Making a system were shells could be constructed using smaller modules is a promising topic. The formwork of a small module needs less material and becomes even better when it’s reusable. But there are still questions about modular shells, numerical models have been made and calculated using finite element methods. Concrete modules on small scale have been produced and tested as well. But making a modular shell with these modules and testing it in the lab has not been done yet (Eisenbach 2017). There is still an urge to research the effect of using locally or discretely placed connections between the elements of a modular shell on its structural behaviour. Questions remain on how the forces and moments will be distributed and how the structure would deform under certain loads. Concerning discretely placed connections, few information is available about the strength of connections in textile reinforced concrete. TRC elements being thin, a connection point certainly would be a weak spot in the structure. Therefore, it’s essential to know the capacity of different types of connections under different kinds of loads. This thesis is divided in two large parts concerning this modular TRC shell research: a numerical part and a practical part in the lab. First of all, numerical models have been made using the finite elements software Abaqus. In Abaqus, the internal forces and moments of different typologies of modular shells have been calculated under self-weight conditions. Alongside the calculations in Abaqus, TRC samples were cast with two different types of connections. The goal of these casting sessions was to test the strength of the connections when loaded under pull-out tension and compression. The failure behaviour of all the tested connections has been measured as well. At the end, a preliminary calculation (only self-weight) has been performed on different kinds of modular shell structures. Alongside these calculation, the strength and failure behaviour of different types of connections in TRC have been tested. This way, a better idea of what’s possible with TRC and connections could be made. But first, the research methodology and a small state of the art about research on TRC have been made. Then, the numerical part will be explained and finally the part about the tests will be handled.
Modularity in Textile Reinforced Concrete (TRC) Shells: A numerical and experimental study on connection typologies in modular shells
Van Overstraeten, K. ((PhD) Student), De Coster, A. (Advisor), De Laet, L. (Co-promotor), Tysmans, T. (Promotor). 2022
Student thesis: Master's Thesis