| The use of short fibers in the cement-based composites is more preferable due to the simplicity and economic nature in fabrication. The short fiber-reinforced cementitious composite (SFRCC) manufactured by the extrusion method show a great improvement in both strength and toughness as compared to the fiber-reinforced composites made by traditional casting methods. This improvement can be attributed to the achievement of low porosity and good interfacial bond in SFRCC under high shear and compressive stress during the extrusion process.In the present study, products of cylinders, sheets, pipes and honeycomb panels incorporating various mineral admixtures such as slag, silica fume, and metakaolin have been manufactured by the extrusion technology. Two kinds of short fibers, ductile polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) fibers and stronger but less ductile glass fibers, were used as the reinforcement in the products. After the specimens were extruded, tension, bending and impact tests were performed to study the mechanical properties of these products. The rheology test was performed for each mix to determine its viscoelastic properties. In addition, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electronic microscopy (SEM) technology were employed to get an insight view of the mechanism. A freezing and thawing experiment (ASTM C666) was also carried to investigate the durability of the specimens. Based on these experimental results, the reinforcing behaviors of these two short fibers were investigated. The enhancing effects of silica fume and metakaolin on the extrudates were compared and discussed. Finally, the optimum amount of silica fume and slag was proposed.Since the key point for a successful extrusion is the properly designed rheology which controls both internal and external flow properties of extrudate, a nonlinear viscoelastic model was applied to investigate the rheological behavior of a movable fresh cementitious composite in an extruder channel. The velocity profile of the fresh cementitious composite and the relationship between pressure gradients and flow volume rates were obtained by the finite difference method. The hardened short fiber-reinforced extrudates were then studied by a micromechanics model based on the energy dissipation approach. The overall tension behaviors were predicted and the strain hardening response was discussed. |
