Mechanical characterization of strain-hardening cement based composites (SHCC) under impact shear load

The paper presents a testing facility, which enables the characterization of the shear behavior of cementitious composites under quasi-static and impact shear load. The device was designed by means of an extensive numerical parameter study on device geometry, materials and wave propagation, as well as specimen configurations and boundary conditions. The new shear testing device was integrated into a gravity-driven Split-Hopkinson tension bar (SHTB) for shear impact experiments and in a hydraulic testing machine for quasi-static shear experiments on strainhardening cement-based composites (SHCC). The shear response of the SHCC specimens was derived from the force obtained on the transmitter bar in the SHTB accompanied by high-speed optical measurements, which also enabled an accurate analysis of the crack-opening displacements and fracture modes by means of Digital Image Correlation (DIC).