Tensile and in-plane shear behaviour of textile reinforced concrete: Analysis of a new multiscale reinforcement

• In tension, the TRC efficiency ratios are higher in stiffness than in strength.
• A new in-plane shear test was designed for the characterisation of TRCs.
• TRC with aramid fibres had a far better in-plane shear behaviour than with glass.
• A new type of multiscale reinforcement was tested in this study.
• The new multiscale reinforcement clearly improves the mechanical behaviour of TRC.

In-plane shear strain can significantly influence the behaviour of various TRC structures. Because there is no in-plane shear test for TRC characterisation, a new test has been proposed to broaden the spectrum of TRC applications. The results indicate that a TRC with para-aramid fibres has a far better ratio between shear and tensile strength compared to a TRC with alkali-resistant glass.Furthermore, a new type of reinforcement, coupled to conventional grids, was tested in this study. In terms of tensile and shear loading, this multiscale reinforcement clearly improves the mechanical behaviour of TRC at the microscopic, mesoscopic, and macroscopic scales.