Behaviour of fibre-reinforced concretes with reference to fracture resistance

This paper examines the effect of beam size, fibre volume fraction and various fibres on the flexural behaviour of concretes, and their fracture resistance. The ratio of flexural strength to tensile strength is used as a measure of brittleness; a low value indicating a more brittle material. Two flexural toughness indices are used which provide a basis for analysing load-deflection curves. The relation between these structural indices and the material fracture resistance is assessed by adopting parameters which involve flexural and tensile strengths alone and fibre length to reflect fracture resistance.