Tensile Behaviors of Lap-Spliced Carbon Fiber-Textile Reinforced Mortar Composites Exposed to High Temperature

The tensile behaviors of textile-reinforced mortar (TRM) composites made with carbon fiber textile and alumina cement-based mortar were investigated through direct tensile tests. Three different surface treatment details in the lap splice area were used to improve the tensile behaviors of the TRM composites: carbon fiber textile impregnated by epoxy, carbon fiber textile coated with aluminum oxide powder following epoxy impregnation, and carbon fiber textile coated with aluminum oxide powder following both carbon fiber fabric attachment and epoxy impregnation. Three different lap splice lengths were used 180, 200, and 220 mm. In addition, the tensile properties of TRM composites following exposure to high temperature were investigated as well. In this test, TRM test specimens were exposed to two different temperature histories with maximum values of 250 and 350 °C. The results of the test specimens according to the test parameters were analyzed in terms of initial stiffness, cracking strength, corresponding strain at cracking, modulus of elasticity in the cracked stage, peak strength, and ultimate strain. The influence of lap splice length on the tensile behaviors of the TRM composites was analyzed and discussed. The surface treatment in the overlapping region showed ductile behavior and resulted in a significant improvement of the peak strength and ultimate strain over the untreated lap splice textile. Following exposure to high temperature, the TRM composites showed a reduction of tensile responses compared to those cured at room temperature. In addition, a prediction model developed in the previous study was used to predict the tensile behaviors of the lap-spliced carbon fiber-textile reinforced mortar composites exposed to high temperature, and the prediction by the model showed a good agreement with the experimental results.