Engineering Structures 256 (2022) 113946

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Engineering Structures
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/engstruct

Flexural behaviour of thin textile reinforced concrete slabs enhanced by

chemical prestressing
Katarzyna Zdanowicz ∗, Steffen Marx
Technische Universitat Dresden, Institute of Concrete Structures, 01062 Dresden, Germany

ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT

Keywords: Textile reinforcement gains recently increasing attention within the civil engineering field, especially for thin
Textile reinforced concrete concrete elements such as facade slabs. Chemical prestressing, a method of inducing stresses using concrete
Chemical prestressing with expansive admixtures, is an approach to enhance the performance of such slabs and allow for the better
Expansive admixture
cracking behaviour and higher utilization of material properties of the textile reinforcement. This method was
Distributed fibre optic sensors
applied for thin slabs with epoxy impregnated carbon textile reinforcement. The slabs were investigated in four
point bending tests and their cracking pattern was analysed with distributed fibre optic sensors and digital
image correlation method. Chemical prestress positively influenced the load at initial crack formation and the
corresponding deflection.

1. Introduction reinforced concrete [4–6]. The possibility which was investigated in

1.1. Textile reinforced concrete facade slabs
Textile reinforcement made of carbon or glass fibres impregnated
most often with epoxy resin is currently being considered as a promis-
ing alternative to steel reinforcement grids, especially in some appli-
cation cases. Two of these application fields are concrete facade slabs
and cladding panels. The first thin, textile reinforced facade elements
were installed already more than a decade ago [1,2]. Because steel
reinforcement in facade elements is substituted by non-corroding textile
grids, there is a possibility of a significant reduction of the thickness
of such elements. Lower thickness leads to lower weight and larger
dimensions which are possible to install taking into account the load-
bearing capacity of the fastening devices. It becomes also more and
more clear that because of the reduction in the concrete amount
necessary for their production and their lower weight, textile reinforced
concrete (TRC) facades can be considered as more sustainable than
traditional, steel-reinforced panels [3].
On the other hand, larger dimensions and lower thickness lead to
challenges with cracking of TRC facades, that should be avoided as
the slabs are located outside, visible and often directly subjected to
weathering conditions.
1.2. Chemical prestressing to minimize cracking
There are many ways to optimize concrete mixtures in order to
reduce cracking, such as supplementary cementitious materials, shrink-
age reducing admixtures, superabsorbent polymers or by using fibre
the presented research program is to achieve a synergistic combination
of reducing cracking and further optimizing the use of high perfor-
mance textile reinforcement with outstanding mechanical properties.
To achieve such synergy, a technology of chemical prestressing with
expansive admixtures was utilized.
Chemical prestressing was developed between 1940s–1960s [7–
9], yet it was not further advanced for elements with traditional
steel reinforcement. Nowadays, when new concrete types, thorough
material investigations (e.g. computer tomography, scanning electron
microscopy and more precise ways to understand the processes gov-
erning cementitious systems, such as thermodynamic modelling of
cementitious materials) and advanced monitoring systems (e.g. with
distributed fibre optic sensors) are available, the concept of chemical
prestressing is again gaining more attention especially for non-metallic
FRP [10] and textile reinforcement [11,12], for which conventional
prestressing methods are particularly challenging.
Chemical prestressing assumes that prestress can be introduced into
the internal reinforcement without any mechanical devices but through
controlled expansion of the concrete itself. To achieve this effect, an
expansive admixture must be provided in the concrete mixture in a
suitable amount, internal reinforcement, which serves as a restraint
to concrete expansion, must be present (otherwise, free deformation
occurs and no stresses are induced) and the expansion needs to take
place within an effective period, when the bond between reinforcement
and concrete is already provided but when the concrete is not yet too

∗ Corresponding author.
E-mail address: katarzyna.zdanowicz@tu-dresden.de (K. Zdanowicz).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.engstruct.2022.113946
Received 20 September 2021; Received in revised form 14 January 2022; Accepted 22 January 2022
Available online 10 February 2022
0141-0296/© 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
K. Zdanowicz and S. Marx
Table 1
Concrete material properties (percent values related to the reference C00 mixture).
Series Compressive strength Modulus of elasticity
[MPa] [GPa]
C00 82.7 ± 1.0 (100%) 33.4 ± 0.2 (100%)
C15 90.2 ± 2.2 (109%) 33.0 ± 0.9 (98.8%)
a
No experimental data available.
b
Value calculated based on the compressive strength increase.
stiff. By designing a proper concrete mixture and taking into account
the properties of the reinforcement as well as the curing conditions,
chemically prestressed components can be designed and manufactured.
For concrete elements with 2D or 3D reinforcement, there is also the
possibility of uniform and self-acting prestressing in multiple directions.
1.3. Scope and significance of presented study
In the presented research, thin TRC slabs made of expansive self
compacting concrete (SCC) mixture were produced and investigated,
and compared with conventional SCC elements in flexural tests. Their
behaviour under loading and unloading was analysed and the crack-
ing pattern was observed using digital image correlation method and
distributed fibre optic sensors (DFOS). Strains were measured on the
concrete slab surfaces with strain gauges, and inside the slabs — in
concrete and on textile reinforcement using DFOS. The influence of the
chemical prestress on the load at initial crack formation was examined
and the introduced prestress was quantified. The presented research is
to the best of the authors knowledge the first attempt to chemically
prestress a surface specimen with a two-dimensional carbon textile
reinforcement grid.
2. Slabs geometry and material
2.1. Concrete mixtures
A self compacting concrete was used as a basis mixture (designated
as C00), which contained CEM II/A-LL 52.5 N cement with an addition
of fine limestone to improve its expansive properties, quartz and granite
aggregate with a maximum size of 8 mm and polycarboxylate ether
(PCE) superplasticizer. The expansive mixture (designated as C15) had
an addition of CSA-based expansive admixture in an amount of 15%
based on the cement weight. The slump flow of the SCC mixtures was
between 750 and 850 mm and thus the mixtures were classified as
consistency class SF3 acc. to [13].
The concrete mechanical properties were tested according to [14]
(compressive strength), [15] (modulus of elasticity) and [16] (flexural
tensile strength), the results are shown in Table 1. Compressive strength
increased with the addition of the expansive admixture while the
modulus of elasticity decreased slightly. Expansive admixture amount
was chosen after performing excessive material tests and expansion
investigations on both restraint and non-restraint specimens [11,12].
2.2. Carbon textile reinforcement
In all specimens carbon textile reinforcement grid impregnated with
epoxy resin was used, namely solidian GRID Q142/142-CCE-38 [17],
with characteristic tensile strength of 1900 MPa, an average tensile
strength of 2500 MPa and the modulus of elasticity of 180 GPa. The
axial distance between carbon rovings in both directions was equal to
38 mm and the cross-sectional area is 142 mm2 /m while the area of
a single roving equals in average 5.42 mm2 . In all slabs, one layer
of the textile reinforcement was located in the middle of their depth.
To ensure the position of the textile reinforcement, it was fixed on all
sides of the formwork between two timber parts of the formwork walls
and additional distance holders were used during concreting to avoid
upwards floating of the textile grid.
2
Engineering Structures 256 (2022) 113946
Flexural tensile strength Direct tensile strength
[MPa] [MPa] (calculated)
5.21 ± 0.36 (100%) 3.13 (100%)
–a (3.51)b (112%)
2.3. Geometry of the slabs
Six concrete slabs with dimensions of 1000 × 2000 × 30 mm3 were
produced, three in C00 and C15 series. In each slab, a single sheet of the
described textile reinforcement provided a geometrical reinforcement
ratio 𝜌𝑙 = 0.47%. Slabs were concreted in a horizontal position and
stored in the formwork for 48 h. During this time they were covered
with foil and sprayed with water underneath the foil every several
hours during the daytime to avoid extensive drying of the surface. After
removing specimens from the formwork they were stored vertically
in environmental conditions with a constant temperature of 20 ◦ C.
Humidity conditions for all specimens were the same, the relative
humidity (RH) in the storage room was measured during this period
and its values were between 45% and 65%. Prolonged curing in water
was not realized, as it is not desirable for the industrial applications.
Fig. 1 presents slab formwork with installed reinforcement and optical
sensors, and the slab after removing from the formwork.
3. Methods
3.1. Flexural tests
28 days after concreting, all slabs were subjected to static four-
point bending tests in the universal testing machine. They were placed
with a span of 1800 mm under the frame with an attached servo-
hydraulic jack, where the distances between the load introduction and
the supports were 600 mm each. The test setup is shown schematically
in Fig. 2 and in the real execution in Fig. 3. A load cell with a measuring
range of up to 50 kN was used, together with four laser distance sensors
with a measuring range of 40 mm for the deflection measurements.
They were arranged in the middle line of the slab, see Fig. 2.
A loading regime with five loading and unloading cycles was ap-
plied. For the first two load cycles a maximum force of approx. 1.4 kN
was applied at a constant speed v1 = 0.5 mm/min. These two loading
cycles should provide a record of the load–deflection curves in the still
substantially linear strain range. Each unloading was realized to a load
level of 0.2 kN. Further, a third cycle was performed up to a load
level when deflection of about 5 mm occurred, and was released again.
Then, the load speed was increased to v2 = 2.5 mm/min and the fourth
load cycle was completed at a load for which corresponding deflection
achieved approx. 25 mm. The fifth load cycle was run at a load speed
of v3 = 10 mm/min up to a deflection of 36 mm, which corresponded
to 1/50 of the span length. A load of approximately 2.3 kN–3.2 kN was
applied at this deflection level. Finally, the slabs were unloaded.
3.2. Strain measurements with distributed fibre optic sensors
Distributed fibre optic sensing (DFOS) technology gains worldwide
increasing attention in the field of structural health monitoring and also
as a reliable method for measuring strains in concrete structures with
non-metallic reinforcement [18–22]. Basing on the phenomenon of
Rayleigh scattering of the light signal, the strains and local changes of
length can be determined between two subsequent measurements, with
a high resolution and precision [23]. The measurement parameters,
such as sensor length, gauge lengths (sensor bases) and their spacing are
set in the post-processing of the data, which allows for multiple types of
analyses. By setting the gauge length and spacing to equal values, the
K. Zdanowicz and S. Marx Engineering Structures 256 (2022) 113946

Fig. 1. Formwork of the slab with installed reinforcement and measuring equipment (left) and a slab after removing from the formwork (right).

Fig. 2. Presentation of the flexural test setup.

Fig. 3. Test setup for four-point bending of the concrete slabs.

whole sensor length is covered with measurement points, and thus the
measurement results are considered as distributed in the geometrical
sense. This distinguishing feature of the DFOS technology, that contin-
uous measurements of strains along the entire sensor length is possible,
means that data can be provided in both time/load and geometrical
domains, which was not technically feasible with conventional strain
gauges or discrete types of optical sensors available before (such as Fi-
bre Bragg Gratings). DFOS allows for detailed analyses of the process of
forming and development of cracks [24,25], shrinkage and expansion
measurements [12,26] as well as investigations of bond, flexural and
tensile behaviour [26–28] or multi-axial stress conditions [29].
Distributed fibre optic sensors, thanks to their negligible dimensions
(standard single mode optical fibres have a diameter of 250 μm) and
stiffness, are also suitable for embedding inside small-size or thin
specimens. Furthermore, they can be installed on the existing steel or
textile reinforcement in concrete elements without influencing the bond
properties between the reinforcement and concrete. For textile or FRP
reinforcement, not only fastening of the optical sensors on the surface

3
K. Zdanowicz and S. Marx Engineering Structures 256 (2022) 113946

Fig. 4. Textile reinforced slab with distributed fibre optic sensors arrangement.

with adhesives is possible, but also embroidering directly during the Table 2
Load and deflection at initial crack formation in slabs subjected to flexure (percent
production process [30–32].
values related to the reference C00 mixture).
Within the described investigation, all concrete slabs were equipped Specimen Load at initial Corresponding
with optical sensors (SM 9/125 fibres with an acrylate coating) in name crack formation [kN] deflection [mm]
the longitudinal and transverse direction (Fig. 4). Sensors were either C00_S_a 1.46 2.97
glued to the reinforcement with a two-component, epoxy based ad- C00_S_c 1.74 2.69
C00_mean 1.60 ± 0.20 (100%) 2.83 ± 0.20 (100%)
hesive (blue, continuous lines in Fig. 4, four sections) or fixed only
on the beginning and end and on their length distanced from the C15_S_a 2.05 3.41
C15_S_b 2.89 3.17
reinforcement with soft foam to avoid breaking of the sensors (black, C15_S_c 2.39 3.81
dashed lines in Fig. 4, also four sections). The glued sensors aimed C15_mean 2.44 ± 0.42 (153%) 3.46 ± 0.32 (122%)
at measuring the strains of the reinforcement, while the free sensors
should provide measurements of the concrete strains. The total length
of DFOS sensors equalled 15.40 m in the longitudinal direction and 4. Results
7.20 m in the transverse direction. The sensors were spliced with
pigtails and the splicing point was located inside the slab at its edge, 4.1. Load–deflection relationship
the pigtails were then drawn out of the slab through its top surface.
In this way, the bare fibres and splicing points were protected inside Fig. 5 presents the load–deflection relationship for chosen slabs
the concrete, and pigtails were robust enough to avoid damage during from both series. The initially linear increase in load is followed by
handling of the specimens. Additionally, temperature sensors were a phase of crack formation, which is accompanied by an increase in
fixed to measure the temperature during hardening in the middle of deflection. The formation of single cracks is visible as drops in the
the specimens to correct strain measurements and compensate for the load. The slope of the load–deflection curves in the linear non-cracked
thermal strains. The strains were measured with DFOS sensors during area is approximately the same for all examined test specimens, since
it reflects the plate stiffness of the non-cracked cross-section. However,
setting and hardening (results available in [12]) and during the load
the curves differ in pre- and post-cracking phase in the magnitude of
tests of the slabs, as presented in this article.
the load that can be carried. The force–deflection curves show that
test specimens with the addition of expansive admixture can withstand
higher loads during crack formation than the test specimens from the
3.3. Digital Image Correlation method
reference concrete. The results of the flexural tests for all test specimens
are summarized in Table 2. Slab C00_S_b was excluded because an
The Digital Image Correlation (DIC) method was used to capture unintended crack occurred during placing the slab in the load frame.
the crack pattern in the central slab area, on a field with dimensions
of 620 × 860 mm2 (due to the limitation of the loading frame height). 4.2. Cracking pattern
The DIC area in form of a painted white field with black speckles is
visible on the bottom surface of the slab in Fig. 3. A machine vision During the four-point bending tests, the strains in the concrete and
on the textile reinforcement were examined with distributed fibre optic
camera was used to take photos every two seconds during loading. The
sensors. Results of these measurements for one slab from each series are
photos were then post-processed with the commercially available DIC
presented in Fig. 6. Results from a fibre optic sensor that was embedded
software, using square facets with a facet size of 11 px (to aim for better
in the concrete in the middle of the slab in the longitudinal direction
acquisition of local effect within the facet) and a point distance of 9 are presented here, strain peaks for each load level correlate with crack
px (to provide overlapping area and higher resolution). All measuring locations. These diagrams illustrate both where cracks occur and how
devices were synchronized together so that the timing of photos shot they develop with increasing load. These findings correspond also very
can be directly related to the moment of testing machine readings and well with the crack development in the middle of the slabs recorded by
DFOS measurements. the DIC method (Fig. 7).

4
K. Zdanowicz and S. Marx
Fig. 5. Load–deflection relationship of slabs from series C00 (left) and C15 (right).
Fig. 6. DFOS measurements — cracking pattern for the slabs C00_S_a (left) and C15_S_b (right).
In addition, the values obtained with the fibre optic sensors can be
used to detect cracks at an early stage, even before they can be observed
with unarmed eye or on DIC results. Fig. 8 shows the correlated results
of the fibre optic measurements and the DIC analysis for two chosen
load levels. DFOS measurements allow thus a very good prediction of
the crack locations. An analysis of differences of crack spacing between
slabs from C00 and C15 series was also conducted (see Fig. 9), whereby
it was also concluded that crack spacing measured with the DIC method
and from DFOS reading show an almost 100% compliance. In general,
mean crack spacing measured for the last load step (corresponding to
a deflection of 35–40 mm) in slabs from series C00 is lower and equal
to 4.48 cm, while in series C15 it equals 5.78 cm.
4.3. Strains of the textile reinforcement and in the concrete
DFOS measurements allowed to compare the strains of the textile
reinforcement (with the glued sensors) and of concrete (with the free
sensors). When these strains were compared, a difference was visible
on every loading stage (Fig. 10). Although strain peaks occurred in
the same locations of cracks, strains of textile reinforcement (light blue
lines) were lower than strains in concrete (dark blue lines). On this
basis, a statement can be made that stress transfer from the concrete to
the reinforcement is good, the differences of strains at peak locations
reach maximal 0.5–1.0 mm/m. However, the strain readings of the
tensile reinforcement were lower and the strain peaks were not so
intense as of concrete, thus these were only to a limited extent suitable
for determining the locations of the cracks for the lower load levels
(see Fig. 10 left, not every strain peak from free fibres can be found
in the strains curve from glued fibres). On the other hand, when the
certain strain was locally exceeded within a crack (ca. 4–5 mm/m),
the free sensors exhibited erroneous readings (so-called Strain Reading
Anomalies, SRAs, [33]), while the less intense peaks on the textile
reinforcement allowed to detect the crack locations for higher load
5
Engineering Structures 256 (2022) 113946
levels (see Fig. 10 right, even at ca. 1–2 mm/m every crack detectable
with free sensors can be found also in strain curve from glued fibres).
Furthermore, the concrete strains on its top and bottom surfaces
were measured in the longitudinal direction. Two 100 mm long strain
gauges were installed in the middle of each slab on both surfaces.
Obviously, the measurements with the bottom strain gauges were
not relevant any more when a crack occurred within the length of
the strain gauge, leading to its detachment. On the other hand, the
behaviour of the compressive zone could have been reproduced pretty
well. Strain values in reference to the load applied are presented in
Fig. 11, the unloading cycles are also visible here. The strains measured
with the strain gauges located on the top surface reached between
0.5–0.75 mm/m for all specimens, although the load level was higher
for chemically prestressed elements. Furthermore, another difference is
visible between the reference C00 mixture and the expansive concrete
mixture. For C00, at a maximum load of 2.5 kN strains in the strain
gauge at the top increase but no additional load can be absorbed. On
the contrary, in C15 specimens an increase of strains is visible together
with an increase of load until the end of measurements. Also, a strain
residuum phenomenon can be observed for the chemically prestressed
specimens — in C00 slab, after each of the unloadings, the strain value
decreases to near zero, while for chemically prestressed slabs, there is
some plastic deformation occurring at this point, where after unloading
some strains remain in the specimen.
4.4. Analysis of prestress
Observing the better performance of the chemically prestressed
slabs, a quantification of the stresses introduced into the elements
through restraint expansion of concrete should be provided. With an
aim to analyse the prestress, firstly cracking moments of C00 and C15
slabs were calculated and compared. The cracking moment was calcu-
lated with Fcr values taken as mean values from the Table 2, the average
K. Zdanowicz and S. Marx Engineering Structures 256 (2022) 113946

Fig. 7. DIC method results — cracking pattern for slabs C00_S_a and C15_S_b for the final load steps before unloading.

Fig. 8. Corresponding strain readings from DFOS sensors and DIC results for two chosen load steps of a slab C00_S_a subjected to flexural test. Note: vertical dashed lines designate
the cracks visible at both DFOS and DIC, red lines are primary, main cracks; black lines are secondary cracks.

Fig. 9. DIC results in the middle of the slab (area 10 cm × 86 cm), including number of cracks and mean crack spacing for all slabs.

cracking loads and moments are shown in the Table 3. Noteworthy, of concrete slabs. Although this analysis is not within the scope of
also a detailed analysis of shrinkage and expansion behaviour in time this article, the shrinkage and expansion strains are considered and
and length domains was possible with DFOS sensors during maturing should be quantified [34,35]. The mean shrinkage strain measured in

6
K. Zdanowicz and S. Marx Engineering Structures 256 (2022) 113946

Fig. 10. Comparison of strains measured with glued and free DFOS sensors for slabs C00_S_a (load step 13) and C15_S_c (load step 23).

Fig. 11. Strains in concrete on the top and bottom surface for the slabs C00_S_a and C15_S_a measured with strain gauges (lines) and in the middle of the specimens with free
DFOS sensors (points).

Table 3 where
Mean cracking load and moments for slab specimens.
𝐹𝑐𝑟.𝑐 is the tensile force in concrete at cracking
Cracking load Cracking moment
[kN] [kN m]
𝐹𝑐𝑟.𝑡 is the tensile force in textile reinforcement at cracking.
It is also assumed, that in a pre-cracking phase a linear stress–strain
C00_S_mean 1.60 0.48
C15_S_mean 2.44 0.73 state is provided, the reinforcement area is neglected (A = Ac ) and a
full bond between concrete and reinforcement is provided so that 𝜀cr.c =
𝜀cr.t . Thus, the compound element tensile strength at first crack can be
determined using the mechanical reinforcement ratio based on stiffness,
the longitudinal direction with DFOS sensors for slabs from the C00
𝜔l .
series was equal to −0.218mm/m, while expansion strain for slabs from
the C15 series was equal to 0.310 mm/m after 48 h after concreting. 𝐸𝑡 ⋅ 𝐴𝑡
𝜔𝑙 = (3)
Subsequently, theoretical values of cracking moments were deter- 𝐸𝑐 ⋅ 𝐴𝑐
mined for C00 and C15 slabs considering the concrete tensile strength where
with the common formula: 𝐸𝑡 is the modulus of elasticity of the textile reinforcement
𝑁 𝐴𝑡 is the area of the cross-section of the textile reinforcement
𝑀𝑐𝑟 = (𝑓𝑐𝑡𝑚 + ) ⋅ 𝑊𝑦 (1)
𝐴𝑐 𝐸𝑐 is the modulus of elasticity of concrete
where 𝐴𝑐 is the area of the concrete cross-section.
𝑀𝑐𝑟 is the cracking moment The mechanical reinforcement ratios for C00 and C15 slabs are
𝑓𝑐𝑡𝑚 is concrete tensile strength equal to: 𝜔l.C00 = 𝜔l.C15 = 0.026, and the fctm.s values following the
𝑁 is the axial force in concrete equation:
𝐴𝑐 is the area of the concrete cross-section
𝑊𝑦 is the section modulus of the cross-section. 𝑓𝑐𝑡𝑚.𝑠 = 𝑓𝑐𝑡𝑚 ⋅ (1 + 𝜔𝑙 ) (4)
For plain concrete without reinforcement, the direct tensile strength are equal to fctm.s.C00 = 3.21 N/mm2 and fctm.s.C15 = 3.60 N/mm2 .
value (fctm ) could be used in calculations. The direct tensile strength of
With the fctm.s value calculated in Eq. (4) and the N value set to
C00 and C15 concrete mixtures are presented in Table 1, experimental
zero and substituted to Eq. (1), a theoretical value of cracking moment
values of the C15 mixture were not available for the investigated
is obtained for C00 specimens: Mcr.s.C00 = 0.48 kN m. For the C00
batch. If we consider the relationship between compressive and tensile
specimens, the theoretical value shows a very good agreement with
strength, the tensile strength of the C15 mixture can be estimated as
the mean value from experimental tests (Mcr.exp.C00 = 0.48 kN m, cf.
3.51 MPa and this estimated value will be used for further calculations.
Table 3).
In the case of the TRC slab elements, however, also the present textile
In the next step, a theoretical cracking moment was determined for
reinforcement needs to be considered. For this purpose, the following
C15 slabs in the following way:
assumptions are made after [36]:
𝑁𝐶15 1000 ⋅ 302 mm3
𝐹𝑐𝑟 = 𝐹𝑐𝑟.𝑐 + 𝐹𝑐𝑟.𝑡 (2) 𝑀𝑐𝑟.𝑠.𝐶15 = (3.60 N∕mm2 + )⋅ (5)
30 ⋅ 1000 mm2 6

7
K. Zdanowicz and S. Marx
As in Eq. (5) the Mcr and N values are unknown and a good
agreement between theoretical and experimental values was observed
for C00 slabs, here the cracking moment Mcr will be assumed as equal
to the mean value from experiments, i.e. Mcr.s.C15 = 0.73 kN m. With
such assumption, the prestressing normal force can be calculated as
NC15 = 38 kN, what corresponds with the concrete prestress value of
𝜎 pre.slab.c.C15 = 1.27 N/mm2 and the textile reinforcement prestress of
𝜎 pre.slab.tex.C15 = 268 N/mm2 .
5. Conclusions
The described experimental program and conducted investigations
have confirmed that by using the expansive concrete, the behaviour
of TRC slabs in flexure can be enhanced. Both the load at the initial
crack formation and the corresponding deflection were increased in
chemically prestressed slabs when compared with the non-prestressed
reference specimens (by 53% and 22%, respectively). Taking into ac-
count the difference in the tensile strength of both concretes and calcu-
lating the prestressing force, an estimated value of 1.27 N/mm2 stress
in concrete was achieved. This corresponds with estimated stress of
the textile reinforcement around 268 N/mm2 , created by the controlled
expansion of concrete.
Furthermore, the parallel use of redundant measurement methods
(distributed fibre optic sensors, digital image correlation and strain
gauges) allowed for a thorough insight into the complex behaviour
of the TRC slabs. With DFOS and DIC method, cracking patterns of
the slabs could have been analysed in subsequent load steps and the
development of the cracking pattern could have been observed. In early
load steps, the optical sensors were able to detect cracks, which were
not yet visible neither with an unarmed eye nor with the DIC method, in
further load steps the cracks detected with the DIC method could have
been reliably assigned to strain peaks from the DFOS measurements.
Because the optical fibres were applied both on the carbon textile
reinforcement and in concrete, a comparison of strains of both materials
was possible and it can be concluded that a good bond is provided
between concrete and textile reinforcement, cracks were visible on both
materials and no slippage of the reinforcement was observed in the
specimens. Finally, strains on the top and bottom surfaces of concrete
in the longitudinal direction were observed with strain gauges.
Although chemical prestressing leads to improving the performance
of TRC facade elements and increasing their cracking moment, there
are some challenges and questions which currently remain unanswered.
Firstly, their long-term behaviour should be thoroughly investigated,
including their creep, stability of prestress and losses of the prestressing
force. Also, more research on the material level is necessary to confirm
the extent of reaction of the expansive agent in order to exclude the
possibility of the re-expansion in the case when water will be provided
from an external source (e.g. weather and humidity influences). Finally,
further optimization of the concrete mixture is needed to achieve
higher prestress levels. Nevertheless, despite these needs, the chemical
prestressing concept seems a promising method for better exploitation
of the characteristics of textile reinforced concrete.
CRediT authorship contribution statement
Katarzyna Zdanowicz: Conceptualization, Investigation, Writing –
original draft. Steffen Marx: Writing – review & editing, Supervision.
Declaration of competing interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing finan-
cial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to
influence the work reported in this paper.
8
Engineering Structures 256 (2022) 113946
Acknowledgements
Authors highly acknowledge funding by the Förderinitiative
‘‘Zukunft Bau’’ by Bundesamt für Bauwesen und Raumordnung (Sig-
nature: SWD-10.08.18.7-16.37).
References
[1] Kulas C, Schneider M, Will N, Grebe R. Hinterlüftete Vorhangfassaden
aus Textilbeton. Bautechnik 2011;88(5):271–80. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/bate.
201101462.
[2] Ehlig D, Schladitz F, Frenzel M, Curbach M. Textilbeton – Ausgeführte Projekte
im Überblick. Beton- Und Stahlbetonbau 2012;107(11):777–85. http://dx.doi.
org/10.1002/best.201200034.
[3] Laiblová L, Pešta J, Kumar A, Hájek P, Fiala C, Vlach T, et al. Environ-
mental impact of textile reinforced concrete facades compared to conventional
solutions–lca case study. Materials 2019;12(19):3194. http://dx.doi.org/10.
3390/ma12193194.
[4] Craeye B, Geirnaert M, Schutter GD. Super absorbing polymers as an internal
curing agent for mitigation of early-age cracking of high-performance concrete
bridge decks. Constr Build Mater 2011;25(1):1–13. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.
conbuildmat.2010.06.063.
[5] Kayondo M, Combrinck R, Boshoff WP. State-of-the-art review on plastic cracking
of concrete. Constr Build Mater 2019;225:886–99. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.
conbuildmat.2019.07.197.
[6] Mizobuchi T, Asamoto S. Present status and issues of control technology for
cracking of mass concrete in Japan. RILEM Tech Lett 2021;6:25–35. http://dx.
doi.org/10.21809/rilemtechlett.2021.137.
[7] Klein A, Karby T, Polivka M. Properties of an expansive cement for chemical
prestressing. J Am Concr Inst 1961;58(7):59–82. http://dx.doi.org/10.14359/
7974.
[8] Aroni S, Bertero V, Polivka M. Chemically prestressed concrete. PCI J
1968;13(5):22–35.
[9] Okamura H, Tsuji Y, Maruyama K. Application of expansive concrete in structural
elements. J Fac Eng 1977;34(3):481–507.
[10] Wyrzykowski M, Terrasi G, Lura P. Chemical prestressing of high-performance
concrete reinforced with CFRP tendons. Compos Struct 2020;112031:1–8. http:
//dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.compstruct.2020.112031.
[11] Zdanowicz K, Schmidt B, Hansen M, Marx S. Flexural and bond behaviour of
chemically prestressed concrete elements with textile reinforcement. Beton- Und
Stahlbetonbau 2020;115(12):972–9. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/best.202000039.
[12] Zdanowicz K. Chemical Prestressing of Thin Concrete Elements with Carbon
Textile Reinforcement. (Ph.D. thesis), Germany: Fraunhofer IRB Verlag; 2021,
http://dx.doi.org/10.15488/11015.
[13] EN206:2013. Concrete. Specification, performance, production and conformity.
2013, p. 108.
[14] EN12390-3. Testing hardened concrete. Compressive strength of test specimens.
2019, p. 24.
[15] EN12390-13. Testing hardened concrete. Determination of secant modulus of
elasticity in compression. 2013, p. 18.
[16] EN12390-5. Testing hardened concrete. Flexural strength of test specimens..
2019, p. 14.
[17] Solidian GmbH. Technical datasheet solidian GRID Q142/142-CCE-38. 2017, p.
2.
[18] Schmidt-Thrö G, Scheufler W, Fischer O. Kontinuierliche faseroptische
Dehnungsmessung im Stahlbetonbau. Beton- Und Stahlbetonbau
2016;111(8):496–504. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/best.201600026.
[19] Sieńko R, Zych M, Bednarski Ł, Howiacki T. Strain and crack analysis within
concrete members using distributed fibre optic sensors. Struct Health Monit 2018.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1475921718804466.
[20] Fischer O, Thoma S, Crepaz S. Quasikontinuierliche faseroptische Dehnungsmes-
sung zur Rissdetektion in Betonkonstruktionen. Beton- Und Stahlbetonbau
2019;114:1–10. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/best.201800089.
[21] Sakiyama FIH, Lehmann F, Garrecht H. Structural health monitoring of concrete
structures using fibre-optic-based sensors: a review. Mag Concr Res 2020;1–21.
[22] Saidi M, Gabor A. Experimental analysis of the tensile behaviour of textile
reinforced cementitious matrix composites using distributed fibre optic sensing
(DFOS) technology. Constr Build Mater 2020;230:117027. http://dx.doi.org/10.
1016/j.conbuildmat.2019.117027.
[23] Hartog AH. An introduction to distributed optical fibre sensors. CRC Press; 2017.
[24] Saidi M, Gabor A. Use of distributed optical fibre as a strain sensor in textile
reinforced cementitious matrix composites. Measurement 2019;140:323–33. http:
//dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.measurement.2019.03.047.
[25] Mata-Falcón J, Haefliger S, Lee M, Galkovski T, Gehri N. Combined application of
distributed fibre optical and digital image correlation measurements to structural
concrete experiments. Eng Struct 2020;225:111309. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/
j.engstruct.2020.111309.
K. Zdanowicz and S. Marx
[26] Davis MB, Hoult NA, Bajaj S, Bentz EC. Distributed sensing for shrinkage and
tension-stiffening measurement. ACI Struct J 2017;114(3):753–64. http://dx.doi.
org/10.14359/51689463.
[27] Barrias A, Casas JR, Villalba S. Embedded distributed optical fiber sensors
in reinforced concrete structures–a case study. Sensors 2018;18(4):980. http:
//dx.doi.org/10.3390/s18040980.
[28] Berrocal CG, Fernandez I, Bado MF, Casas JR, Rempling R. Assessment and
visualization of performance indicators of reinforced concrete beams by dis-
tributed optical fibre sensing. Struct Health Monit 2021. http://dx.doi.org/10.
1177/1475921720984431.
[29] Speck K, Vogdt F, Curbach M, Petryna Y, Marx S. Dehnungsmessung bei
mehraxialen Druckversuchen an Beton mittels faseroptischer Sensoren. Beton-
Und Stahlbetonbau 2021;1–10. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/best.202000095.
[30] Käseberg S, Holschemacher K, Thiele E. Fiber bragg grating sensor:
application in FRP for concrete structures. Restor Buil Monum: Int J
2010;16(4–5):401–9.
Engineering Structures 256 (2022) 113946
[31] Luyckx G, Voet E, Lammens N, Degrieck J. Strain measurements of composite
laminates with embedded fibre bragg gratings: criticism and opportunities for
research. Sensors 2011;11(1):384–408. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/s110100384.
[32] Kulpa M, Howiacki T, Wiater A, Siwowski T, Sieńko R. Strain and displacement
measurement based on distributed fibre optic sensing (DFOS) system integrated
with FRP composite sandwich panel. Measurement 2021;175:109099. http://dx.
doi.org/10.1016/j.measurement.2021.109099.
[33] Bado MF, Casas JR, Gómez J. Post-processing algorithms for distributed optical
fiber sensing in structural health monitoring applications. Struct Health Monit
2020;20(2):661–80. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1475921720921559.
[34] Beeby A. Cracking, cover and corrosion of reinforcement. Concr Int
1983;5:35–40.
[35] Fields K, Bischoff PH. Tension stiffening and cracking of high-strength reinforced
concrete tension members. ACI Struct J 2004;101(4):447–56.
[36] Kulas C. Zum Tragverhalten getränkter textiler Bewehrungselemente für Beton-
bauteile. (Ph.D. thesis), Aachen: Lehrstuhl und Institut f{ü}r Massivbau, RWTH
Aachen; 2013.