Experimental and numerical study of reinforced concrete beams with steel fibers subjected to impact loading

As a kind of impact resistant material, steel fiber reinforced concrete (SFRC) has a good ductility and energy dissipation capacity by improving the tensile strength and impact toughness. To explore the dynamic mechanical behavior of SFRC beams subjected to impact loading, 12 simply-supported SFRC beams with different stirrup ratios (0%, 0.253% and 0.502%) and different volume fractions of steel fibers (0%, 1%, 2% and 3%) were tested with free-falling drop-weights impacting at the mid-span of specimens. The failure patterns were observed and videoed, and simultaneously, the time histories of the impact force, the reaction force, and the mid-span deflection were recorded. Moreover, the influences of stirrup ratio and volume fraction of steel fibers on the impact resistant behavior of the SFRC beams were preliminarily analyzed and discussed. The results indicate that the impact resistant performance of SFRC beams, such as crack pattern, ductility, energy consumption capacity, and deformation recovery capacity can be improved by the addition of steel fibers and stirrups. The required static capacity of these beams were calculated based on the analysis of reaction force vs. displacement loop and impact force vs. displacement loop as well as absorbed energy ratio. For further understanding the experimental results, finite element simulation of SFRC beams subjected to impact loading were carried out. The rationality and accuracy of the finite element model was illustrated by the good agreement between the test observations and the numerical results.