Effect of Twisted and Coiled Polymer Actuator (TCPA) on Crack Dispersion Properties of HPFRCC

Abstract

To achieve high durability and excellent mechanical performances of cementitious materials, research on fiber-reinforced cementitious composites (FRCC) containing various fibers has been actively conducted. On the other hand, in robotics and other fields, research on artificial muscles using Twisted and Coiled Polymer Actuator (TCPA), which have similar functions to human muscle fibers, has attracted much attention. In this study, use of this TCPA as a reinforcing fiber in high performance FRCC (HPFRCC) was proposed. The employed TCPA has a structure of coiled nylon fibers with wrapping stainless-steel fibers. The effect of the TCPA and its shrinkage motion on the crack dispersion properties of HPFRCC was investigated. The experimental results showed that the strain-hardening with multiple cracks in HPFRCC continued up to more than 7% of the ultimate strain when the TCPA was electrically stimulated to shrinkage motion. This information indicates that the TCPA has high potential to further improve HPFRCC performance.

Keywords

• twisted and coiled polymer actuator (TCPA)
• artificial muscle
• high performance fiber-reinforced cementitious composites (HPFRCC)
• crack dispersion
• shrinkage
• temperature