Ultra High Performance Fiber Reinforced Concrete (UHPFRC) Package

Categories: Abaqus, Beam, Beam-column joint, Column, Concrete structure, Course, Finite Element, Structures, Ultra high performance concrete, Ultra high performance fiber reinforced concrete

Ultra-High-Performance Fiber-Reinforced Concrete (UHPFRC) Package

Peyman Karampour

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About Course

What is Ultra High Performance Fiber Reinforced Concrete?

Ultra High Performance Fiber Reinforced Concrete (UHPFRC) is an advanced cementitious composite material characterized by:

Very high compressive strength (>150 MPa).
Significant tensile strength and ductility are achieved with steel or synthetic fibers.
Dense microstructure with low permeability, leading to exceptional durability.
Superior energy absorption and toughness compared to conventional reinforced concrete.

Its unique properties make it suitable for bridges, high-rise buildings, nuclear facilities, and defense applications, where both strength and durability are critical.

This applicable package includes 14 tutorials that cover all about UHPFRC beam, column, beam-column joint, slab, composite beam, composite column, and … in many models like bending, flexure, blast, pull-out, compression, impact, and…This package will enable you to become a master in UHPFRC analysis and simulation.

Why Analysis and Simulation?

Unlike conventional concrete, UHPFRC shows complex nonlinear behavior due to fiber reinforcement and dense microstructure. Accurate analysis and simulation are essential to:

Predict structural performance (stiffness, strength, ductility, failure modes).
Optimize fiber type, orientation, and volume fraction.
Assess cracking, strain-hardening, and post-cracking response.
Support design codes and guidelines, which are still evolving for UHPFRC.

Main Aspects of UHPFRC Analysis

Material Modeling
- Constitutive laws:
  - Stress-strain relationships in tension and compression.
  - Strain-hardening/softening behavior.
- Fiber effects: Bridging stress, crack control, and orientation distribution.
- Rate-dependent effects: Dynamic loading and impact resistance.
Structural Modeling
- Finite Element Analysis (FEA) for beams, slabs, and shells.
- Multi-scale modeling: Linking fiber-level behavior to macro-scale response.
- Fracture mechanics: Modeling crack initiation and propagation.
Durability and Service Life
- Chloride penetration, freeze-thaw cycles, and carbonation.
- Long-term creep and shrinkage simulations.

Simulation Approaches

Analytical Models
- Simplified stress-strain laws (e.g., bilinear, trilinear).
- Crack-bridging models (fiber pullout).
Numerical Models
- Finite Element Models (FEM): Nonlinear solid elements, cohesive zone models.
- Discrete Element Models (DEM): Capturing crack patterns explicitly.
- Lattice/Peridynamic Models: Suitable for fracture simulation.
Multi-Scale Simulation
- Microscale: Fiber pullout tests, ITZ (interfacial transition zone) behavior.
- Mesoscale: Crack network and fiber orientation effects.
- Macroscale: Structural element analysis (beams, columns, slabs).
Software Tools
- Commercial FEA: ABAQUS, ANSYS, LS-DYNA.
- Specialized research codes: ATENA (for concrete), OpenSees.
- Custom implementations in MATLAB/Python for constitutive modeling.

Challenges in UHPFRC Simulation

Capturing fiber distribution and orientation realistically.
Representing strain-hardening and tension-softening accurately.
Computational cost of multi-scale fracture models.
Lack of unified design standards requiring calibration with experiments.

In summary:
UHPFRC analysis and simulation aim to capture its superior strength, ductility, and durability through advanced material modeling, structural simulations, and multi-scale approaches. Finite element and fracture mechanics-based simulations are most common, but an accurate representation of fiber behavior remains a key research focus.

Course Content

Example-1: Dynamic compression test of an RC column with UHPFRC core
In this lesson, the dynamic compression test of an RC column with UHPFRC core is studied. The concrete column is modeled as a three-dimensional solid part. The steel bar and strip are modeled as three-dimensional wire. The Ultra-High-Performance-Fiber-Reinforced Concrete is modeled as a three-dimensional solid part. Ultra-high performance fiber-reinforced concrete (UHPFRC) is a cementitious material produced with Portland cement, pozzolans, small-sized aggregates, inert fillers, superplasticizer, and surface-treated steel fibers. The outstanding properties of high compressive strength, low permeability of the hardened composite, and high residual tensile strength compared to normal strength concrete (NSC) and steel fiber-reinforced concrete (SFRC) make this material a promising solution to improve the punching capacity, durability, and deformation capacity of reinforced concrete (RC) columns. The concrete damaged plasticity model in Abaqus is a continuum, plasticity-based, damage model for concrete. It assumes that the two main failure mechanisms are tensile cracking and compressive crushing of the concrete material. The model assumes that the uniaxial tensile and compressive response of concrete is characterized by damaged plasticity. The dynamic and static steps can be used in this analysis. The ideal contact is assumed between the UHPFRC core and the RC column. The steel reinforcements are embedded inside the RC column.

Abaqus Files
Document
Tutorial Video-1
00:00
Tutorial Video-2
00:00

Example-2: Dynamic bending test of SCS sandwich beams with UHPFRC
In this section, the dynamic bending test of SCS sandwich beams with UHPFRC is investigated. The upper and bottom steel plates with studs are modeled as a three-dimensional solid part. The middle UHPFRC is modeled as a three-dimensional solid part. Steel-concrete-steel sandwich composite structures with two exterior layers of steel faceplates and one middle layer of sandwiched concrete have been developed, which was originally proposed for the Conwy immersed tunnel. In SCSSCs, the overlapping headed studs were welded on the steel faceplate, and the other side was embedded in concrete, which provided bonding measures at the faceplate-concrete interface. The SCSSCs combine the advantages of steel tension of the faceplate and concrete compression. Extensive advantages perceived from SCSSCSs comprise savings on formwork for casting, improved construction efficiency, savings of labour force, impermeable surface skin, and excellent structural performances subjected to different loadings (e.g., static, impact, and blast loads). The elastic-plastic material model with ductile damage criterion is selected to model the steel members' behavior under the bending load. The Concrete Damaged Plasticity is considered for the UHPFRC. The dynamic explicit step and general static can be used, but in the second method, plenty of times are needed, so the explicit method is faster, and the mass scale technique can help us to make a model like a static model. The perfect contact algorithm is used to define the contact among all parts

Exmple-3: Bending test analysis of the UHPFRC beam with the initial void reinforced with the CFRP rod and Epoxy
In this case, the bending test analysis of the UHPFRC beam with the initial void reinforced with the CFRP rod and Epoxy is presented. The concrete beam, CFRP rod, and epoxy glue are modeled as three-dimensional solid parts. Two rigid bodies as hydraulic jacks, are also modeled. Ultra High Performance Concrete (UHPC) is a cementitious composite characterized by a significant amount of cement, small aggregate size, binder, and a low water/cement ratio. This mix design creates a dense and interconnected microstructure with high homogeneity, a capillary porosity lower than two percent, and a compressive strength higher than one hundred fifty MPa. These characteristics result in a concrete with better performance, higher durability, and increased bearing capacity and toughness compared to normal and high-strength concretes. The incorporation of fibers significantly improves the tensile capacity, leading to a high deformability with a pseudo-plastic phase (multi-cracking) and an increase in the tensile capacity before crack localization and strength depletion. As a result, the UHPFRC can be classified as a new cementitious material. Its mechanical behavior should be adequately characterized to fully take advantage of its unique properties in structural design, making possible the construction of lighter, more durable, efficient, and innovative structural elements. To model the UHPFRC beam, the Concrete Damaged Plasticity model is selected. The model is a continuum, plasticity-based, damage model for concrete. It assumes that the two main failure mechanisms are tensile cracking and compressive crushing of the concrete material. To model CFRP, elastic data as engineering constants is considered. The traction with the damage model is selected for the epoxy glue as a cohesive material. The dynamic explicit step with a specific time and a mass scale to reduce the inertia effect is used. The perfect contact is considered between concrete and epoxy, epoxy and CFRP rod.

Example-4: Air blast analysis of a composite beam(UHPFRC- Steel beam with Shear stud)
In this lesson, the air blast analysis of a composite beam(UHPFRC- Steel beam with Shear stud) is studied. The Ultra-High-Performance-Fiber-Reinforced Concrete is modeled as a three-dimensional solid part. The stud is modeled as a three-dimensional solid part. The steel beam is modeled as a three-dimensional shell part. The Ultra High-Performance Fiber Reinforced Concrete (UHPFRC) contributes to improving durability, service life, and performance of the structure. During the last decades, the three major developments in cementitious composites were the significant increase in compressive strength, ductility improvement, and workability enhancement. These achievements were the result of a granular packing optimization, the development of Fiber Reinforced Concrete (FRC), and a better understanding of the material rheology. In the latter case, the improvements in the models to describe concrete flow (Bingham fluid flow and stress growth method) lead to the development of Self-Compacting Concrete (SCC) and later to UHPC and UHPFRC. The Concrete Damaged Plasticity is used to model a UHPFRC beam under blast load. The Johnson-Cook hardening and damage model is selected to model steel stud and beam behavior under severe blast load. The dynamic explicit step is appropriate for this type of analysis. The general contact capability with the contact property is selected. To define contacts between studs and UHPFRC, surface-to-surface contact or embedded constraint can be used. The CONWEP blast load procedure is selected to define the explosive load.

Example-5: Four-point bending modeling of the UHPFRC beam
In this section, the four-point bending modeling of the UHPFRC beam is investigated. The UHPFRC beam is modeled as a three-dimensional solid part. Steel bars and strips are modeled as a three-dimensional wire part. Two rigid bodies are used as a hydraulic jack to apply the displacement on the top surface of the beam. Ultra-high performance fibre reinforced concrete (UHPFRC) is an advanced cement composite material, which is characterised by high strength, ductility, durability, and fracture toughness. UHPFRC is generally characterized as a reactive powder concrete with compressive strength exceeding 150 MPa containing sufficient fiber content to achieve strain hardening under tension. Since its conception, various proprietary UHPC mixes have been developed such as: SIFCON, Ductal, CARDIFRC and CEMTEC; however due to the cost and specialist curing requirements of these materials use in practice has been limited to several landmark structures. In an attempt to further expand the usage of UHPC by simplifying manufacture techniques and reduce costs. The CDP material model is used to define the compression and tensile behavior of the UHPFRC beam. The elastic-plastic material model is used to define steel bars and strips. The general static step with some changes in the convergence model to avoid early not convergence is selected. The contact between rigid bodies and a beam can be the ideal or surface-to-surface contact. The strips and bars are embedded inside the concrete host.

Example-6: Behavior of the Beam-Column Joints Strengthened With UHPFRC under axial load
In this case, the behavior of the Beam-Column Joints Strengthened With UHPFRC under axial load is modeled. The beam-column joint is modeled as a three-dimensional solid part. The UHPFRC parts are modeled as three-dimensional solids as reinforcement. The strips and bars are modeled as three-dimensional wire parts. The concrete material with the CDP material model is used to model the concrete beam-column joint under axial loading. The model is a continuum, plasticity-based, damage model for concrete. It assumes that the two main failure mechanisms are tensile cracking and compressive crushing of the concrete material. The steel material with elastic-plastic data is used to model strips and bars. The CDP model is also used to model UHPFRC during the analysis. The UHPFRC can be used at the joint areas to increase beam-column joint ductility and can improve the tensile stress capacity. The general static step with some changes in the convergence model to avoid early non-convergence. The ideal or perfect contact is used to model contact between the UHPFRC reinforcement and the beam-column joint. The embedded region is considered for the steel members inside the concrete host.

Example-7: Pull-out test analysis of a ribbed steel bar from the UHPFRC
In this lesson, the pull-out test analysis of a ribbed steel bar from the UHPFRC is studied. The steel bar is a three-dimensional model with full details. The UHPFRC part is modeled as a three-dimensional solid part. Fiber-reinforced concrete is generally used to increase the dynamic behavior of concrete structures exposed to earthquakes, blasts, and impacts in military, passive defense, and retrofit projects. In addition to improving the toughness and ductility of concrete, fibers also improve its flexural and tensile strength, as well as its resistance to impact and dynamic loads. This reduces concrete fragmentation and crack propagation. The use of this kind of concrete has developed recently, and the analysis of its performance from various perspectives has received much attention. Since fiber-reinforced concrete is a composite material, its mechanical properties depend on the characteristics of the fibers (volume fraction, stiffness, geometrical properties, aspect ratio, and parameters of fiber bonding), concrete characteristics (compressive strength and type of materials), and other concrete additives, such as nanoparticles or pozzolanic materials. To model UHPFRC, the Concrete Damaged Plasticity material behavior with strain damage option is considered. The elastic-plastic material data is used for the ribbed steel bar. The dynamic explicit step with general contact capability is considered.

Example-8: Cyclic loading analysis of a UHPFRC column
In this section, the cyclic loading analysis of a UHPFRC column is investigated. The UHPFRC column is modeled as a three-dimensional solid part. Ultra-high performance fiber reinforced concrete (UHPFRC) is a special type of concrete produced with Portland cement, reactive admixtures, small size aggregates, inert admixtures, super plasticizes and surface treated steel fibers. The grading optimization of the mixture constituents provides a high packing density to the hardened composite, and consequently, ultra-high strength, ductility, and durability can be obtained. Cement-based matrices with high strength present sudden failure after the first crack. The addition of fibers delays the fast interconnection between early age microcracks and activates toughening mechanisms between fiber and matrix. Due to these effects, UHPFRC presents a pseudo-strain hardening behavior after cracking initiation. Then, strain localization occurs at peak load, and the bearing capacity of the composite decreases until rupture. The inelastic phenomena associated with the entire process, as matrix cracking, fiber debonding, and slip, provide a notable ductility and capacity of energy absorption to the cement-based material. The Concrete Damaged Plasticity model is used to model UHPFRC material under cyclic loading. The data can be extracted from the reference papers. The general static step with some changes in the convergence model is selected. To achieve the Hysteresis diagram, displacement, and reaction force are required.

Example-9: Modeling of the rigid impact on the UHPFRC slab
In this case, the modeling of the rigid impact on the UHPFRC slab is presented. UHP-FRC is a new class of concrete that has been developed to give a significantly higher material performance in comparison to its concrete counterparts. UHP-FRC exhibits superior mechanical characteristics, including a compressive strength of greater than 150 MPa, high elastic modulus, high elastic limit, a tensile strength in the range of 8–۱۵ MPa, strain hardening in tension, fracture energy of several orders of magnitude of traditional concrete, and high post-cracking capacity. The ultra-high compressive strength of UHP-FRC is achieved by using the optimum combination of very fine aggregates that ensures homogeneity and dense packing. The UHPFRC slab is modeled as a three-dimensional solid part. The bars are modeled as three-dimensional wire parts. The rigid projectile is modeled as a shell part. The Concrete Damaged Plasticity is used to model the UHPFRC slab under the impact load. The CDP model can predict tension and compression damage during the impact. The data were extracted from the reference paper. The steel material with elastic-plastic behavior is selected for the bars. The dynamic explicit step is appropriate for this type of analysis. The general contact algorithm with the contact property is implied to consider all contacts.

Example 10: Axial compression test of the Ultra High Performance Fiber Reinforced Concrete Column
In this lesson, the axial compression test of the Ultra High Performance Fiber Reinforced Concrete Column is studied. The UHPFRC column is modeled as a three-dimensional solid part with a circular form. The bars or beams embedded inside the concrete column are modeled as three-dimensional wire parts. Two rigid bodies are used as a supporter and a force body. Extensive research and development efforts over the past three decades to improve the properties of concrete have led to the emergence of ultra-high performance concrete(UHPC). UHPC possesses very high compressive strength, good tensile strength, enhanced toughness, and durability properties. However, one of the main drawbacks of UHPC is its brittleness. To overcome the brittleness of UHPC, fibers are often added to UHPC, and this type of concrete is referred to as an ultra-high-performance fiber-reinforced concrete(UHPFRC). The addition of fibers to UHPC can significantly improve its ductility, fracture toughness, and energy absorption capacity. A damage-based concrete plasticity model, available in ABAQUS, is utilized to capture the nonlinear material behavior of UHPFRC. The Concrete Damage Plasticity model(CDP)is based on the theory of plastic flow. The CDP plasticity model is used for the UHPFRC column, and the material data for it is extracted from the reference paper. The steel material with elastic-plastic behavior is used for the part of the beam. The general static step is used to model static compression. The general contact algorithm with contact property is used for all contact domains. The beams are embedded inside the concrete host.

Example-11: Four-point bending analysis of the UHPFRC beam
In this case, the four-point bending analysis of the UHPFRC beam is presented. Extensive research and development efforts over the past three decades to improve the properties of concrete have led to the emergence of ultra-high-performance concrete(UHPC). UHPC possesses very high compressive strength, good tensile strength, enhanced toughness, and durability properties. However, one of the main drawbacks of UHPC is its brittleness. To overcome the brittleness of UHPC, fibers are often added to UHPC, and this type of concrete is referred to as ultra-high performance fiber reinforced concrete(UHPFRC). The addition of fibers to UHPC can significantly improve its ductility, fracture toughness, and energy absorption capacity. The concrete beam is modeled as a three-dimensional solid part. The steel material with elastic-plastic material is used for the bar, and the Concrete Damaged Plasticity model is used for the concrete beam to define the compression and tensile behavior of the ultra-high-performance-fiber reinforced concrete. All the data are extracted from the reference paper. The general static step with some changes in the convergence model is used to calculate the failure from the force-displacement diagram. The surface-to-surface contact algorithm between rigid bodies and the concrete beam is implied. The bar is embedded inside the concrete beam host.

Example-12: Shear-bending failure simulation of cracked concrete ribbed slabs strengthened with UHPFRC
In this section, the shear-bending failure simulation of cracked concrete ribbed slabs strengthened with UHPFRC in abaqus software is investigated. The slab has three sections: untracked concrete, cracked concrete, and UHPFRC. All three parts are modeled as three-dimensional solid parts. The steel reinforcements are modeled as wire parts. The preservation of historical buildings, or landmark structures, usually requires interventions to comply with the character of the building, but additionally to satisfy the demands of future use. Structural safety demands might call for strengthening measures or, in some cases, even partial replacement. However, further to structural requirements, rehabilitation may also be necessary for cases of a switch in the building use, expectations of increased loadings, or expansions. After thoroughly evaluating candidate solutions, it was decided to employ Ultra High Performance Fiber Reinforced Composite material (UHPFRC) atop the slabs to increase the strength capacity of the sections. The use of UHPFRC for structural rehabilitation has been increasingly expanding in the past decades. To model cracked concrete, untracked concrete, and UHPFRC, the Concrete Damaged Plasticity is selected. Both dynamic and static steps are used to model the flexural behavior of the slab.

Example-13: Dynamic bending test of a steel-UHPFRC composite beam with multiple encased steel profiles
In this lesson, the dynamic bending test of a steel-UHPFRC composite beam with multiple encased steel profiles is studied. The beam(column) part is modeled as a three-dimensional solid part; the two steel beam parts are modeled as three-dimensional solid parts. A high urbanisation of the main cities in the world enforced the vertical growth of buildings. The number of high-rise buildings, as well as their height, has greatly increased in the last decades. The composite beam and column, because of their specifications, can be used in high-rise buildings. To model Ultra-High-Performance-Fiber-Reinforced-Concrete beam or column behaviour, the Concrete Damaged Plasticity is selected. Concrete damage plasticity material model represents a constitutive model which is based on a combination of theory of plasticity and the theory of damage mechanics. This material model is often used in solving geotechnical problems due to its realistic description of the mechanical behavior of concrete material. To model steel beam behaviour, the elastic-plastic model with ductile damage criterion is considered. This model can be solved with static and dynamic solvers, so in this tutorial, the dynamic explicit step with a mass scale type time to reduce the inertia effect is used. The perfect contact is assumed between the UHPFRC beam and rigid bodies. The tie and cohesive interaction can both be used for the contact between the concrete and steel beam.

Example-14: Five-point bending of a composite concrete beam(NSC+UHPFRC)
In this model, the five-point bending of a composite concrete beam(NSC+UHPFRC) is done through a comprehensive tutorial. The normal-strength concrete beam as a cover is modeled as a three-dimensional solid part. The Ultra-High-Performance-Fiber-Reinforced-Concrete core is modeled as a three-dimensional solid part. The steel bars and strips are modeled as a three-dimensional wire part. Ultra-high performance fiber-reinforced concrete (UHPFRC) is a cementitious material produced with Portland cement, pozzolans, small-size aggregates, inert fillers, superplasticizer, and surface-treated steel fibers. Although UHPFRC is more costly than NSC, its improved structural properties usually decrease the material consumption, reinforcement ratios, and maintenance costs, and increase the service life. Concrete damage plasticity material model represents a constitutive model which is based on a combination of theory of plasticity and the theory of damage mechanics. This material model is often used in solving geotechnical problems due to its realistic description of the mechanical behavior of concrete material. The data of the CDP mode is extracted from the reference paper. This model considers the tension and compression damage for both concrete types. The steel material with elastic elastic-plastic model is considered for the steel reinforcements. To model the solving procedure, both static and dynamic approaches can be selected. In this tutorial, the dynamic explicit step to reduce the time of the simulation is used.

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Ultra High Performance Fiber Reinforced Concrete (UHPFRC) Package

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What You Will Learn?

About Course

What is Ultra High Performance Fiber Reinforced Concrete?

Why Analysis and Simulation?

Main Aspects of UHPFRC Analysis

Simulation Approaches

Challenges in UHPFRC Simulation

Course Content

Abaqus Files

Document

Tutorial Video-1

Tutorial Video-2

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Documnent

Tutorial Video

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