Tensile Behaviors of Textile Grid–Reinforced One-Part Engineered Geopolymer Composites

Abstract

This study developed and characterized textile grid–reinforced one-part engineered geopolymer composites (TR-OPEGCs) via experimental tests (including flow table, compression, direct tension, and textile-reinforced tensile tests) and numerical approaches, focusing on the influence of textile type [normal steel (S), tight-weaved steel (TS), and carbon (C) fabrics] and mix proportion. OPEGC, an environmentally friendly fiber-reinforced geopolymer composite, demonstrates ultrahigh tensile ductility. This research developed an ambient-cured OPEGC containing local polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) fiber, and evaluated its mechanical properties. Direct tensile tests of TR-OPEGC specimens showed that specimens with TS fabric reinforcement had load capacity increased by 36.7%, demonstrating superior comparability with the geopolymer matrix. The influences of water-to-binder ( w / b ) ratio, sand-to-binder ( s / b ) ratio, and three textile types (S, TS, C fabrics) on TR-OPEGC tensile behaviors are discussed. The results indicate that w / b = 0.25 and s / b = 0.35 yield optimal performance, attaining a compressive strength of 83.1 MPa and a tensile ductility of 5.8%. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed critical microstructural insights, including fiber dispersion and matrix density, which were directly correlated with the tensile performance and failure modes. These ratios also enhance the tensile strength of TR-OPEGC. A finite-element (FE) model for TR-OPEGC tensile behaviors was developed and validated against experimental data. Given the underestimation by current methods, a new calculation method is proposed to better predict TR-OPEGC’s tensile load–carrying capacity, although further experiments and numerical analyses are needed for validation.