Materials and Design: K. Holschemacher, T. Mueller, Y. Ribakov
Materials and Design: K. Holschemacher, T. Mueller, Y. Ribakov
Materials and Design: K. Holschemacher, T. Mueller, Y. Ribakov
a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t
Article history: Steel fibre reinforced concrete (SFRC) became in the recent decades a very popular and attractive material
Received 20 July 2009 in structural engineering because of its good mechanical performance. The most important advantages
Accepted 11 November 2009 are hindrance of macrocracks’ development, delay in microcracks’ propagation to macroscopic level
Available online 14 November 2009
and the improved ductility after microcracks’ formation. SFRC is also tough and demonstrates high resi-
dual strengths after appearing of the first crack. This paper deals with a role of steel fibres having
Keywords: different configuration in combination with steel bar reinforcement. It reports on results of an experi-
A. Concrete
mental research program that was focused on the influence of steel fibre types and amounts on flexural
C. Casting
E. Mechanical
tensile strength, fracture behaviour and workability of steel bar reinforced high-strength concrete beams.
G. Destructive testing In the frame of the research different bar reinforcements (2£6 mm and 2£12 mm) and three types of
fibres’ configurations (two straight with end hooks with different ultimate tensile strength and one
corrugated) were used. Three different fibre contents were applied. Experiments show that for all
selected fibre contents a more ductile behaviour and higher load levels in the post-cracking range were
obtained. The study forms a basis for selection of suitable fibre types and contents for their most efficient
combination with regular steel bar reinforcement.
Ó 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
1. Introduction of tensions across cracks after the yielding of the reinforcing bars
was proposed.
The concept of using fibres to improve the mechanical pro Dhakal [4] has studied post-peak response analysis of steel fibre
perties of concrete is known for many decades. It has been increas- reinforced concrete columns, including spalling and buckling. An
ingly used in structural engineering applications. Adding fibres equation, based on elasto-plastic and fracture model, has been
enhances the compressive, tensile and shear strengths, flexural proposed to expresses the relationship between the equivalent
toughness, durability and resistance to impact. The mechanical compressive stress and the equivalent compressive strain.
properties of fibre reinforced concrete depend on the type and Series of experiments were conducted to investigate the effec-
the content of the added fibres [1]. tiveness of fibre inclusion in the improvement of mechanical per-
Research and design of steel fibre reinforced concrete (SFRC) be- formance of concrete with regard to concrete type and specimen
gan to increase about 40 years ago. Various types of steel fibres size [5]. Lightweight aggregate concrete and limestone aggregate
have been developed. They differ in size, shape and surface struc- concrete with and without steel fibres were used. The compressive
ture (see Fig. 1). These fibres have different mechanical properties strength of the concrete mixes varied between 90 and 115 MPa and
such as tensile strength, grade of mechanical anchorage and the fibre content was 1% by volume. It was shown that low fibre
capability of stress distribution and absorption. Hence they have volume has little effect on compressive strength but improve
different influence on concrete properties [2]. remarkably splitting tensile strength, flexural strength and tough-
Abrishami and Mitchell [3] have studied the structural response ness. The increase in splitting tensile strength, flexural strength
of reinforced concrete tension members. The variables included and toughness index for lightweight concrete was much higher
normal versus high-strength concrete, with and without steel than that of normal aggregate concrete. It was also reported that
fibres. The influence of steel fibres on the control of splitting cracks as the specimen size increases, splitting and flexural strengths
and on tension stiffening was investigated. A method of predicting appear to decrease, and fracture behaviour tends to be more brittle.
tension stiffening with the presence of steel fibres and the transfer An experimental research on SFRC specimens tested in tension,
compression and shear was carried out recently to enable the para-
metric characterization and modelling of SFRC [2]. The tests were
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +972 546 431 385; fax: +972 390 66 351. conducted using two different propriety fibre types (NovotexTM
E-mail address: [email protected] (Y. Ribakov). and DramixTM) with volumetric ratios ranging from 0% to 2% for
0261-3069/$ - see front matter Ó 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.matdes.2009.11.025
K. Holschemacher et al. / Materials and Design 31 (2010) 2604–2615 2605
the Novotex fibres and with 1% Dramix ones. Compression tests bearing capacity in consideration of fibre type and content will
were conducted on small and large cylinders. Several test methods be obtained. It will allow selection of the most efficient fibre type
were used to investigate the contribution of steel fibres. Based on in specimens with steel bar reinforcement and demonstrate the
the experimental results, empirical relations were derived for load bearing capacity, contributed by fibres in specimens with steel
modelling and analysis of SFRC. bar reinforcement.
Using high-strength concrete (HSC) elements is another modern The results, obtained in the frame of this study, are expected to
trend in construction. HSC is predominantly used in structural ele- form a basis for selection of suitable fibre types and contents for
ments, loaded by high compressive forces, such as columns in build- their most efficient combination with regular steel bar reinforce-
ing or bridge constructions. Many researchers have investigated ment. This will allow more economical expenditure of steel and
experimentally and theoretically behaviour of HSC structures [6– as a result the cost of fibre reinforced elements will decrease mak-
10]. It was reported that, in comparison to normal strength concrete ing them more attractive for practical implementations.
(NSC), HSC has a lot of advantages. For example, it is characterised
by a high density and strength as well as a good workability. The
ultimate compressive strength of HSC cubic specimens, according 3. Experimental program
to the German regulations, ranges between 67 N/mm2 and 115 N/
mm2 [18]. However, HSC elements have very low ductility, which The experimental program includes two stages. During the first
significantly limits their application in structural engineering, espe- stage influences of geometry and tensile strength of fibres as well
cially in structures that should withstand dynamic loadings, like as the effects of different bar reinforcements was studied. The ap-
wind, earthquake, impact, etc. Using fibres for improving ductility plied fibre contents were 20, 40 and 60 kg/m3. The experimental
and avoiding brittle behaviour is a general way that have been investigations were carried out according to the German regula-
widely investigated in the last few decays [11–13]. tions [15] for SFRC on small beams (15 15 70 cm). The second
Iskhakov and Ribakov [14] have given a definition of HSC and stage will include production and testing of beams with dimen-
proposed a method for calculation of fibres volume ratio. They have sions used in real structures. The beams will be prepared using
carried out a preliminary study on two-layer beams with HSC in the most appropriate type and content of fibres as well as bar rein-
compression zone and NSC in the tensile zone. It was demonstrated forcement, according to the results of the first stage. This paper
that the two-layer reinforced concrete beams are effective when deals with the results of the first stage only. The outcomes of the
the calculated depth of the compressed zone corresponds to a case, second stage will be reported in future publications.
when the element carries rather big bending moments.
Although several studies have been carried out on SFRC, exper- 3.1. Materials and mixture proportions
imental data, related to selection of fibres’ configuration and con-
tent for HSC is limited. Hence an extensive experimental 3.1.1. Steel fibres
program has been carried out recently in order to study the effect Three different fibre types were selected: two straight fibres
of fibres’ content as well as the dimensions and configuration of fi- types with end hooks having different ultimate tensile strength
bres on the mechanical properties of HSC. (F1 and F2) and one corrugated fibre type (F3). These fibres are
the most used in Germany for industrial and civil SFRC structures.
The properties of the selected steel fibre types, used for the HSSFRC
2. Research significance, aim and scope
mixtures, are shown in Table 1.
The above mentioned fibre types have a length (lf) of 50 mm, a
In the recommendations of the German Concrete Association
diameter (df) of 1.0 mm and an aspect-ratio (k = lf/df) of 50. These
[15] as well as in the guidelines ‘‘Steel Fibre Reinforced Concrete”
fibre types basically differ in their shape (straight and corrugated)
[19] some areas of the concrete construction are not covered be-
as well as in their tensile strength (ft). Fibre types F1 and F3 are
cause limited experimental data. For lightweight concrete the data
normal-strength fibres with a tensile strength of about 1100 N/
is available up to concrete class LC40/44 only [15] and the HSC is
mm2. F2 is a high-strength fibre with a tensile strength of approx-
excluded in both regulations [15,19]. Hence the current research
imately 2000 N/mm2. The value nf in Table 1 represents the num-
is aimed to study the load bearing and deformation behaviour of
ber of fibres per kg. In all cases the modulus of elasticity averages
high strength steel fibre reinforced concrete (HSSFRC) with and
200,000 N/mm2.
without conventional bar reinforcement.
The research is aimed to check how the properties of fresh HSC
depend on addition of fibres. In the frame of the research depen- 3.1.2. Other materials
dence of hardened concrete properties, like compressive, splitting The following additional materials were used:
tensile and flexural tensile strength on fibre addition will be inves-
tigated. The tests will also be focused on studying the effect of dif- – composite Portland cement CEM II/A-M with portions of granu-
ferent fibre types on increasing the stiffness and reducing the lated slag (S) and limestone (LL) between 6% and 20% with a
deformations of the specimens. Information on the highest load density of 3.05 kg/dm3 and a fineness of 4660 cm2/g;
2606 K. Holschemacher et al. / Materials and Design 31 (2010) 2604–2615
Table 1
Overview of investigated steel fibre types.
Geometry
Shape Straight Straight Corrugated
Surface Plane Plane Plane
Cross-section Circular Circular Circular
Anchorage Hooked ends Hooked ends Continuous
Parameters Values
lf, (mm) 50 50 50
df, (mm) 1 1 1
k, (mm) 50 50 50
ft, (N/mm2) 1100 1900 1100
ft1, (N/mm2) 1222 1762 925
nf, (kg1) 3150 3100 2850
1
Experimentally determined fibre tensile strength (average for 10 fibres).
Table 2
Concrete compositions.
– fly ash with specific gravity of 2.3 kg/dm3 and grain sizes 3.2. Testing fresh mixture’s properties
between 2 and 290 lm;
– polycarboxylic ether-based superplasticizer (PCE) with a density According to the German standard DIN EN 12350-5 [20], one
of 1.07 kg/dm3; workability test was carried out for each HSC and HSSFRC mixture.
– long-term retarder, based on phosphonic acid (VZ 1) with a den- The test was carried out in the lapse of 5 min after finishing mixing.
sity of 1.17 kg/dm3; The target slump should be between 56 and 62 cm [18].
– locally available natural sand with a fraction size of 0 to 2 mm
was used as fine aggregate; 3.3. Hardened properties tests
– two different types of gravel with a fraction size of 2 to 8 mm
and 8 to 16 mm. The concrete compressive and splitting strength were measured
for six cubes with an edge length of 150 mm for each fibre type and
Sand and gravel had a specific gravity of 2.65 kg/dm3. The ap- content (three cubes for compressive strength and three for split-
plied grain size distribution of aggregates ranged between A16 ting strength). Additionally the elasticity modulus was investigated
and B16, according to the German standard DIN 1045-2. on three cylinders with a height of 30 cm and a diameter of 15 cm.
Furthermore four-point bending tests were carried out for investi-
3.1.3. Mixture proportions gation of post-cracking behaviour. For this reason HSC and HSSFRC
Ten concrete mixtures were used for casting the specimens that beams with a cross-section of 150 150 mm and a length of
were further tested. Compositions of the concrete mixtures for var- 700 mm were casted. A scheme of the test setup is shown in Fig. 2.
ious HSC and HSSFRC are shown in Table 2. The mixture design R0 Casting of the specimens, their curing and the experimental set-
in the table is defined as a reference concrete. It represents a fibre- up were chosen according to the German regulations [15] which
less concrete composition. Based on this reference concrete mix- are similar to those of RILEM [21]. According to [15], the beams
ture, the HSSFRC were made for different fibre amounts (20, 40, were loaded orthogonal to the casting direction. The load was con-
60 kg/m3) and fibres types F1, F2 and F3. The mixtures for produc- trolled using a displacement method with a rate of 0.2 mm/min.
tion of HSSFRC were essentially the same just the amounts of steel The deflection was recorded by two LVDTs (one on each side of
fibres were different, compared with R0. A slightly higher propor- the beam).
tion of PCE was used as well as additional portion of retarder Eighteen beams were casted for each fibre content. Among
was required to maintain the workability with increase in fibre them 12 were with two different steel bar reinforcement ratios
content. All concrete mixtures were mixed in a 0.5 m3 single-shaft (six with 0.25% and six with 1.0%) and six beams without steel
compulsory mixer. The calculated volume of each mixture was bar reinforcement (Fig. 3). The distance between the bottom edge
0.380 m3. In order to reduce the influence of the aggregates’ mois- of the reinforcing steel and the concrete surface was 2 cm. Longitu-
ture compositions dried aggregates were used for all mixtures. dinal tensile reinforcement had hooks at the beam ends to ensure
K. Holschemacher et al. / Materials and Design 31 (2010) 2604–2615 2607
2·F
2
F 1 F 1
2 2 A
2
75
2 3 3
h=150
4
75
4 4
50 l = 600 50 b=150
700 [mm]
A
1 = double-sided fixed LVDT
2 = fitting for LVDT; glued on the beam
3 = steel base plate
4 = support for steel base plate
Fig. 2. Experimental setup of the four-point bending test. workability. However during the tests a uniform distribution and
a random orientation of fibres without any signs of balling or clus-
tering were observed. Table 3 presents the workability test results
and concrete temperatures of different HSC and HSSFRC mixtures.
(a) As it was mentioned above the slump should be between 56 and
F F A
62 cm. Following Table 3, in most cases this requirement was
200
2 200
2 200
A-A
satisfied.
150
4.2. Properties of hardened concrete
20
2 Ø 12mm 2 Ø 12mm 4.2.1. Fibre segregation
A
50 600 50 20 110 20 It was shown in the tests that the broken surfaces of HSC and
700 150
HSSFRC specimens have uniform distribution of aggregates
(Fig. 5). It confirms segregation resistance and stability of the mix-
Fig. 3. Test specimens: (a) without bar reinforcement; (b) with 2£6 mm; and (c) tures. To evaluate the degree of fibre segregation, the broken sur-
with 2£12 mm. face of each specimen was divided into four rows and four
columns of cells, as shown in Fig. 6. For every HSSFRC specimen
the average number of complete fibres in the casting direction
adequate anchorage. Additionally stirrups (£6 mm) were attached was counted and an average distribution of complete fibres in cast-
at the supports to hold the bar reinforcement. Deformed steel bars ing direction was compared to beams without bar reinforcement
of £6 and £12 mm and specified yield strength of 500 N/mm2 (see Fig. 7). Generally there was a steady increase of fibre percent-
(BSt 500S A according to German standard [22]) were used as bot- age in casting direction relative to the entire fibre distribution.
tom longitudinal reinforcement (Fig. 4). The hardened properties of Similar fibre distributions were obtained also for specimens with
the mixtures were tested 28 days after casting. bar reinforcement.
Table 3
Properties of fresh concrete.
0 20 40 60
R F1 F1 F1
no
◄◄ ◄
2 6
mm
2 12
mm
Casting direction
20 40 60 20 40 60
F2 F2 F2 F3 F3 F3
no
◄◄ ◄
2 6
mm
2 12
mm
fibre types with raise in the fibres’ content (see Fig. 9). The average beams is shown in Fig. 10. As it follows from this figure, all speci-
splitting strength for fibre type F1 was the highest, compared to mens demonstrated an increase in the load level in the post-crack-
other fibre types. Specimens with fibre type F3 have shown the ing range as the fibre content became higher. However, by
lowest splitting strength. changing the fibre content from 20 to 60 kg/m3, the load bearing
capacity is not tripled, because the relation between the effective
4.2.3. Post-cracking behaviour of beams fibres and fibre content is nonlinear.
Analysing pre- and post-cracking behaviour is important for de- For specimens with reinforcing steel 2£6 mm curves for R0
sign of SFRC members, subjected to bending. According to the after the first crack have jumps because additional cracks that
modern design standards [15,19], residual flexural tensile strength, appeared immediately after the first one has developed (see gray
characterizing the material behaviour at a selected deflection or lines in Fig. 10b, e, h). These jumps may be avoided by adding
crack mouth opening displacement, is of particular importance. fibres.
The influence of fibre content and type as well as different bar rein- In specimens without bar reinforcement the load in the
forcement on pre- and post-cracking behaviour of HSC and HSSFRC post-cracking range decreases (Fig. 10a, d, g). For beams with bar
K. Holschemacher et al. / Materials and Design 31 (2010) 2604–2615 2609
R0 F1 F2 F3
Loading direction 98
Casting direction
90
Tension zone
R2 R2 88
86
R3 R3 84
82
R4 R4 80
0 kg/m³ 20 kg/m³ 40 kg/m³ 60 kg/m³
C1 C2 C3 C4
Fig. 8. Average compressive strength of cubes.
Loading direction
R1
R2
R3
F1-20 F2-20 F3-20
F1-40 F2-40 F3-40
R4
F1-60 F2-60 F3-60
5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45
Percentage of fibres (%) Percentage of fibres (%) Percentage of fibres (%)
Fig. 7. Average distribution of fibres in casting direction for specimens without bar reinforcement.
2610 K. Holschemacher et al. / Materials and Design 31 (2010) 2604–2615
F1 F2 F3
Without bar reinforcement
(a) (d) (g)
50 50 50
40 40 40
Load, kN
30 30 30
20 20 20
10 10 10
0 0 0
0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5
60 60 60
45 45 45
30 30 30
15 15 15
0 0 0
0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5
Deflection, mm Deflection, mm Deflection, mm
With bar reinforcement of 2Ø12 mm
(c) (f) (i)
210 210 210
175 175 175
Load, kN
Fig. 10. Average load–deflection curves for different fibre types (a to c – F1, d to f – F2, g to i – F3) with different fibre contents and bar reinforcement ratios.
1% (2£12 mm) and none or low fibre contents (0 and 20 kg/m3) Fig. 11 shows different failure modes for specimens without and
failed in shear or compression and for fibre contents from 40 to with bar reinforcement. For all tested beams failure mode BT was
60 kg/m3 primary compression failure was observed. For beams observed for specimens with bar reinforcement ratios of 0% and
with fibre type F2 flexural tensile failure was observed indepen- 0.25% (2£6 mm). For beams with bar reinforcement ratio of 1.0%
dent of the fibre content. both BC and BS failure modes were obtained. Additionally, combi-
The following notations are used in Table 4 for different failure nation of these two modes was observed mostly for specimens
models: with F40 fibre contents. This combination (BCBS) shows a failure
in the compression zone as well as strong cracking in the parts be-
– BT – failure in bending, tensile reinforcement bars are failed; tween the load application and the supports.
– BC – failure in bending, concrete in the compressed zone is
collapsed, 4.2.4. Contribution of fibres to the load–deflection relationship
– BS – failure in shear. Fig. 12 presents parts of load–deflection curves, contributed
by the fibres. These curves were obtained for beams with
As shown in Table 4, specimens with bar reinforcement ratio different fibre contents. For specimens without bar reinforcement
60.25% failed just in bending (case BT). For beams with 2£12 the force–deflection curves, for HSC beams (according to [2]),
mm bars two failure modes were observed (BC and BS), depended were subtracted from those obtained for HSSFRC ones. For
on the fibre content. As mentioned above, specimens that failed in specimens with bar reinforcement the load–deflection
shear and have not reached a deflection of 3.5 mm have not been curves were generated by subtraction of loads, determined
included in calculations of average results. for beams with bar reinforcement without fibres (reference
K. Holschemacher et al. / Materials and Design 31 (2010) 2604–2615 2611
Table 4
Overview of selected load values and number of tested beams for different HSC/HSSFRC mixtures.
Bar Fibre Fibre Initial crack Load at 0.5 mm Load at 3.5 mm Load difference Load difference Number of tested Number
reinforcement type content load deflection deflection Fmax,m F0.5,m F0.5,m F3.5,m beams failed at of beams*
modes
Fmax,m F0.5,m F3.5,m DF1 DF 2
(kg/m3) (kN) (kN) (kN) (kN) (%) (kN) (%) BT BC BS
No £ R 0 42.27 – – – – 6 – – 6
F1 20 42.53 20.30 11.73 22.23 52.3 8.6 42.2 6 – – 6
40 44.25 32.43 17.10 11.82 26.7 15.3 47.3 6 – – 6
60 47.27 43.10 25.20 4.17 8.8 17.9 41.5 6 – – 6
F2 20 43.53 21.07 18.40 22.47 51.6 2.7 12.7 6 – – 6
40 43.80 35.30 22.23 8.50 19.4 13.1 37.0 6 – – 6
60 44.30 40.03 29.57 4.27 9.6 10.5 26.1 6 – – 6
F3 20 44.53 16.27 1.87 28.27 63.5 14.4 88.5 6 – – 6
40 46.18 34.70 6.63 11.48 24.9 28.1 80.9 6 – – 6
60 46.20 41.17 9.50 5.03 10.9 31.7 76.9 6 – – 6
2£6 mm R 0 42.83 43.21 53.53 0.38 0.9 10.3 23.9 6 – – 6
F1 20 44.60 54.31 66.83 9.71 21.8 12.5 23.1 6 – – 6
40 45.23 59.74 75.13 14.50 32.1 15.4 25.8 6 – – 6
60 47.57 66.43 79.87 18.86 39.6 13.4 20.2 6 – – 6
F2 20 45.93 52.34 66.30 6.41 14.0 14.0 26.7 6 – – 6
40 45.47 57.59 74.93 12.13 26.7 17.3 30.1 6 – – 6
60 45.10 64.58 82.83 19.48 43.2 18.3 28.3 6 – – 6
F3 20 46.50 54.49 59.27 7.99 17.2 4.8 8.8 6 – – 6
40 45.33 57.60 66.90 12.27 27.1 9.3 16.1 6 – – 6
60 48.60 66.42 73.77 17.82 36.7 7.3 11.1 6 – – 6
2£12 mm R 0 44.87 82.58 175.48 37.72 84.1 92.9 112.5 – – 3 3
F1 20 45.52 85.85 186.96 40.33 88.6 101.1 117.8 – 3 2 5
40 46.17 89.80 195.43 43.63 94.5 105.6 117.6 – 6 – 6
60 46.83 98.53 204.83 51.70 110.4 106.3 107.9 – 6 – 6
F2 20 43.90 88.35 186.37 44.45 101.3 98.0 110.9 – 4 2 6
40 43.90 90.00 191.60 46.10 105.0 101.6 112.9 – 6 – 6
60 42.83 93.84 201.00 51.01 119.1 107.2 114.2 – 5 1 6
F3 20 44.63 84.45 188.34 39.82 89.2 103.9 123.0 – 1 6 7
40 46.27 90.76 196.87 44.50 96.2 106.1 116.9 – 2 1 3
60 44.67 93.24 200.33 48.57 108.7 107.1 114.9 – 6 - 6
*
Number of beams that were taken for calculation of average values of loads.
F1 F2 F3
Fibre content of 20 kg/m³
(a) (d) (g)
25 25 25
20 20 20
Load, kN
15 15 15
10 10 10
5 5 5
0 0 0
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5
Deflection, mm Deflection, mm Deflection, mm
Fibre content of 40 kg/m³
(b) (e) (h)
40 40 40
30 30 30
Load, kN
20 20 20
10 10 10
0 0 0
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5
Deflection, mm Deflection, mm Deflection, mm
Fibre content of 60 kg/m³
(c) (f) (i)
50 50 50
40 40 40
Load, kN
30 30 30
20 20 20
10 10 10
0 0 0
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5
Deflection, mm Deflection, mm Deflection, mm
Fig. 12. Average load–deflection contributions of fibres for different fibre types (a to c – F1, d to f – F2, g to i – F3) with different fibre contents and bar reinforcement ratios.
cross-section (c) and in the tension zone (t) of the fractured 2£6 mm relatively high average numbers of fibres were obtained.
surface. Generally with increase in the fibre content a reduction in the
For simplifying the procedure of counting fibres, the depth of number of the effective fibres was observed in the whole cross-sec-
the tension zone was assumed to be equal to a half of the cross- tion as well as in the tension zone.
section height. The percentage of effective fibres is characterised In addition to the number of fibres, an average concrete cover as
by additional indices (RFce, RFte). well as the average differences of concrete cover of the bar rein-
As it was expected, in most cases the average number of com- forcement’s cl and Dcl are given in Table 6. Dcl was calculated by
plete fibres in the failed cross-section has almost proportionally in- the concrete cover of HSSFRC (cF1 ) subtracted from that of HSC
creased as the fibre content became higher. Extremely low average (cR1 ). Following Table 6, for beams with all fibre types in combina-
values were observed only for specimens F320 without reinforcing tion with bar reinforcement of 0.25%, generally lower concrete cov-
bars, F220, F320 and F340 with bar reinforcement of 2£6 mm and ers (cl), compared to the reference concrete R0 were obtained. That
for F140 reinforced by 2£12 mm. However, for specimens with is why the percentage of load bearing capacity is slightly height-
F140, F160 without bar reinforcement and for those with F120 and ened for HSSFRC beams with such bar reinforcement. However,
K. Holschemacher et al. / Materials and Design 31 (2010) 2604–2615 2613
Table 5
Average number of complete and effective fibres in the failed cross-section.
strength over 5.5 N/mm2 high-strength fibres should be used to ment. In this case the contribution of fibres to the load bearing
prevent a higher load decrease in the post-cracking range as result capacity of beams with the corrugated fibre type with bar rein-
of fibre breaks. forcement could be improved in the range of higher deflections
In the recommendations of the German Concrete Association in comparison to beams without longitudinal reinforcement.
[15] and in the guidelines ‘‘steel fibre reinforced concrete” [19] Specimens with high-strength fibre had lower number of bro-
the data is not available for HSC. Hence, this research was aimed ken fibres in the failed cross-sections, compared to those with nor-
at investigation of load bearing and deformation behaviour of steel mal strength ones. However, experiments show that using high-
fibre reinforced high-strength concrete (SFRHSC) in order to get strength fibres in bar reinforced HSC beams is not necessary as
further data, required for developing normative rules, recommen- no increase in the load bearing capacity, compared to beams with
dations and provisions for design of SFRHSC elements and struc- normal-strength fibres, was observed.
tures. According to the experimental results, obtained in the In cases of fibre contents of 0 and 20 kg/m3 the specimens, con-
frame of this study, independent of the fibre content, high-strength taining bar reinforcement of 1%, failed in shear or compression. For
fibre (F2) demonstrated higher load level up to a deformation of specimens with fibre content of 40 kg/m3 primary compression
3.5 mm in specimens without bar reinforcement, compared to failure was observed. For fibre content of 60 kg/m3 the HSC beams
those with 2£6 mm and 2£12 mm. with longitudinal reinforcement ratio of 1% failed in compression
Specimens with the corrugated fibre type F3 were characterised only.
by a distinct worse ductility, compared to the straight hooked ones, The force–displacement relationships, obtained in this study,
F1, due to higher number of broken fibres. As a result of a higher can be used for getting the residual loads or working capacities
number of broken fibres during the loading of specimens with cor- at deflections corresponding to ultimate and serviceability stages
rugated fibre type (F3), a distinct load decrease after the first crack of HSSFRC bending elements. Having these data, it is possible to
was observed in beams without bar reinforcement. This caused a define the fibre concrete or performance class of HSSFRC that al-
clearly lower load bearing performance of these beams after lows further design of fibre reinforced bending elements. However,
deflections between 1.0 mm and 1.5 mm, compared to specimens if design of steel bar reinforced HSSFRC beams will be based on the
with 2£6 mm and 2£12 mm. test results of specimens without bar reinforcement, the load bear-
Increasing the fibre content allowed avoiding shear failure (BS). ing capacity at serviceability stage (low deformations) will be over-
In this case the beams generally failed in compression (BC) in the estimated independent of the fibre type. The load level in the range
middle part. Only one specimen with fibre type F2 and fibre con- of high deformations, representing the ultimate limit state, will be
tent of 60 kg/m3 failed in shear because an imperfection in the con- overestimated for the high-strength fibre type. Normal strength
crete matrix between the support and the applied force. For beams corrugated fibre showed higher reserves for design of HSSFRC with
with fibre type F3 a higher number of shear failure modes was ob- bar reinforcement at ultimate limit stage.
tained, compared to specimens with other fibre types. Further experiments will be carried out on full scale beams in
Using higher bar reinforcement ratio prevents sudden cracking order to find more accurate correction factors, depending on fibre
in the tension zone between the applied loads. As a result, the load type and bar reinforcement ratio, in order to develop appropriate
is re-distributed in the zones between the applied forces and the design provisions. Based on the experimental results, obtained in
supports. It causes cracks and shear failure in specimens with fibre the frame of this study, normal-strength fibre type with end hooks
contents up to F40. is recommended to be used for investigations on full scale beams.
In respect to the contribution of fibres to the load bearing It will provide a maximum fibre content equivalent to that of the
capacity of specimens with normal and high-strength fibres, com- test series with small beams and will guarantee a good workability
bined with bar reinforcement, the loading rate gradually increased without fibre clustering.
up to deflections between 1.0 and 1.5 mm but could not reach the
load level of HSSFRC without bar reinforcement. In case of higher
Acknowledgements
deflections, specimens with normal-strength fibres, combined with
bar reinforcement, showed higher energy absorption capacity,
The financial support of the Humboldt Foundation for the visit
compared to that of HSC beams with normal-strength fibres and
of the third author to Germany in order to participate in the re-
without reinforcing bars (see Fig. 12). Specimens with high-
search is highly appreciated. The authors acknowledge the help
strength fibres without bar reinforcement had a clearly higher load
of H. Kieslich and S. Kaeseberg in preparing and carrying out the
bearing capacity up to deflections of 3.5 mm and more.
tests.
6. Conclusions References
[9] Mansur MA, Chain MS, Wee TH. Flexural behavior of high strength concrete [20] DIN EN 12350-5: Testing fresh concrete, Part 5: Flow table test; German
beams. ACI Struct J 1997;94(6). version, DIN Deutsches Institut für Normung e.V.; June 2000.
[10] Shah SA, Ribakov Y. Experimental and analytical study of flat-plate floor [21] RILEM TC 162-TDF: Test and design methods for steel fibre. Mater Struct
confinement. Mater Des 2005;26(8):655–69. 2002;35(November):579–82.
[11] Lim TY, Paramasivam P, Lee SL. Shear and moment capacity of reinforced [22] DIN 1045-1: Tragwerke aus Beton, Stahlbeton und Spannbeton, Teil 1:
steel–fiber–concrete beams. Mag Concr Res 1987;39(140). Bemessung und Konstruktion, DIN Deutsches Institut für Normung e.V.,
[12] Narayanan R, Darwish IYS. Use of steel fibers as shear reinforcement. ACI August 2008 [in German].
Struct J 1987;216–226(May–June). [23] Topcu IB, Canbaz M. Effect of different fibers on the mechanical properties of
[13] Savir Z, Dancygier AN. Structural behaviour of high strength reinforced concrete containing fly ash. Constr Build Mater 2007;21(7).
concrete with steel fibers. In: Zingoni A, editor. Progress in Structural [24] Hwee TK, Kumar SM. Ten-year study on steel fiber-reinforced concrete beams
Engineering, Mechanics and Computation. London: Taylor and Francis under sustained loads. ACI Struct J 2005. May.
Group; 2004. [25] Sorelli LG, Meda A, Plizzari GA. Steel fiber concrete slabs on ground: a
[14] Iskhakov I, Ribakov Y. A design method for two-layer beams consisting of structural matter. ACI Struct J 2006. July.
normal and fibered high strength concrete. Mater Des 2007;28(5):1672–7. [26] Neves RD, Fernandes de Almeida JCO. Compressive behaviour of steel fibre
[15] Deutscher Beton- und Bautechnik-Verein e.V. (Hrsg.), DBV-Merkblatt reinforced concrete. Struct Concr 2005;6(1).
Stahlfaserbeton, Wiesbaden; October 2001 [in German]. [27] S-H Cho, Y-I Kim. Effects of steel fibers on short beams loaded in shear. ACI
[18] DIN EN 206-1: Concrete, Part 1: Specification, performance, production and Struct J 2003;87(November–December):765–74 [100-S79].
conformity, German version, DIN Deutsches Institut für Normung e.V.; July [28] Holschemacher K, Müller T. Influence of fibre type and concrete composition
2001. on properties of steel fibre reinforced concrete. In: International conference on
[19] Deutscher Ausschuss für Stahlbeton (DAfStb), Richtlinie Stahlfaserbeton, 23. advances in cement based material and application in civil infrastructure
Entwurf, Beuth Verlag GmbH, Berlin und Köln; December 2007 [in German]. (ACBM-ACI), Vol. 2. Lahore, Pakistan; 2007. p. 633–42.