Mechanical Behavior of Ferrocement Composites: Numerical Simulation

Abstract

Anisotropic elastoplastic models to simulate the mechanical behavior of ferrocement plates are proposed. These models use elastic and inelastic properties derived from simple in-plane tension and compression experiments. Mindlin plate theory in conjunction with a layered approach is employed for analysis. Two different mathematical models, the homogeneous layered model and the mortar-ferrocement layered model, are considered. The former assumes all the layers to possess identical anisotropic material properties. The postelastic behavior is modeled using the anisotropic Hoffman criterion. In the mortar-ferrocement layered model, the plate is divided into “mortar” and “ferrocement” layers. The mortar layers are assumed to be isotropic and their postelastic behavior is simulated using isotropic Hoffman criterion. The ferrocement layers are modeled using two approaches: in the first, they are assumed to be transversely isotropic (transtropic) and in the second an orthotropic material idealization is employed. The analytical predictions are found to compare well with the experimental results. The mortar-ferrocement layered model with orthotropic ferrocement layers performs the best. It is concluded that a single set of material properties can be used to simulate the behavior of ferrocement plates under in-plane as well as out-of-plane loading.