Enhanced elastomer-like auxetic cementitious materials through strain-hardening cementitious composites (SHCC) with extended softening properties

Journal Article (2025)
Author(s)

J. Xie (TU Delft - Materials and Environment)

S. He (TU Delft - Materials and Environment)

Yading Xu (TU Delft - Materials and Environment)

Zhaozheng Meng (TU Delft - Materials and Environment)

Wen Zhou (TU Delft - Applied Geophysics and Petrophysics)

E Schlangen (TU Delft - Materials and Environment)

B Šavija (TU Delft - Materials and Environment)

Research Group
Materials and Environment
DOI related publication
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cemconcomp.2025.106069
More Info
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Publication Year
2025
Language
English
Research Group
Materials and Environment
Volume number
161
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Abstract

Auxetic cementitious cellular composites (ACCCs) exhibit hinge-type recoverable deformation during auxetic behavior phase, a rare pseudo-elastic property in cementitious materials. However, their low load-bearing capacity during this phase restricts their use in high-load applications. This study developed ACCCs using strain-hardening cementitious composites (SHCCs) with short (SHCC-SS) and long (SHCC-LS) softening tails, fabricated by additive manufacturing-assisted casting. Uniaxial compression tests employing Digital Image Correlation (DIC) evaluated their compressive behavior, peak strength, Poisson's ratio variation, and energy dissipation. Cyclic tests after pre-compression assessed their recoverable deformation resilience, with fiber bridging at joint cracks examined using digital optical microscope. Results were compared to a reference using fiber-reinforced cementitious materials with strain softening (SS). Compared to the reference (SS), ACCCs using SHCC mixtures exhibit superior load-bearing capacity and stable auxetic behavior under compression. After self-contact, they maintain a negative Poisson's ratio up to a considerably high compressive strain, preventing splitting failure and preserving structural integrity. This is because incorporating SHCC enables greater joint rotation by promoting multiple cracks with strain hardening, which delays primary crack formation and reduces its opening. During cyclic tests, P1-shaped ACCCs with SHCC-LS and SHCC-SS enhance the elasticity modulus of recoverable deformation by 4.8 and 3.0 times, respectively, compared to SS. SHCC-LS outperforms SHCC-SS in compressive resilience due to its prolonged softening tail, which improves fiber bridging in primary cracks and increases rotational stiffness in hinge joints. SHCC mixtures with initial strain hardening and extended softening enable scalable design of advanced auxetic cementitious materials across various load levels.