Strain-Hardening Cementitious Composites (SHCC) exhibit multiple-cracking behavior under tension. Theoretically speaking, the distribution of matrix inherent flaws results in variation in cracking strength of SHCC, and the cracking strength decreases accordingly with increasing flaw size. Therefore, for a SHCC specimen…
Strain-Hardening Cementitious Composites (SHCC) exhibit multiple-cracking behavior under tension. Theoretically speaking, the distribution of matrix inherent flaws results in variation in cracking strength of SHCC, and the cracking strength decreases accordingly with increasing flaw size. Therefore, for a SHCC specimen under tension, it should show metal-like behavior with a characteristic “yield point” at the end of the elastic stage when the first crack (correlated to the largest flaw perpendicular to the loading direction) appears, and then multiple cracks will form under increasing stress at un-cracked sections with sequentially decreasing flaw sizes. This tensile multiple- cracking process ends once the cracking strength for further cracking in the remaining sections is higher than the fiber-bridging capacity of the weakest section. However, it has been widely observed during tension tests that the nominal cracking strength can be lower for later cracks than earlier ones, which is not consistent with the design theory of SHCC. This paper attempts to explain the aforementioned phenomenon with the consideration of non-uniform stress distribution resulting from inclined cracking. Additionally, a new “90% peak stress” criterion considering this phenomenon for the determination of ultimate tensile strain in SHCC is proposed. The findings in this study offer a new insight in tensile performance of SHCC.