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

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. © 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.