Numerical study of mortar reinforced with carbon fibers: a decoupled thermomechanical model to obtain the stress intensity factor

Abstract Background Mortar is a building material with low tensile strength e fracture resistance. One method for improving these characteristics is to include synthetic fibers, such as carbon fibers, into the matrix. Materials and methods A thermomechanical numerical model for mortar reinforced with carbon fibers was created based on an experiment in the literature, where it was calibrated and validated. From this, damage mechanics were analyzed using XFEM; the material's stress intensity factor at 20°C, 250°, and 350°C were analyzed using FEM. Results The results for the numerical model using XFEM agree with the experiment. Regarding the Stress intensity factor, the highest value found was for room temperature, and the lowest was for 250°C. Conclusion The numerical methods presented can be used in thermomechanical models in mortar reinforced with carbon fibers, and the intensity factor behaves non-linearly with temperature change.