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Analysis of steel fibre reinforced concrete beams in flexure: the experimental investigation

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Abstract

At present, mostly the application of steel fibre reinforced concrete (SFRC) is limited to non-structural concrete such as slope stabilization, tunnel linings, roads and pavements, hard standings and floorings, bridges and overlays which can be attributed to the lack of relevant guidelines in current design concrete codes. As a conspicuous mark towards promising the use of SFRC as structural concrete, a provision includes in ACI 318-08 and reestablished in ACI 318-19, in which the minimum shear reinforcement of a beam can be replaced by deformed steel fibres. ACI 318-08 also provides the flexural performance norms (FPN) supported by the ASTM C1609-12 4-point bend test for the replacement of minimum shear reinforcement through steel fibres. In the current study, experimental investigation on the basis of ASTM C1609 4-point bend test on SFRC prisms were carried out and presented. The deformed steel fibres were used in the concrete matrix at volume fractions ranging from 0.5 to 1.5%. Moreover, the flexural performance in terms of load vs deflection graphs, load-bearing ability & toughness was accurately monitored. Further, the test analysis reveals that the “post cracking behaviour” of SFRC beams is enhanced due to the incorporation of “fibres in the concrete matrix”. Further, it is concluded that from the workability and flexural performance point of view, the hooked-end type of fibres works effectively.

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Abbreviations

b :

Beam width, mm

D :

Diameter of the cylinder specimen, mm

h :

Overall depth of the beam, mm

l :

Length of the cylinder specimen, mm

L :

Beam span length, mm

P :

Failure load, N

f t :

Split tensile strength of concrete, MPa

f LOP :

Strength at the limit of proportionality (f1), N/mm2

f MOR :

Strength at modulus of rupture (fr), N/mm2

f 300 :

Completive strength at L/300, N/mm2

f 150 :

Completive strength at L/150, N/mm2

P LOP :

Load at the limit of proportionality, kN

P MOR :

Load at modulus of rupture, kN

ToughLOP :

Toughness at the limit of proportionality, N-m

ToughMOR :

Toughness at modulus of rupture, N-m

V f :

Volume fraction of fibre, %

δ LOP :

Deflection at the limit of proportionality, mm

δ MOR :

Deflection at modulus of rupture, mm

L/600:

Resultant deflection of span/600, mm

L/300:

Resultant deflection of span/300, mm

L/150:

Resultant deflection of span/150, mm

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Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge the helps of the personnel belonging to Concrete and Heavy Test Laboratory, Department of Civil Engineering, IIT Roorkee, for the experimental program.

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K.J designed and experimented. B.S.N analyzed the data and prepare the final version of the manuscript under the supervision of K.J.

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Correspondence to Kranti Jain.

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Jain, K., Negi, B.S. Analysis of steel fibre reinforced concrete beams in flexure: the experimental investigation. Asian J Civ Eng 22, 1625–1637 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42107-021-00401-z

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