Experimental and theoretical investigation of the shear resistance of steel fibre reinforced prestressed concrete X-beams—Part II: Theoretical analysis and comparison with experiments

This is the second part of two papers on the experimental (Part I) and theoretical (Part II) resistance of steel fibre reinforced precast concrete beams. High strength steel wire, and thin amorphous metal fibres have been introduced into prestressed concrete X beams in order to study their behaviour under shear loads. Experimental tests have determined shear strengths at the ultimate and cracking loads, and shown increased ductility with up to 2% fibre content. From these tests two different methods are proposed for predicting the ultimate shear capacity—these are the fibre supplement additive method, and the modified FRC principal tensile stress method. The principal tensile strength of the fibre reinforced concrete is given as a function of compressive strength and fibre volume. The means value of the ratio of the calculated to the test strength is 0.89 without partial safety factors, and, being conservative, is proposed for use in design. A calculation model is presented.

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Résumé Cette partie est la deuxième de deux articles sur les expériences (part I) et la théorie (partie II) sur la résistance des poutres en béton préfabriqué renforcé de fibres d'acier. Des aciers à haute adhérence et de minces fibres métalliques amorphes ont été introduits dans des poutres X en béton précontraint pour étudier leur comportement sous l'action des efforts tranchants. Des essais expérimentaux ont déterminé la résistance ultime au cisaillement et les charges de fissuration, et ont montré une hausse de la ductilité avec un volume allant jusqu'à 2% de fibres. Sur la base de ces essais, deux méthodes différentes sont proposées pour la prédiction de la résistance ultime au cisaillement—la méthode des fibres supplémentaires additionnelles et la méthode de la contrainte de tension principale du béton de fibres d'acier. La résistance principale en tension du béton renforcé de fibres est donnée comme fonction de la résistance à la compression et du volume de fibres. La valeur moyenne du rapport entre la résistance calculée et celle donnée par les essais est de 0,89 sans facteur de majoration, et, étant conservatrice, elle est proposée comme méthode de calcul. Le modèle de calcul est présenté.

     

Mechanical properties of high strength concrete reinforced with metallic and non-metallic fibres

This paper focuses on the experimental investigation carried out on high strength concrete reinforced with hybrid fibres (combination of hooked steel and a non-metallic fibre) up to a volume fraction of 0.5%. The mechanical properties, namely, compressive strength, split tensile strength, flexural strength and flexural toughness were studied for concrete prepared using different hybrid fibre combinations – steel–polypropylene, steel–polyester and steel–glass. The flexural properties were studied using four point bending tests on beam specimens as per Japanese Concrete Institute (JCI) recommendations. Fibre addition was seen to enhance the pre-peak as well as post-peak region of the load–deflection curve, causing an increase in flexural strength and toughness, respectively. Addition of steel fibres generally contributed towards the energy absorbing mechanism (bridging action) whereas, the non-metallic fibres resulted in delaying the formation of micro-cracks. Compared to other hybrid fibre reinforced concretes, the flexural toughness of steel–polypropylene hybrid fibre concretes was comparable to steel fibre concrete. Increased fibre availability in the hybrid fibre systems (due to the lower densities of non-metallic fibres), in addition to the ability of non-metallic fibres to bridge smaller micro cracks, are suggested as the reasons for the enhancement in mechanical properties.     

Are steel fibres able to mitigate or eliminate size effect in shear?

This paper reports some recent results of an experimental campaign on fibre reinforced concrete (FRC) beams under shear loading tested at the University of Brescia: nine full scale beams, having a height varying from 500 to 1,500 mm, were tested for investigating the effect of steel fibres on key-parameters influencing the shear response of concrete members, with special emphasis on size effect. All tested members contained no conventional shear reinforcement and different amounts of steel fibres: 0, 0.64 or 1 % by volume. Results show that a relatively low volume fraction of fibres can significantly increase bearing capacity and ductility. The latter determines visible deflection and prior warning of impending collapse, which is not possible in plain concrete beams (without transverse reinforcement). The size effect issue is substantially limited. Results were compared against the shear formulation incorporated in the final draft of fib Model Code, which can be considered a valuable analytical model for FRC beams under shear loading, even in the case of the three deepest elements herein tested.     

Dynamic tensile behaviour of fibre reinforced concrete with spiral fibres

This paper performs drop-weight splitting tests to study the dynamic tensile properties of fibre reinforced concrete (FRC) materials with different steel fibres. A renovated splitting tensile testing method was developed to ensure a more qualified experimental process. The splitting tensile impact tests were conducted with an instrumented drop-weight impact system consisting of a hard steel drop weight, a fast-response load cell, a high-speed video camera and a high-frequency data acquisition system. The quasi-static compressive and splitting tests were also conducted to obtain the static properties of the FRC materials. The commonly used hooked-end steel fibre and a new spiral shaped steel fibre were tested in this study. The high-speed video camera was used to capture the detailed failure process, deformation and cracking process of the tested specimens. Average strain rates and the cracking extension displacement and velocity under impact loading were estimated by analysing the recorded high-speed images. The strains were also measured by the strain gages on the specimen surface. The dynamic stress–strain and stress–COD (cracking opening displacement) relations, the rate sensitivity of tensile strength and the corresponding energy absorption capacity of plain concrete and FRC with different fibres were obtained, compared and discussed. The advantage and effectiveness of the new spiral fibre in increasing the performance of FRC under dynamic tensile loading were examined. The results show that FRC with spiral fibres outperforms that with hooked-end fibres, and is a promising construction material in resisting dynamic loadings.     

Tensile behaviour of FRC under high strain-rate

This paper presents experimental results on two types of concrete reinforced with steel and polyvinyl-alcohol (PVA) fibres subjected to dynamic tensile loading. The tests were carried out by using a Modified Hopkinson Bar apparatus on fibre reinforced concrete notched-specimens under three different strain-rates (50, 100, and 200 s⁻¹). From the experiments it was found that there is a significant enhancement in tensile strength with increasing strain-rates. The dynamic tests on steel FRC with the smaller loading rate (50 s⁻¹) showed a strength similar to the one measured from static tests; however, for increasing loading rates, a remarkable decrease of post-peak strength and ductility occurs. In specimens with PVA fibres, an enhancement of the tensile strength was also observed and a significant reduction of fracture energy and ultimate deformation occurred. Some experimental aspects are also discussed as the specimen shape, its dimension, the loading rate as well as the different post-peak behaviour from static and dynamic tests.     

Experimental study on the plastic rotation capacity of reinforced high strength concrete beams

This paper describes an experimental study on the plastic rotation capacity of reinforced high strength concrete beams. Thirty-six beams with various compressive strengths of concrete, tensile reinforcement ratios, compressive reinforcement ratios, and patterns of loading (1 point loading and 2-point loading) were tested to evaluate the plastic rotation capacity, extreme fiber concrete compressive strain and equivalent plastic hinge length, etc. The same quantities were also obtained from numerical analysis and compared with experimental data. According to the results, the yield curvatures obtained from experiments turned out to be quite close to those obtained from theoretical approach. However, the experimental results for ultimate curvatures were significantly larger than those of theoretical prediction based on the assumption of ε_cu=0.003. Based on these observations, a new formula for ultimate strain is proposed for high strength concrete beams. Also the test results for plastic rotation capacity were found to be closer to those obtained using moment-curvature relationship considering tension stiffening of concrete and shear effect than those obtained using equivalent plastic hinge length. This substantiates that for accurate evaluation of plastic rotation capacity the consideration of tension stiffening of concrete and shear effect is most important.     

An experimental study of synthetic fibre reinforced cementitious composites

Fibre reinforcement is one of the effective ways of improving the properties of concrete. However, current studios on fibre -reinforced concrete (FRC) have focused mainly on reinforcements with steel and glass fibres. Thin paper reports on an experimental programme on the properties of various synthetic fibre reinforced cementitious composites and the properties of the reinforcing fibres. Acrylic, polyester, and aramid fibres were tested in uniaxial tension, both in their original state as we!! as after ageing in nerO*nL Samples of these fibres were found to lose varying amounts of strength with time, depending on the ageing temperature. Two different test methods were used to measure the fibre-cement interfacial bond strength. The tensile properties of concrete reinforced with acrylic, nylon, and aramid fibres, in the form of random distribution or unioxial alignment, were studied by means of three different tests: compact tension, flexural, and splitting tensile tests. The properties of concrete, particularly that of apparent ductility, were found to be greatly improved by the inclusion of such fibre reinforcement.     

Influence of manufacturing parameters on the tensile strengths of hollow and solid glass fibres

Composites reinforced with hollow glass fibres (HGF) have been shown to display improved performance in flexural and compressive loading over materials reinforced with solid fibres. A major drawback associated with hollow fibre composites is reduced reinforcement cross-section for a given fibre volume fraction. It is suggested that the use of optimised manufacturing parameters may allow fibre strengths to be increased, offsetting the inherent strength reduction predicted for hollow fibre composites compared to solid fibre composites. Tensile tests have been performed on batches of hollow and solid fibres with a variety of geometry's to investigate the effects of fibre hollow fraction and manufacturing parameters on fibre strength. Hollow and solid glass fibres drawn under a variety of conditions display tensile strengths which reflect their manufacturing history. A mechanism is proposed whereby differential strains may be locked into the fibre during manufacture. This mechanism may provide an explanation for the strength variations observed. Average tensile strengths for solid and hollow glass fibres appear to increase according to the degree of residual strain differential. The principal manufacturing parameters influencing residual strain differential are draw rate and temperature. Further investigation is suggested into methods for determining heat transport mechanisms within the fibre neck-down zone.     

The compression strength of composites with kinked,misaligned and poorly adhering fibres

Experiments carried out on pultruded fibre reinforced polyester resins show that, at moderate fibre volume fractions, the compressive strength of aligned fibre composites depends linearly on the volume fraction. The strength falls off when the fibre volume fraction,V _f=0.4 with Kevlar and high strength carbon fibres. The effective fibre strength atV _f<0.4 is much less than the tensile strength but it is close to the tensile strength with E-glass fibres and high modulus carbon fibres. Poor adhesion between fibres and matrix reduces the compressive strength, as does kinking the fibres when the fibre radius of curvature is reduced to below 5 mm. Misalignment of the fibres reduces the compressive strength when the average angle of misalignment exceeds about 10° for glass and carbon fibres. However, with Kevlar no such reduction is observed because the compression strength of Kevlar reinforced resin is only a very little better than that of the unreinforced resin.     

Strength and fracture properties of industrially prepared steel fibre reinforced concrete

The paper reports on a study of steel fibre reinforced concrete (SFRC) which was prepared using normal industrial mixing, compaction and curing conditions. Both strength (compressive and tensile) and fracture (toughness measurements) characteristics have been investigated with test specimens prepared from 5 m long SFRC piles. The piles contained only steel fibre reinforcement and were manufactured in exactly the same way as ordinary piles.Slight differences in the tensile strengths (determined via torsion tests) were observed due to the existence of preferential fibre orientation. Flexural tests on notched beams (to evaluate fracture characteristics) produced a much more stable, reproducible, test than that observed for un-notched beams. Hence, it is concluded that the notched beam is a better geometry in terms of test stability and reliability. The results showed that tests specimens taken from industrially prepared SFRC displayed similar characteristics compared to that observed with test specimens prepared under laboratory conditions, with regards to the strength, fracture characteristics and, in particular, the variation observed.     

Finite element analysis of partially prestressed steel fiber concrete beams in shear

This paper presents a finite element formulation for the modeling of the behavior of partially prestressed steel fiber concrete beams in shear. Based on a secant modulus approach, the formulation treats steel fiber concrete as an orthotropic material, characterized by appropriate constitutive relations in the principal compressive and tensile directions. An experimental program with the partial prestressing ratio, the shear span:effective depth ratio, and the volume fraction of steel fibers as test variables was carried out and the deflections of the beam, concrete, and steel strains were monitored and compared with the results of the finite element analysis. The finite element formulation was found to predict the deformational characteristics and the ultimate load of the test beams well. Steel fibres were observed to improve the beam stiffness after the occurrence of first shear crack and to enhance the shear strength of partially prestressed concrete beams significantly.     

Studies on the durability of natural fibres and the effect of corroded fibres on the strength of mortar

This paper presents the results of the variation in chemical composition and tensile strength of coir, sisal, jute and Hibiscus cannabinus fibres, when they are subjected to alternate wetting and drying and continuous immersion for 60 days in three mediums (water, saturated lime and sodium hydroxide). Compressive and flexural strengths of cement mortar (1:3) specimens reinforced with dry and corroded fibres were determined after 28 days of normal curing. From the results it is observed that there is substantial reduction in the salient chemical composition of all the four fibres, after exposure in the various mediums. Coir fibres are found to retain higher percentages of their initial strength than all other fibres, after the specified period of exposure in the various mediums. The compressive and flexural strengths of all natural fibre reinforced mortar specimens using corroded fibres are less than the strength of the reference mortar (i.e. without fibres) and fibre reinforced mortar specimens reinforced with dry natural fibres.     

Shear behaviour of steel fibre reinforced self-consolidating concrete beams based on the modified compression field theory

A series of steel fibre reinforced self-consolidating concrete (SFRSCC) beams have been tested to investigate the influence of steel fibres and the combined effect of fibres and stirrups on the deflection and cracking, ultimate loads and failure pattern. The experiment indicates that the shear strength increases clearly with the increasing of fibre content. The combination of steel fibres and stirrups demonstrates a positive composite effect on the ultimate load, ductility and failure pattern of concrete beam. This study also examines the feasibility of applying the modified compression field theory (MCFT) for the suitable assessment of shear resistance in fibre and steel rebar reinforced self-consolidating concrete beams. For fibre reinforced concrete member, a theoretical method is proposed based on the MCFT. The proposed ultimate shear capacity model was verified by the comparison with different test results.     

Experimental study on the mechanical properties and microstructure of chopped basalt fibre reinforced concrete

With high ductility and sufficient durability, fibre reinforced concrete (FRC) is widely used. In this study, the effects of the volume fraction and length of basalt fibre (BF) on the mechanical properties of FRC were analyzed. Coupling with the scanning electron microscope (SEM) and mercury intrusion porosimeter (MIP), the microstructure of BF concrete was studied also. The results show that adding BF significantly improves the tensile strength, flexural strength and toughness index, whereas the compressive strength shows no obvious increase. Furthermore, the length of BF presents an influence on the mechanical properties. Compared with the plain concrete, the compressive, splitting tensile and flexural strength of concrete reinforced with 12 mm BF increase by −0.18–4.68%, 14.08–24.34% and 6.30–9.58% respectively. As the BF length increasing to 22 mm, corresponding strengths increase by 0.55–5.72%, 14.96–25.51% and 7.35–10.37%, separately. A good bond between the BF and the matrix interface is observed in the early age. However, this bond shows degradation to a certain extent at 28 days. Moreover, the MIP results indicate that the concrete containing BF presents higher porosity.     

Flexural toughness characteristics of steel–polypropylene hybrid fibre-reinforced oil palm shell concrete

Hybridization of steel–polypropylene leads to improvements of both the mechanical and ductility characteristics of concrete. In this investigation, the effect of steel, polypropylene (PP) and steel-PP hybrid fibres on the compressive strength, tensile strength, flexural toughness and ductility of oil palm shell fibre reinforced concrete (OPSFRC) was studied. The comparison on the above said properties between the specimens prepared with crushed and uncrushed oil palm shell (OPS) as lightweight coarse aggregate was also carried out. The experimental results showed that the highest compressive strength of about 50 MPa was produced by the mix with 0.9% steel and 0.1% PP hybrid fibres. The highest increments in the splitting tensile and the flexural strengths of the OPSFRC were found up to 83% and 34%, respectively. However, the mixes with 1% PP fibres produced negative effects on both the compressive and tensile strengths. The results on the toughness indices showed that the OPSC possess no post-cracking flexural toughness. Though, the flexural deflection and toughness of the OPSC was significantly enhanced by the addition of fibres; the dominance of the steel fibre on the first crack flexural deflection and toughness of OPSFRC was evident. The mixes with 0.9% steel and 0.1% PP hybrid fibres reported the highest improvement in toughness index and residual strength factor.     

Shear strengthening of reinforced concrete beams using different configurations of externally bonded carbon fibre reinforced plates

This paper deals with research undertaken at Oxford Brookes University into shear strengthening of reinforced concrete beams using externally bonded carbon fibre reinforced plastic plates (CFRP). Thirty-eight reinforced concrete beams of 1.8 m length were constructed and tested and are described in this paper. The relative performance of a group of sixteen beams with the same steel reinforcement but with different amounts of shear strengthening is discussed. All the beams were designed to fail in shear using a spreadsheet program. The spreadsheets were designed to ensure that the beams' flexural capacity exceeded the shear capacity after strengthening. The variables were: main reinforcement ratio, spacing between links in the shear span and different configurations of CFRP plates on shear spans. The concrete had an average compressive strength of 61.76 N/mm². The majority of the beams tested showed a significant improvement in shear strength by the addition of CFRP plates, with increases of between 19–122% over the control beams.     

Experimental and theoretical investigation of the shear resistance of steel fibre reinforced prestressed concrete X-beams—Part I: Experimental work

This is the first part of two papers on the experimental (Part I) and theoretical (Part II) resistance of steel fibre reinforced precast concrete beams. Short steel fibres have been introduced into prestressed concrete X beams in order to study their behaviour under shear loads. The X beams, which have circular web profiles, were chosen to represent longitudinal sections from 215 mm deep prestressed precast hollow cored floor units, which are known to fail in shear in a brittle manner. No shear links were used. Round hooked end high strength steel (HS), and thin amorphous metal (AM) fibres were used in volume fractions up to 2.0%. The maximum flexural strength of fibre reinforced concrete (FRC) was 10.28 N/mm², some 50% greater than plain concrete. In the plain concrete beams the ratio η of the ultimate shear resistance to the cracking resistance was 1.0, as expected. For the fibre beams η=1.43 to 1.52 for the HS fibres and η-1.23 for the AM fibres. Theoretical and empirical equations were developed using modified FRC principal tensile stress methods to predict ultimate shear strength and are given in Part II.

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Résumé Il s'agit de la première partie d'un article sur la résistance des poutres en béton préfabriqué renforcé de fibres d'acier, présentant les expériences (partie I) et la théorie (partie II). De courtes fibres d'acier ont été utilisées dans des poutres X précontraintes pour étudier leur comportement sous l'action de forces de cisaillement. Les poutres X, qui ont des ames de profil circulaire, ont été choisies pour représenter des sections longitudinales des dalles alvéolées précontraintes de 215 mm d'épaisseur, qui sont connues pour leur mode de rupture casant sous l'action des efforts tranchants. L'armature de cisaillement n'a pas été utilisée. Des crochets ronds en acier à haute adhérence et de minces fibres métalliques amonrphes ont été utilisés jusqu'à des fractions de 2% du volume. La résistance à la tension maximale sous l'effet de flexion du béton de fibres d'acier était de 10,28 N/mm², soit 50% de plus que pour le béton normal. Pour les poutres en béton normal, le rapport η entre la résistance ultime au cisaillement et la résistance à la fissuration était de 1,0, comme prévu. Pour les poutres en fibres d'acier ce rapport était entre 1,43 et 1,52 pour l'acier à haute adhérence et 1,23 pour les fibres métalliques amorphes. Des équatins théoriques et empiriques ont été développées à l'aide de méthodes de contrainte de tension principlale du béton de fibres d'acier modifiées pour la prédiction de la résistance ultime au cisaillement; celles-ci sont données dans la deuxième partie.

     

Properties of fibre reinforced concrete using recycled fibres from carpet industrial waste

A study was carried out to evaluate the use of recycled fibres from carpet industrial waste for reinforcement of concrete at 1 and 2 vol% fractions. Compressive, flexural, splitting tensile and shrinkage tests were performed. Significant increases in shatter resistance, energy absorption and ductility were observed. This paper reports on the experimental programme and compares the effectiveness of such recycled fibres with that of virgin polypropylene fibres specially made for fibre reinforced concrete (FRC). The paper also discusses the benefits of using such FRC for construction applications and possible ways to further enhance the performance of such FRC.     

钢纤维及陶粒掺量对轻质混凝土基本力学性能的影响

制备了3种强度等级共13组配合比的钢纤维增强轻质混凝土（Steel Fibre Reinforced Lightweight Aggregate Concrete,SFRLAC）,测量了立方体抗压强度、劈裂抗拉强度和轴心抗压强度,得到了SFRLAC轴心受压应力-应变曲线。试验结果表明,钢纤维能小幅度提高轻质混凝土（Lightweight Concrete,LC）的抗压强度,随陶粒比率（Haydite Ratio,V_h）的增大,抗压强度降低,且强度等级越低,降幅越大。钢纤维能显著提高LC的劈裂抗拉强度,钢纤维对低强度等级LC劈裂抗拉强度的贡献优于对高强度等级LC的贡献。低强度等级SFRLAC （LC30和LC40）的劈裂抗拉强度受V_h的影响较大,而高强度等级SFRLAC （LC50）与之相反。当V_h达到80%时,V_h不再是影响SFRLAC劈裂抗拉强度的主要因素,而钢纤维的增强效应显著。试块的破坏形态表明钢纤维能改善LC的塑性。V_h对抗拉强度的降低效应远大于对抗压强度的降低效应。建立了SFRLAC轴心抗压强度与立方体抗压强度的关系式。SFRLAC应力-应变曲线综合体现了钢纤维的增强效应和陶粒的削减作用,陶粒降低LC的峰值应力和韧性,钢纤维主要提高LC的韧性。     

Automatic image analysis and morphology of fibre reinforced concrete

Automatic image analysis is an efficient tool to quantify the morphology of materials. Moreover, it can aid to understand their mechanical behaviour. Several applications of automatic methods are presented to investigate concrete reinforced by ribbon shaped amorphous cast iron fibres. Introducing ribbons into the plain matrix entrapped air voids. This affected the workability and, later on, the compressive strength of the fibre reinforced concrete (FRC). Both were improved by additions of superplasticizer in order to keep the water to cement ratio constant. The influence of the superplasticizer and fibre contents on the compactness of the FRC was characterized by the dimensional and the spatial distributions of the air voids. The orientations of fibres and microcracks were quantified by Fourier image transforms. Due to the casting procedure of the FRC, the fibres were located in “horizontal layers”, perpendicular to the casting axis. Whatever the direction of compression with respect to the layers of fibres, the microcrack network was getting more and more oriented in the direction of compression as stresses increased. The analysis of fibre and microcrack orientations suggests that, under uniaxial compression, the inelastic strain domain should be characterized by an anisotropic biaxial damage model, whose principal axes are the orthogonal and parallel directions to the layers of fibres.