Hoop Stress-Strain in Fiber-Reinforced Cementitious Composite Thin-Walled Cylindrical Shells

Construction of new structures, including concrete thin-walled shell structures, using high technology and economic efficiency has been become inevitable due to the advancement and development of concrete industry. Thin-walled shell structures are appropriate elements to construct large installation infrastructures such as oil and water reservoirs and silos. When cylindrical shells are under internal pressure, hoop or tangential stress and strain are generated in the walls, and evaluation of these elements is the purpose of the present research. In this study, hoop stress-strain of fiber-reinforced cementitious composite thin-walled cylindrical shells under uniform internal hydrostatic loading has been evaluated. For this purpose, 36 small models of thin-walled cylindrical shells containing 0, 5, and 10% silica fume (SF) and 0, 0.5, 1, 1.5, 2, and 2.5% glass fiber were made and tested after 28 days of wet-curing conditions. The compressive and flexural strengths of composite samples were tested to relate concrete strengths with the results of cylindrical shells. The results showed that the use of silica fume increased compressive and flexural strengths up to 27 and 32%, respectively. Also, the presence of fibers had no significant effect on the compressive strength, but increased the flexural strength up to 21%. In cylindrical shells, the addition of silica fume increased the hoop tensile strength up to 10% and decreased the hoop tensile strain to 28%. Furthermore, the addition of 2.5 and 0.5% glass fibers raised hoop ultimate strain 7.4 times and hoop tensile strength up to 37%, respectively.