Numerical simulation of the tensile behavior of FRCM strengthening systems

The direct tensile test is one of the experimental procedures used for the characterization of Fiber Reinforced Cementitious Matrix (FRCM) materials. From this test generally emerge the main phenomena characterizing the tensile response of FRCM: cracking of the matrix and de-bonding at the reinforcement-matrix interface. These phenomena, that in some cases are quite difficult to experimentally monitor and understand, particularly influence the performance of FRCM as strengthening systems. In this paper the authors present a simple numerical modeling approach able to simulate the tensile response of FRCM by reproducing the occurrence of both the cracking of the matrix and the de-bonding at the reinforcement-matrix interface. The numerical analyses reported in the paper show the reliability of the proposed approach and, in particular, its role as support tool for understanding the influence of local failure phenomena on the global tensile response of FRCM systems.