As advancements in the construction industry demand fresh applications of thin-walled structures, Textile Reinforced Concrete (TRC) holds significant potential in the field and is yet to be explored thoroughly. The present experimental research investigates the effect of the position of the textile layer across the cross-section of TRC, which is a significant aspect while field casting of TRC products. The investigation is carried out for two different volume fractions initially, with two layers of textile placed in three distinct textile layer positions by performing 4-Point Bending (4PB) tests. The three types are, providing two layers at the bottom tension zone (2B), providing two layers at the center of the cross-section (2M), and providing one layer at the top compression zone and one at the bottom tension zone (1T1B). The study also attempts to arrive at a standardized analytical method to calculate the flexural capacity of cross-sections with different textile layer positions. From the experiment and analytical results, it was evident that the 2B type arrangement yielded approximately around 20% more capacity than 2M and around 50% more than 1T1B arrangements.
This study also explores the pattern in the flexural capacity of the TRC section with the above three-layer positions, varying different volume fractions. The relationship between the volume fraction and flexural capacity and the influence of both volume fraction and textile position in cross-section on the flexural capacity is also explored. It is observed that the percentage difference in flexural capacity between 1T1B and 2B is relatively uniform for all volume fractions considered whereas the difference between 2M and 2B decreases till a volume fraction of 0.85% after which the difference staggers around an average value of 28.8%. The study establishes an advantageous layer positioning system across the cross-section, thereby increasing the capacity of the cross-section. Consequently, besides optimizing the utilization of the cross-section, this approach can directly lead to the most economical thickness for all applications involving the flexural strength of TRC.