Compared with textile reinforced mortar, influences of the surface treatment of carbon textile, water-binder ratio, volume content of PVA fiber on crack resisting, load-bearing capacity, and bond property of the tested composite have been investigated through four-point bending experiments and pull-out tests. The experimental results present excellent structural and material behaviors with high toughness and prominent cracking control ability. The proposed approach for surface treatment of carbon textile by spreading sand with different grain sizes on the surface of carbon roving impregnated with an epoxy resin obviously improves bond properties between the roving and the matrix. For the hybrid fiber reinforced cementitious composites, the integrated performance, particularly cracking response was evidently influenced by the volume content of PVA fiber; composites with 1.5% PVA fiber behaves much better than the one with 1.0% PVA fiber.