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DOI 10.1007/s12205-013-1115-1
Structural Engineering
www.springer.com/12205
Abstract
This paper deals with the effect of steel fiber reinforcement on the behavior of Self-Compacting Concrete (SCC) beams. Bending
tests were carried out to examine the effect of low fiber content (0.25% by volume) on the flexural behavior of beams with different
amounts of steel rebar reinforcement. The study compares the behavior of reinforced concrete beams cast either with control SCC
and the one of Fiber-Reinforced Self-Compacting Concrete (FRSCC). Fibers used were made of stainless amorphous metal. Their
influence was studied through the global and local mechanical responses of the beams. The results show that fiber reinforcement
allows the control of cracking to be improved. Yielding, ductility and load bearing capacity are not modified by the fiber
reinforcement; its effects are limited to the kinetics and distribution of cracks. If it was observed that the used fiber content reduced
stresses in the stirrups, they could not be considered as a solution to replace stirrups. However, their ability to transfer tensile stress
through a crack provided greater beam stiffness, notably with a low steel bar reinforcement ratio. It was concluded that stainless steel
fiber reinforcement is a suitable solution to control crack width in reinforced concrete elements in aggressive environments with
respect to the limitations imposed by design codes such as the European code Eurocode 2.
Keywords: beam, fiber-reinforcement, self-compacting concrete, cracking control, flexural behavior, shear behavior
1. Introduction
The brittle nature of concrete causes it to collapse shortly after
the formation of the first crack. When steel fibers are added to a
concrete mix, they are randomly distributed and act as crack
arrestors (Beaudoin, 1990; Yun et al., 2007). The addition of
steel fibers helps to convert brittle concretes into more ductile
ones. The main role of fibers is to transfer stress across the crack
and thus to restrain crack opening and propagation. Recent
research (Banthia and Trottier, 1994; Cucchiara et al., 2004;
Edginton et al., 1978; Ezeldin and Balaguru, 1989; Furlan and de
Hanai, 1997; Khuntia and Stojadinovic, 2001) has indicated that
fiber reinforcement improves the mechanical properties of
concrete, mainly the post-cracking behavior.
Much research has investigated the influence of fibers on
behavior of reinforced concrete structural elements, as beams.
Before flexural beam cracking, the effect of fibers on global
mechanical response is contradictory. Maximum deflection is
increased in presence of fibers for Barragn (2002) whereas it is
not affected for other studies (Lim and Oh, 1999), (Narayanan et
Darwish, 1987), (Furlan and de Hanai, 1997). After flexural
*Scientific Researcher, Universit de Toulouse, UPS, INSA, LMDC (Laboratoire Matriaux et Durabilit des Constructions), F-31077 Toulouse Cedex
04, France (E-mail: youcef.fritih@insa-toulouse.fr)
**Assistant Professor, Universit de Toulouse, UPS, INSA, LMDC (Laboratoire Matriaux et Durabilit des Constructions), F-31077 Toulouse Cedex 04,
France (Corresponding Author, E-mail: thierry.vidal@insa-toulouse.fr)
***Professor, Universit de Toulouse, UPS, INSA, LMDC (Laboratoire Matriaux et Durabilit des Constructions), F-31077 Toulouse Cedex 04, France
(E-mail: anaclet.turatsinze@insa-toulouse.fr)
****Professor, Universit de Toulouse, UPS, INSA, LMDC (Laboratoire Matriaux et Durabilit des Constructions), F-31077 Toulouse Cedex 04, France
(E-mail: gerard.pons@insa-toulouse.fr)
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2. Materials
2.1 Concrete Mixes
The choice of concretes focused on self-compacting concretes
for their many advantages: the application of SCC in construction
provides benefits from the perspective of materials technology
and environmental protection and presents exciting opportunities
to engineers and architects alike. These mixes were chosen
according to industrial and local criteria. The SCC studied here
was designed using a CEM I 52.5R cement (average particle size
d50 of 14 m) complying with European standard ENV 197-1/
A3: 2009, limestone filler (d50 = 15 m, MgO content 0.2% by
weight), river aggregates (0/4 mm sand, 4/10 mm gravel) and
acrylic copolymer-based superplasticizer.
2.2 Fiber-reinforcement
One type of macro-metallic fiber, called FIBRAFLEX, was
used (Fig. 1). The ribbon-shaped fibers are 30 mm long, 1.6 mm
wide and 0.03 mm thick, and belong to the family of metallic
glass materials. They are made of amorphous metal (Fe, Cr) 80%
and (P, C, Si) 20% by mass. No corrosion was observed when
such fibers were immersed in HCl (0.1 N) and in FeCl3 (0.4 N)
for 24 h at 35C following ASTM G48-76-A (Choulli et al.,
2008). These fibers are straight, flexible and stainless. Their
characteristics are given in Table 1. They can be used in severe
conditions, maintaining their mechanical efficiency without
generating the unsightly rust stains that appear on the concrete
surface when traditional metal fibers are used. These fibers have
Amorphous metal
30
Rectangular 1.6 0.03
7.20
2000
140
Stainless
a high bond with the concrete matrix due to their rough surface
and high specific surface. So, at the time of crack initiation, the
fibers do not slide from the matrix and are immediately
tensioned, thus acting to restrain the crack opening (Turatsinze et
al., 2005). When the stress is too high and exceeds the tensile
strength of the fibers, they break instead of pulling out.
The effect of this amorphous fiber reinforcement on the tensile
behavior of concrete has been widely investigated and is well
established thanks to direct tensile test according to Rilem
recommendations (TC 162-TDF Rilem, 2001) that specify the
experimental procedure. Uni-axial tension tests have been
extensively performed on mono fibered concretes (Turatsinze et
al., 2003) and on hybrid fibered concretes (Pons et al., 2007)
(Hameed et al., 2010a) reinforced by different types of fiber. All
results show that, due to the high tensile strength and high
modulus of elasticity of amorphous fiber used and because of
their large specific surface which provides high bond with the
matrix, the concrete reinforced with this type of fibers exhibits
high residual post peak strength. The corresponding post peak
plateau is at a high level but short, given these fibers, unlike the
conventional steel fibers, do not slide but are broken when
critical crack opening estimated to 200 microns is reached
(Turatsinze et al., 2005). Hameed et al. (2010b) showed that the
type of amorphous fibers used in this research allows the tension
stiffening of a reinforced concrete to be increased as soon as a
crack is initiated under uniaxial tensile loading.
2.3 Mix Proportions
The studied Self-Compacting Concrete (SCC) and Steel Fiber
Reinforced Self-Compacting Concrete (FRSCC) were developed
by Pons et al. (2007), following Rossis recommendations (1991).
The mix proportions of these concretes are detailed in Table 2.
They use the same materials. Compared to the SCC mix, the
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SCC (control)
FRSCC
311.2
353.0
171.4
220.4
Sand 0/4 mm
824.5
919.3
Gravel 4/10 mm
864.3
574.4
20
Metal fibers
Superplasticizer SIKA3030
3.56
4.30
Water
195.9
232.0
FRSCC
720
2.1
680
2.3
680
4.3
1.0
650
4.5
1.1
2388
2342
1.9
1.5
FRSCC
45.7
42.3
3.9
4.0
28020
27330
loop CMOD-controlled loading according to RILEM recommendations (TC 162-TDF Rilem, 2001) with the aim of determining
the post-peak residual strength-crack opening relationship. The
results illustrated in Fig. 2 allow a comparison between SCC and
FRSCC sample behavior. For SCC, the diagrams demonstrate
the well-known brittle behavior of the material: a sudden
decrease in the residual strength with increase of the crack
opening after the peak load. When the macrocrack is localized,
its propagation requires little energy.
For FRSCC, the diagram has a different shape. Up to peak load,
the curve is the same as the one for SCC. The zone just before the
peak corresponds to the microcrack initiation and propagation in
the concrete. After the peak load, coalescence phenomenon leads to
damage localization. The post-peak behavior of FRSCC can be
schematized as a three-phase law. The first part corresponds to a
stress decrease from peak load to a residual strength plateau. The
action of fibers allows a high level of residual strength to be
maintained for a crack opening at which the residual strength is
close to zero in the case of control SCC. During the development of
the crack opening in a softening material such as the one studied
here, the drop in the residual strength from the peak load is
unavoidable. The second phase implies a plateau of residual postpeak strength. This plateau is also largely influenced by fiber
properties (modulus of elasticity, bond with the matrix) and fiber
content. The amplitude of the residual strength is high, but the
plateau is short due to the stress concentration in the bridging part of
the fiber, which causes its failure.
The third part coincides with the failure of the specimen. It is
associated with the successive fracture of fibers. According to
Turatsinze et al. (2005), the fibers used in this study do not resist
for crack openings wider than 0.2 mm.
3. Experimental Setup
The objectives of this experimental program were to assess the
ability of a steel fiber reinforcement to control crack opening and
the resulting consequences on the mechanical flexural postcracking response of beams. Their mechanical contribution to
shear strength was also investigated by comparing the responses
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Series A
Series B
Series C
SCC
FRSCC
SCC
FRSCC
SCC
FRSCC
Transverse
reinforcement
spacing
Asw
(cm2)
(mm)
0.50
150
0.50
150
Longitudinal
reinforcement
Asl
(cm2)
3.08
3.08
8.29
8.29
8.29
8.29
Volume
of fibers
Type
of loading
w (%)
Vf (%)
flexure
0.81
0.81
2.28
2.28
2.28
2.28
0
0.25
0
0.25
0
0.25
3 points
3 points
4 points
4 points
4 points
4 points
Expected
failure mode
flexure
flexure
shear
shear
shear
shear
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Fig. 6. Load-deflection
Number
of cracks
22
19
26
31
28
29
Length of cracked
zone (cm)
208
175
220
228
242
220
wmax
(m)
270
180
213
191
361
300
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wmax
reduction (%)
33.3
10.3
16.9
Spacing
reduction (%)
7.6
13.6
13.3
(1)
1/3
(2)
(3)
Table 7. Ultimate Loads and Failure Mode of Beams: Model Predictions and Experimental Results
Beams
A-SCC
A-FRSCC
B-SCC
B-FRSCC
C-SCC
C-FRSCC
Failure mode
Flexure
Flexure
Shear
Shear
Flexure
Flexure
KSCE Journal of Civil Engineering
Fig. 7. Mode of Failure of all Beams Tested: (a) Series A Beams, (b) Series B Beams, (c) Series C Beams
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Fig. 9. Crack Openings: (a) Average of Crack Openings, (b) Cumulated Crack Openings
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Fig. 12. Strains at Different Locations (Distances from the Support) of Stirrups Just before Failure of the Beams
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Fig. 13. Strains in the Stirrups Crossed by a: (a) Flexural Crack, (b)
Shear Crack
5. Conclusions
This paper has investigated the effect of steel-fiber reinforcement on the behavior of six reinforced Self-Compacting Concrete
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