Effects of steel fiber type and ratio on the one-way bending behavior of hybrid fiber reinforced concrete thin panels

Abstract

Performance of hybrid fiber reinforced concrete (HyFRC) determined through standardized material tests usually correlates well with the structural performance. However, for thin panels, this correlation may be disturbed due to the fiber orientation and small crack surfaces, and more detailed investigations are required. In this study, effects of steel fiber type and ratio on the one-way bending behavior of HyFRC thin panels was investigated through concrete mixes obtained by using three different steel fiber types and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) fibers. 45 dog bone shaped, notched specimens were cast and tested under direct tension to investigate the direct tension behavior of used HyFRC. Nine panels of 2500 × 500 × 50 mm in dimension were tested under three-point bending, and nine panels of 1240 × 500 × 50 mm in dimension were tested under four-point bending. An inverse analysis to obtain crack width-stress variation in three- and four-point bending specimens was also performed and behavior of steel fiber reinforced concrete specimens with and without PVA addition were compared. It was found that steel fiber type and ratio was consistently the dominant factor for all types of tests on HyFRC specimens. Addition of PVA fibers in HyFRC specimens either resulted in a similar or worse behavior for direct tension and three-point bending compared to their steel fiber only counterparts. Adverse effect of PVA fibers was more pronounced in three-point bending tests. On the other hand, PVA addition had a more positive effect in four-point bending tests. Inverse analyses performed on three-point bending tests revealed that stress levels develop between crack surfaces in these thin panels were significantly lower compared to direct tension stress levels. However, under four-point bending, these tensile stresses were closer to direct tension stresses, especially for specimens with shorter steel fibers. Loading conditions were found to be an effective factor in the behavior of HyFRC thin panels. © 2023 Elsevier Ltd