Response of steel fiber reinforced high strength concrete beams: Experiments and code predictions

The shear-flexure response of steel fiber reinforced concrete (SFRC) beams was investigated.Thirty-six reinforced concrete beams with and without conventional shear reinforcement (stirrups) were tested under a four-point bending configuration to study the effectiveness of steel fibers on shear and flexural strengths, failure mechanisms, crack control, and ductility.The major factors considered were compressive strength (normal strength and high strength concrete up to 100 MPa), shear span-effective depth ratio (a/d = 1.5, 2.5, 3.5), and web reinforcement (none, stirrups and/or steel fibers).The response of RC beams was evaluated based on the results of crack patterns, load at first cracking, ultimate shear capacity, and failure modes.The experimental evidence showed that the addition of steel fibers improves the mechanical response, i.e., flexural and shear strengths and the ductility of the flexural members.Finally, the most recent code-based shear resistance predictions for SFRC beams were considered to discuss their reliability with respect to the experimental findings. The crack pattern predictions are also reviewed based on the major factors that affect the results.     

考虑钢筋锈蚀的复合受扭混凝土箱梁时变承载力研究

对考虑钢筋锈蚀的复合受扭钢筋混凝土箱梁时变承载力进行研究。针对复合受扭混凝土箱梁中混凝土开裂面与钢筋斜交的情况,推导了综合考虑钢筋混凝土粘结滑移效应及正交配筋效应的钢筋修正本构模型。引入钢筋和混凝土材料的时变劣化模型,结合复合受扭钢筋混凝土箱梁的修正板-桁架模型,编制了复合受扭钢筋混凝土箱梁时变承载力的计算程序。与纯扭锈蚀构件和复合受扭构件的试验对比,验证了所提出钢筋修正本构模型的适用性较好。算例结果表明:在假定的一般大气环境和受力条件下,考虑钢筋锈蚀的复合受扭钢筋混凝土箱梁构件100年后抗扭强度降低约15%。     

Side Near Surface Mounted (SNSM) technique for flexural enhancement of RC beams

The rehabilitation of existing Reinforced Concrete (RC) structures constitutes one of the leading challenges in civil engineering. The crucial reasons for the strengthening of RC structures comprise frequent increases in design loads, engineering errors in design or workmanship issues during construction, changes in code and functional requirements. This paper introduces an innovative approach comprising the Side-Near-Surface-Mounted (SNSM) technique, which incorporates Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) and steel bars as strengthening reinforcement. Experimental and analytical investigation was adopted to explore flexural strengthening of RC beams with them. Analytical models are presented to predict the ultimate load, crack spacing and deflection. Four-point bending tests were performed up to failure on the rectangular RC beams strengthened with different ratios of SNSM reinforcement. The failure characteristics, yield and ultimate capacities, deflection, cracking behavior, ductility and energy absorption capacities were evaluated. The SNSM technique significantly enhanced the flexural behavior of the beams. The yield and ultimate load carrying capacities of the beams increased by a factor of 2 and 2.38 times, respectively. The cracking loads improved more notably (3.17 times). Predicted results from the analytical models showed good agreement with the experimental results, which confirmed proficient implementation of the proposed SNSM technique.     

配筋聚乙烯醇纤维增强水泥复合材料梁的曲率延性

聚乙烯醇纤维增强水泥（Polyvinyl alcohol fiber reinforced cement,PVA/C）复合材料具有优越的受拉应变硬化特性,可显著提高结构的变形能力。本文以PVA纤维体积分数和受拉钢筋配筋率为研究参数,对6根配筋PVA/C梁和2根普通混凝土梁（RC）进行四点弯曲试验,并对其曲率延性进行了试验研究和理论分析。试验研究表明:配筋PVA/C梁的荷载-挠度（P-δ）关系曲线所包围的面积是C梁的1.64~2.43倍,证明配筋PVA/C梁有较好的持荷变形能力;在PVA纤维体积分数一定的情况下,试验梁的曲率延性系数随受拉钢筋配筋率的增大而减小;在受拉钢筋配筋率一定的情况下,配筋PVA/C梁的曲率延性系数是C梁的1.56~2.02倍,证明掺入PVA纤维显著提高了试验梁的延性。建立了配筋PVA/C梁曲率延性系数的计算公式,并分析了PVA纤维体积分数对受压区高度系数和曲率延性系数的影响,试验结果与计算结果吻合较好。      

Prediction of ductility factor of corroded reinforced concrete beams exposed to long term aging in chloride environment

An experimental study using a three-point bending test on RC beams with dimensions of 150 × 280 × 3000 mm, naturally corroded over many years was conducted to evaluate the influence of steel corrosion on structural performance and, in particular, to better understand the change in ultimate deflection in bending and then in ductility. Some previous works by different authors are also discussed. The results show that the conventional ductility factor hardly applies to the assessment of ductile behaviour of corroded beams. A new ductility factor, based on the ratio between ultimate deflection of corroded and non-corroded beams, is proposed. In addition, the relation between ductility factor of corroded beams and cross-section loss in the corroded reinforcing steels was studied on the RC beams tested. The service life of corroded structures appears to be limited by the reduction of ductility in bending behaviour, which is more pronounced on the reduction of load-bearing capacity. This was linked to the change in mechanical properties of corroded steel bars in comparison with non-corroded steel bars.     

Performance of reinforced concrete beams strengthened by hybrid FRP laminates

In the last two decades, the use of advanced composite materials such as Fiber Reinforced Polymers (FRP) in strengthening reinforced concrete (RC) structural elements has been increasing. Research and design guidelines concluded that externally bonded FRP could increase the capacity of RC elements efficiently. However, the linear stress–strain characteristics of FRP up to failure and lack of yield plateau have a negative impact on the overall ductility of the strengthened RC elements. Use of hybrid FRP laminates, which consist of a combination of either carbon and glass fibers, or glass and aramid fibers, changes the behaviour of the material to a non-linear behaviour. This paper aims to study the performance of reinforced concrete beams strengthened by hybrid FRP laminates.

This paper presents an experimental program conducted to study the behaviour of RC beams strengthened with hybrid fiber reinforced polymer (HFRP) laminates. The program consists of a total of twelve T-beams with overall dimensions equal to 460 × 300 × 3250 mm. The beams were tested under cyclic loading up to failure to examine its flexural behaviour. Different reinforcement ratios, fiber directions, locations and combinations of carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) and glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP) laminates were attached to the beams to determine the best strengthening scheme. Different percentages of steel reinforcement were also used. An analytical model based on the stress–strain characteristics of concrete, steel and FRP was adopted. Recommendations and design guidelines of RC beams strengthened by FRP and HFRP laminates are introduced.     

塑性铰区采用高延性混凝土梁变形性能研究

为提高钢筋混凝土(RC)梁的变形能力,考虑在其塑性铰区采用高延性混凝土(HDC)代替普通混凝土。共设计6个剪跨比为3.6的RC梁试件,包含5个塑性铰区采用HDC的试件和1个RC对比试件。考虑HDC区长度、纵筋配筋率以及配筋方式和梁端配箍率的影响,研究试件在低周反复荷载下的滞回特性、变形能力及耗能能力。结果表明:与RC梁相比,塑性铰区采用HDC后,试件的破坏形态由弯剪破坏向弯曲破坏转变,延性和耗能能力均得到显著提高;纵筋配筋率、配筋方式相同时,在梁端塑性铰区采用HDC,试件的位移延性系数和极限位移角分别提高30%和53%,而同时采用HDC和箍筋时分别相应提高33%和76%;梁端局部采用HDC替换混凝土可减少箍筋用量;梁端塑性铰区的HDC长度对试件延性的影响较小。分别计算塑性铰区采用HDC梁在开裂荷载、屈服荷载、峰值荷载、极限荷载时的顶点位移,其计算值与试验值吻合较好。     

Comparison between solid and hollow reinforced concrete beams

Comparison between test results of seven hollow and seven solid reinforced concrete beams is presented. All of the fourteen beams were designed as hollow sections to resist combined load of bending, torsion and shear. Every pair (one hollow and one solid) was designed for the same load combinations and received similar reinforcement. The beams were 300 × 300 mm cross-section and 3,800 mm length. The internal hollow core for the hollow beams was 200 × 200 mm creating a peripheral wall thickness of 50 mm. The main variables studied were the ratio of bending to torsion which was varied between 0.19 and 2.62 and the ratio in the web of shear stress due to torsion to shear stress due to shear force which was varied between 0.59 and 6.84. It was found that the concrete core participates in the beams’ behaviour and strength and cannot be ignored when combined load of bending, shear and torsion are present. Its participation depends partly on the ratio of the torsion to bending moment and the ratio of shear stress due to torsion to the shear stress due to shear force. All solid beams cracked and failed at higher loads than their counterpart hollow beams. The smaller the ratio of torsion to bending the larger the differences in failure loads between the hollow and solid beams. The longitudinal steel yielded while the transverse steel experienced lower strain values.     

Strength and ductility of RC beams strengthened with steel-reinforced strain hardening cementitious composites

Strengthening of Reinforced Concrete (RC) beams using strain hardening cementitious composites (SHCCs) layer cast to their soffit has recently been investigated. That work confirmed that strain localization occurs in the SHCC-strengthening layer, which severely limits the ductility of the strengthened beam. This paper reports the ductility enhancement achieved in tests on reinforced concrete beams that were strengthened with lightly steel-reinforced SHCC layer (0.3% and 0.6% steel reinforcement ratio). It has been found that the combination of the SHCC and a small amount of steel reinforcement helps develop higher strain in the SHCC strengthening layer at ultimate load and eliminates the observed early strain localization. The recorded averaged strain at ultimate load of SHCC-strengthening layer provided with 0.3% and 0.6% steel reinforcement was 2.10 and 3.76 times that of an unreinforced SHCC layer. Also, use of a 0.6% reinforcement ratio changed the mode of failure of the SHCC-strengthened beams from brittle to more ductile. Moreover, the SHCC-strengthening layer with 0.6% reinforcement ratio was able to develop uniformly distributed visible cracks, which were the only indication that failure was imminent. It needs to be emphasized that strengthening of RC structures using an unreinforced SHCC layer may lead to a brittle failure.     

Studies on ductility and evaluation of minimum flexural reinforcement in RC beams

Some experimental investigations on ductility and prediction of minimum flexural reinforcement in reinforced concrete (RC) beams are reported. The minimum flexural reinforcement was evaluated using optimum ductility in RC beams. Beams of size 100 mm, 200 mm and 400 mm were tested, which were designed with varying percentages of flexural reinforcement i.e. 0.15, 0.30, 0.60 and 1.0. The beams were tested under four-point loading to study the flexural behaviour under uniform bending moment. The experimentally obtained average compressive strength of concrete was 30 MPa. The influence of beam size (depth) on cracking and normalised ultimate flexural strength, ductility and overall average rotation has been studied. The cracking in RC beams is complex phenomenon in small size beams, while the cracking strength decreases as the depth increases beyond 200 mm. The flexural strength of RC beams, from the present study, appears to decrease as the depth increases. The ductility of RC beams increases as the percentage of flexural reinforcement increases. The ductility number has been derived from dimensional analysis using fracture mechanics principles. The ductility of RC beams decreases as the depth of beams increases. An optimum percentage of flexural reinforcement has been established using optimum ductility number, N_p, which is equal to 0.20. The minimum flexural reinforcement was found to decrease as the beam depth increases, and decreases as the yield strength of reinforcement increases.     

Effects of reinforcement configuration and sustained load on the behaviour of reinforced concrete beams affected by reinforcing steel corrosion

Corrosion of reinforcing steel bars in concrete is one of the main causes of early deterioration and reduction of service life of reinforced concrete (RC) structures. This paper reports on the results of an experimental programme that was carried out to study the effect of reinforcement corrosion on the serviceability behaviour of RC beams under load. The main parameters investigated were the effects of reinforcement arrangement and the magnitude of the sustained load. Four series of scaled beams were tested, each series containing six beams, three of which were subjected to reinforcement corrosion while the other three were used as un-corroded control beams. All these beams carried the same sustained load during the process of reinforcement corrosion. The reinforcement arrangement for the fourth test series was identical to the first series but these beams carried a higher sustained test load. All the beams were subjected to a four-point bending load arrangement. Corrosion of the tension reinforcement was accelerated using an impressed current while the soffits of the beams were immersed in a 3% sodium chloride solution. The evolution of reinforcement corrosion and central deflection under simultaneous load and corrosion is given. The deflections of the beams increase with progressive corrosion of the reinforcement especially during the early stages of corrosion as a result of propagation of transverse cracks and the expansive stresses induced by the corrosion products. The importance of the arrangement of the steel in the section of concrete on the performance in terms of deflection was also clarified.     

Effects of reinforcement configuration and sustained load on the behaviour of reinforced concrete beams affected by reinforcing steel corrosion

Corrosion of reinforcing steel bars in concrete is one of the main causes of early deterioration and reduction of service life of reinforced concrete (RC) structures. This paper reports on the results of an experimental programme that was carried out to study the effect of reinforcement corrosion on the serviceability behaviour of RC beams under load. The main parameters investigated were the effects of reinforcement arrangement and the magnitude of the sustained load. Four series of scaled beams were tested, each series containing six beams, three of which were subjected to reinforcement corrosion while the other three were used as un-corroded control beams. All these beams carried the same sustained load during the process of reinforcement corrosion. The reinforcement arrangement for the fourth test series was identical to the first series but these beams carried a higher sustained test load. All the beams were subjected to a four-point bending load arrangement. Corrosion of the tension reinforcement was accelerated using an impressed current while the soffits of the beams were immersed in a 3% sodium chloride solution. The evolution of reinforcement corrosion and central deflection under simultaneous load and corrosion is given. The deflections of the beams increase with progressive corrosion of the reinforcement especially during the early stages of corrosion as a result of propagation of transverse cracks and the expansive stresses induced by the corrosion products. The importance of the arrangement of the steel in the section of concrete on the performance in terms of deflection was also clarified.     

Structural performance of shear-critical RC deep beams with corroded longitudinal steel reinforcement

The effect of corrosion of longitudinal reinforcement on the structural performance of shear-critical reinforced concrete (RC) deep beams was experimentally investigated. A total of eight medium-scale reinforced concrete beams were constructed. The beams measured 150 mm wide, 350 mm deep and 1400 mm in length. The test variables included: corrosion levels (0%, 5%, and 7.5%), existence of stirrups and FRP repair. Six beams were subjected to artificial corrosion whereas two beams acted as control un-corroded. Following the corrosion phase, all beams were tested to failure in three point bending. The test results revealed that corrosion of properly anchored longitudinal steel reinforcement does not have any adverse effect on the behaviour of shear critical RC deep beams. Corrosion changed the load transfer mechanism to a pure arch action and as a result the load carrying capacity was improved. A strut and tie model was proposed to predict the failure loads of shear-critical RC deep beams with corroded longitudinal steel reinforcement. The predicted results correlated well with the experimental results.     

Experimental investigations and verification of debonding strain of RHSC continuous beams strengthened in flexure with externally bonded FRPs

Although many in-situ RC beams are of continuous constructions, there has been very little research on the behavior of such beams with external reinforcement. This article presents an experimental program conducted to study the flexural behavior and redistribution of moment of reinforced high strength concrete (RHSC) continuous beams strengthened with carbon and glass-fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP and GFRP) sheets. The program consists of six RHSC continuous (two-span) beams with overall dimensions equal to 250 × 150 × 6000 mm. One beam was not strengthened and was tested as a control beam. Five beams were strengthened with CFRP and GFRP in flexure along their sagging and hogging regions. The main parameters including type of FRP (GFRP or CFRP), the different ratios of CFRP sheet and effectiveness of end anchorage. The test results showed that the use of GFRP sheet in strengthening of continuous beam reduced loss in ductility and moment redistribution but it did not significantly increase the ultimate strength of them. The use of end anchorage in strengthened continuous beams increased the ultimate strength and moment redistribution. The moment enhancement ratio of the strengthened continuous beams was significantly higher than the ultimate load enhancement ratio in the same beam. Also existing international codes and model such as ACI, fib, JSCE, Teng and Toutanji for prediction of IC debonding strain or stress of strengthened continuous beams are verified. Verifications were carried out based on the test results in this research and the published literature on RC continuous beams strengthened with FRP.     

碳纤维布加固复合受力钢筋混凝土箱梁抗扭性能的非线性有限元分析

采用有限元方法对碳纤维布加固钢筋混凝土构件进行非线性分析,是对有限的试验研究的有效补充和进一步深入探讨。根据4根碳纤维布加固钢筋混凝土箱梁的试验研究结果,建立了合理的三维有限元模型,对碳纤维布加固钢筋混凝土箱梁在弯剪扭复合受力下的抗扭性能进行了非线性有限元分析。计算得到的扭矩-扭转角关系曲线、钢筋和碳纤维布的应变曲线以及界面粘接单元的恢复力曲线等与试验结果吻合较好,可以较好地模拟碳纤维布加固箱梁的受扭性能。进一步通过对7根数值梁的计算结果分析,提出碳纤维布加固钢筋混凝土箱梁在复合受力下的剪扭相关性符合直线方程。     

Fracture Energy of Steel Fiber-Reinforced Concrete

Steel fiber-reinforced concrete (SFRC) is a cementitious material reinforced with discrete fibers. The energy absorption capacity is the main material property benefited by fiber reinforcement. Closed-loop servo-controlled equipment should be used to evaluate this property. The tests should be carried out using displacement control in order to obtain the postpeak force- displacement relationship (tensile strain-softening branch). To assess the fracture energy of SFRC, three-point bending tests were carried out using displacement control. Series of notched beams reinforced with 30, 60, and 90 kg/m3 of hooked-end steel fibers were tested. Besides the energy dissipated in fracturing the concrete, the energy determined from the force-displacement relationship can also include the energy absorbed during nonlinear behavior of concrete in compression. Ductile materials, such as concrete reinforced with a high content of fibers, develop large deflections before exhausting their energy absorption capacity. In these cases, the "fixed" points of the bar supporting the displacement transducer may not remain fixed, adding an extra deflection into the control displacement transducer and thus leading to incorrect evaluation of the fracture energy. These factors are analyzed in the present work in order to assess the suitability of the specimen dimensions and the test procedures for evaluating the fracture energy of SFRC.     

Experimental and analytical investigation of reinforced high strength concrete continuous beams strengthened with fiber reinforced polymer

Carbon and glass fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP and GFRP) are two materials suitable for strengthening the reinforced concrete (RC) beams. Although many in situ RC beams are of continuous constructions, there has been very limited research on the behavior of such beams with externally applied FRP laminate. In addition, most design guidelines were developed for simply supported beams with external FRP laminates. This paper presents an experimental program conducted to study the flexural behavior and redistribution in moment of reinforced high strength concrete (RHSC) continuous beams strengthened with CFRP and GFRP sheets. Test results showed that with increasing the number of CFRP sheet layers, the ultimate strength increases, while the ductility, moment redistribution, and ultimate strain of CFRP sheet decrease. Also, by using the GFRP sheet in strengthening the continuous beam reduced loss in ductility and moment redistribution but it did not significantly increase ultimate strength of beam. The moment enhancement ratio of the strengthened continuous beams was significantly higher than the ultimate load enhancement ratio in the same beam. An analytical model for moment–curvature and load capacity are developed and used for the tested continuous beams in current and other similar studies. The stress–strain curves of concrete, steel and FRP were considered as integrity model. Stress–strain model of concrete is extended from Oztekin et al.’s model by modifying the ultimate strain. Also, new parameters of equivalent stress block are obtained for flexural calculation of RHSC beams. Good agreement between experiment and prediction values is achieved.     

基于MCFT理论的钢纤维混凝土梁的截面分析

根据钢纤维混凝土的特性,对MCFT理论的裂后混凝土平均主应力-平均主应变关系进行了修正。在Vecchio和Collins对钢筋混凝土板在纯剪作用下截面分析的基础上,叠加了弯矩的作用,建立了钢纤维混凝土梁在弯剪复合作用下的截面分析模型。利用作者以及其他研究者的试验对该模型进行了验证,结果表明计算得到的钢纤维混凝土梁的剪力-箍筋应变曲线和极限荷载与实测结果吻合良好。该文还利用该模型对钢纤维和箍筋对梁抗剪性能的影响效率进行了比较。     

Structural behavior of alkali activated fly ash concrete. Part 2: structural testing and experimental findings

Alkali activated fly ash concrete (AAFAC) is an alternative form of concrete that uses coal fly ash as a 100 % replacement for ordinary portland cement (OPC). In this paper structural testing of nine steel reinforced AAFAC beams is explored. The test matrix included three over-reinforced, three under-reinforced, and three shear critical AAFAC beam samples, all tested in four point monotonic bending. For control purposes, an identical set of OPC concrete (OPCC) beams was fabricated and tested under identical conditions. Data collection during testing included load, deflection, top and side fiber concrete strains, and crack width. Test results show that AAFAC beams have very similar behavior to companion OPCC beams. This applies to load induced crack pattern, crack width magnitude, neutral axis location, flexural stiffness, and ultimate flexural and ultimate shear strengths. The research concludes that AAFAC flexural members can be designed using existing ACI 318-08 methods developed for OPCC, and that this applies to both the service and ultimate limit states.     

免拆UHPC模板RC梁受弯性能试验及承载力分析

对4根免拆超高性能混凝土（UHPC）模板钢筋混凝土（RC）梁和2根RC梁进行了受弯性能试验,试件变化参数为配筋率和保护层厚度,重点研究免拆UHPC模板RC梁的受力性能以及模板与后浇混凝土的剥离情况。结果表明:从开始加载到峰值荷载点,免拆UHPC模板与后浇混凝土界面没有发生任何滑移及剥离;峰值荷载后至构件破坏时,预制UHPC模板与后浇混凝土界面出现轻微剥离;免拆UHPC模板RC梁的开裂荷载较普通RC梁提高了近50%,屈服荷载、极限荷载提高约为10%。基于截面平衡条件、平截面假定以及UHPC、混凝土、钢筋的本构关系,建立了免拆UHPC模板RC梁的受弯承载力计算公式,公式计算值与试验值吻合较好。