Engineering Structures 33 (2011) 107117

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Engineering Structures
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/engstruct

The composite effect of steel fibres and stirrups on the shear behaviour of beams using self-consolidating concrete
Yining Ding a , Zhiguo You b, , Said Jalali c
a b c

State Key Laboratory of Coastal and Offshore Engineering, Dalian University of Technology, China College of Civil and Architectural Engineering, Hebei Polytechnic University, China Department of Civil Engineering, University of Minho, Portugal

article

info

abstract
Based on the investigation of the influence of steel fibre on the workability of fresh self-consolidating concrete (SCC), this paper presents the experimental results carried out on a series of simply supported SCC rectangular beams, using steel fiber reinforcement with and without stirrups, and subjected to four-point symmetrically placed vertical loads. The major test variables are the steel fibre content and stirrup ratios. The current study on the shear strength of conventional reinforced concrete (RC) beams verifies the shear strength of SCC beams with steel fibres. The investigation indicates that the shear strength significantly increases by increasing the fibre content; the addition of steel fibres in an adequate percentage can change the failure mode from a brittle shear collapse into a ductile flexural mechanism. The stirrups can be partially replaced by steel fibres. The combination of steel fibres and stirrups demonstrates a positive composite effect on the mechanical behaviour. The shear strength recorded experimentally is compared with the value obtained from the proposed formula, and the correlation is satisfactory. 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Article history: Received 22 January 2010 Received in revised form 20 September 2010 Accepted 26 September 2010 Available online 4 November 2010 Keywords: Steel fibre self-consolidating concrete Beam Shear strength Failure mode Workability Composite effect

1. Introduction A diagonal crack in a reinforced concrete (RC) beam occurs when the principal tensile stress of concrete within the shear span exceeds the tensile strength of concrete [1]. The addition of steel fibres to an RC beam can increase its shear strength, and if sufficient steel fibres are added a brittle shear failure can be suppressed in favour of more ductile behaviour, which also tends to reduce the crack width and spacing [25]. The published research works confirm the effectiveness of steel fibres and shear reinforcement, and empirical equations for estimating the shear strength of steel fibre reinforced conventional RC beams have been suggested [26]. Steel fibres are used to boost the shear capacity of concrete or to partially replace the vertical stirrups in RC structural members. This relieves reinforcement congestion at critical sections such as beamcolumn junctions and tubing segments [3,7]. The steel fibres can improve the post-crack performance and reduce the brittle behaviour of normal concrete and high-strength concrete (HSC). As a result, the structural performance of HSC can be maximized.

Corresponding author. E-mail addresses: ynding@hotmail.com (Y. Ding), youzhiguo119@163.com (Z. You). 0141-0296/$ see front matter 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.engstruct.2010.09.023

The interface bond between aggregates and paste for SCC is better than that of normal concrete, and there are fewer internal defects in SCC than in normal concrete [8,9]. The difference between steel fibre reinforced self-consolidating concrete (SFSCC) and traditional fibre reinforced concrete (FRC) is that the fibre content of FRC is mainly determined by the post-cracking behaviour, and the fibre content of SFSCC is mainly restricted by the workability of fresh SCC. Using SFSCC can significantly reduce the construction period and costs, and the binding of reinforcement, and it can be easily placed in thin or irregularly shaped sections where the arrangement of stirrups may be difficult. SFSCC combines the advantages of both SCC and FRC. However, research work on the study of SFSCC beams, especially dealing with the shear behaviour of SFSCC, is still limited. The objectives of studying FRSCC under loading include a number of issues, such as the flexural behaviour of FRSCC beams and FRSCC elements subjected to shear, fiber orientation and distribution on bending and shear properties, reinforced SCC members with fiber addition subjected to multiple stress states (bending and shear), and the failure pattern under cyclic loading. However, it is not intended in this study to present complete knowledge of every aspect of the FRSCC. This paper presents the results of an experimental research program on the shear behaviour of steel fibre reinforced SCC beams. The major aims of this program are to evaluate the possibility of replacing stirrups by steel fibres, to study

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Notation SF: RC: SFSCC: FRC: SCC: SFSCCB: steel fiber; reinforced concrete; steel fibre reinforced self-consolidating concrete; fiber reinforced concrete; self-consolidating concrete; steel fibre reinforced self-consolidating concrete beam; SFSCCB25-150: steel fibre SCC beam with 25 kg/m3 steel fibre content and 150 mm spacing of stirrup; 6.5@150: is the diameter of the stirrups, 6.5 indicates that the diameter of the stirrup is 6.5 mm; @150 indicates that the stirrup spacing is 150 mm. b: width of the beam cross section; h: depth of the beam cross section; d: effective depth of the beam cross section; a: shear span of the beam; ls : span of the beam; s: stirrup spacing; dm : the average of final diameter in slump flow test; T500 : the time for concrete to reach the 500 mm spread circle in the slump flow test; ha : the average difference in height between the concrete inside and outside the bars in the J-ring test; h2 /h1 : the blocking ratio in the L-box test; T200 and T400 : the time necessary for concrete to reach the 200 and 400 mm locations in the L-box test; h2 h1 : the filling height in the U-box test; Fu : the ultimate load (kN); u : shear strength (the average ultimate shear stress) of self-consolidating beams; V: ultimate shear; lf : fibre length; df : equivalent diameter; lf /df : aspect ratio; fc : cylinder compressive strength; fcu : cubic compressive strength; st : stirrup ratio; s : steel ratio of longitudinal reinforcement; Fu : the ultimate deflection corresponding to the ultimate load Fu ; Fu : increased rate of ultimate load Fu ; v u : increased rate of shear strength u ; : increased rate of ultimate deflection Fu .

ratio 0.132% (st = 0.132%) corresponds to a steel amount of 17.5 kg/m3 . The fibre contents selected were 25 and 50 kg/m3 , based on the workability of SCC. Other parameters, such as the shear span-to-depth ratio (a/d = 3) and the longitudinal reinforcement ratio (s = 2.8%), were kept constant. Fig. 1 shows the dimension and reinforcement details of the different SCC beams. In Table 1, each beam is designated by the steel fibre content and spacing of stirrups. The letters SFSCCB denote a steel fibre SCC beam; the first two digits indicate the steel fibre content and the following number indicates the spacing of stirrups. For instance, SFSCCB25-150 refers to a beam with 25 kg/m3 steel fibre content and 150 mm spacing of stirrups. All beams were simply supported and subjected to concentrated symmetrical two-point loading. Fig. 2 shows the loading and arrangements of a half beam. In order to evaluate the fibre influence on the steel strain, strain gauges were fixed on the longitudinal reinforcement at mid-span and at the load point. Furthermore, strain gauges were also placed on each stirrup in the shear span. Linear variable differential transformers (LVDTs) were used to measure the beam deflection at five locations, as shown in Fig. 2. The concrete strain gauges were fixed on a web in a rosette form to measure the concrete strains. The testing equipment has a capacity of 10 000 kN. The deformation rate of the mid-span was fixed at 0.2 mm/min [11]. During testing the values of the load, the deflection and strain were continuously recorded. 2.2. Material properties The SCC composition is given in Table 2. Portland cement type 42.5R and gravel with a maximum size of 10 mm, hooked-end steel fibres RC-65/35BN (fibre length lf = 35 mm, equivalent diameter df = 0.55 mm, aspect ratio lf /df = 65) and nominal tensile strength of 1150 MPa were used. The longitudinal reinforcement of all beams was with 25 mm diameter deformed bars bent at the ends to ensure a good anchorage condition, while plain 6.5 mm diameter bars were used for stirrups. The longitudinal reinforcement and stirrup had a yield stress of 460 MPa and 340 MPa with an ultimate stress of 652 MPa and 506 MPa, respectively. 2.3. Test methods of workability A concrete mix can only be classified as SCC if the requirements for flowability, segregation resistance, passing ability, filling ability, and levelling ability are fulfilled [1215]. The test methods used in this research work were a slump flow test (for assessing the flowability), J-ring test and L-box test (for assessing the passing ability and flowability as well as segregation resistance) and a Ubox test (for assessing the passing ability, flowability, and levelling ability). The J-ring test method used simulates a strongly reinforced column with a reinforcement ratio = 2.6%. Fig. 3 shows details of these tests on SCC with 25 kg/m3 steel fibre. It can be seen that the workability of the FRC used fulfils the requirements of SCC. 3. Results

the hybrid effect of steel fibres and stirrups on the mechanical behaviour of beams, and to analyze the influence of steel fibres (SFs) on the failure mode and shear strength. The validity of the existing semi-empirical equations for predicting the shear strength is also verified, and the most suitable equation is indicated. 2. Test program 2.1. Beam dimension and set-up description

3.1. Test results of workability and compressive strength A series of steel fibre reinforced SCC beams was studied experimentally. The details of the test program are given in Table 1. The beams had a cross section of 200 mm 300 mm and 2400 mm length. They were tested on a span of ls = 2100 mm having two stirrup ratios and two fibre contents. The constructive stirrup ratio according to the Chinese code [10] was 0.22% (st = 0.22%), corresponding to a steel amount of 29.1 kg/m3 , and the stirrup The experimental results of SFSCC workability are given in Table 3. Factor dm represents the average final diameter, while factor T500 represents the time taken for the concrete to reach the 500 mm spread circle in the slump flow test. Parameter ha represents the average of the difference in height between the concrete inside and outside the bars at four locations in the J-ring

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A 200 50 2300 50 B 50 250 250 230 230 250 250 50 150 780 540 780 150 C 50 150 150 150 150 130 130 150 150 150 150 50 150 780 540 780 150
210
25

210
25

300

325

300

325

325

25

25

25 25 37.5 200 37.5 25

37.5 200

37.5

25 25 37.5 200 37.5 25

Fig. 1. Dimension and reinforcement details of different SCC beams.

Table 1 Beam details. Beam No. SFSCCB0- SFSCCB25- SFSCCB50- SFSCCB0-250 SFSCCB25-250 SFSCCB50-250 SFSCCB0-150 SFSCCB25-150 SFSCCB50-150 Dimension (mm) a/d 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 Stirrup ratio (%) 0 0 0 0.132 0.132 0.132 0.22 0.22 0.22 Stirrup spacing (mm) Fibre content (kg m3 ) 0 25 50 0 25 50 0 25 50

250 250 250 150 150 150

b = 200 h = 300 ls = 2100

Table 2 Concrete composition. Cement (kg m3 ) 399 Fly ash (kg m3 ) 171 Water (kg m3 ) 200 Sand (kg m3 ) 742 Gravel (kg m3 ) 724 Super-plasticizer (%) 1.3 Water/Binder 0.35

test. The ratio h2 /h1 represents the blocking ratio in the L-box test. The parameters T200 and T400 represent the time taken for the concrete to reach 200 and 400 mm in the L-box. The value of h2 /h1 represents the filling height in the U-box tests.

The results of the workability of steel fibre reinforced SCC in Table 3 indicate that all parameters regarding workability meet the requirements of SCC according to EFNARC [13], except for the value of h2 /h1 , which is low when the fibre content is 50 kg/m3 . This

25

300

6.5@250

6.5@150

110 Table 3 Test results of workability. Fibre content (kg m3 ) Slump flow dm (mm) 0 25 50 780 760 730

Y. Ding et al. / Engineering Structures 33 (2011) 107117

J-ring T500 (s) 4.2 3.9 3.0 ha (mm) 1 2 14

L-box h2 /h1 0.89 0.89 0.78 T200 (s) 2.23 1.84 3.51 T400 (s) 5.13 4.77 9.93

U-box h2 h1 (mm) 2 5 16

Fig. 2. Loading and measuring arrangement of a half beam. Table 4 Compressive strength. Fibre content (kg m3 ) 0 25 50 fcu,28 (MPa) 39.3 41.8 48.5 fcu,120 (MPa) 56.2 60.6 65.4 fc,120 (MPa) 48.33 52.11 56.24

means that 50 kg/m3 steel fibre could be the upper boundary of the fibre content regarding the workability of SCC members if the steel ratio is 2.6%. The cubic compressive strength fcu and cylinder compressive strength fc = 0.86fcu [16] at 28 days and 120 days curing are listed in Table 4. It can be seen that the addition of SF does not have a significant effect on the compressive strength of concrete. 3.2. Flexural beam test 3.2.1. Loaddeflection curves Fig. 4 shows loaddeflection curves of SCC beams with different fibre contents and various stirrup ratios. Fig. 4(a) illustrates the comparison of loaddeflection curves among the reference beam (SFSCCB0-, without stirrups and fibres) and the 25, 50 kg/m3 steel fibre reinforced SCC beams without stirrups (beams SFSCCB25- and SFSCCB50-). The following can be seen. (1) The reference beam (SFSCCB0-) shows both lower loadcarrying capacity (Fu = 157 kN) and brittle failure pattern. After

the ultimate load Fu , the beam does not show any post-peak behaviour and the load-carrying capacity declines abruptly. (2) Compared to the reference beam, the ultimate load bearing capacity (Fu ) of the beam with 25 kg/m3 steel fibres (SFSCCB25-) increased 32.5%, and the maximum deflection Fu corresponding to the ultimate load Fu increased about 50%. (3) Compared to the beam with 25 kg/m3 steel fibers (SFSCCB25-), Fu of beam with 50 kg/m3 steel fibres (SFSCCB50-) increased 79%, and the maximum deflection Fu increased 142%. The observation above indicates that the addition of steel fibres can greatly enhance the ductility and change the brittle failure pattern of the reference beam into a ductile one. The reference beam failed soon after the first diagonal crack appeared. For SCC beams with steel fibres, several diagonal cracks formed; the crack spacing and crack width under the same load clearly declined with the increase of fiber content. The steel fibres become effective after cracking, induce a more even stress redistribution over the crack region, and continue to resist the principal tensile stresses until the pullout of the fibres. Fig. 4(b) illustrates a comparison of loaddeflection curves for three beams with stirrups (stirrup ratio 0.22%) and fibre dosages (0, 25 and 50 kg/m3 ). Corresponding to the stirrup ratio 0.22%, the stirrup spacing is 150 mm (SFSCCB0-150; see Table 1). It can be seen that the addition of 25 kg/m3 steel fibre can enhance both the ultimate load Fu and the ultimate deflection Fu corresponding to the ultimate load. The ultimate load Fu increased about 18.4% and the ultimate deflection Fu increased about 18.0%. However, the beam with only 25 kg/m3 steel fibre (SFSCCB25-150) still exhibits some brittle diagonal failure patterns (see Fig. 5(b)). After the ultimate load Fu , the load-carrying capacity decreased clearly (see Fig. 4(b)). In comparison with beams SFSCCB0-150 and SFSCCB25-150, the addition of 50 kg/m3 steel fibre can enhance the ultimate load Fu by about 45.0% and 24.1%, respectively. 50 kg/m3 steel fibres transform the brittle shear failure pattern of SFSCCB0-150 into the good ductile flexure failure pattern of SFSCCB50-150 (see Fig. 4(b)) and Fig. 5(c)). This means that the addition of 50 kg/m3 steel fibres has a clear effect on the failure pattern and deformability of a beam. It also indicates high composite effect efficiency between the steel fibres and the stirrups.

J-ring

L-box
Fig. 3. Tests of workability of SCC with 25 kg/m3 steel fibre.

U-box

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111

300

SFSCCB50-

250
SFSCCB25-

200 Load / kN

150

100
SFSCCB0-

50

6 8 Deflection / mm

10

12

500 475 450 425 400 375 350 325 300 275 250 225 200 175 150 125 100 75 50 25 0

SFSCCB50-150

SFSCCB25-150

Load / kN

SFSCCB0-150

10

15

20 25 30 35 Deflection / mm

40

45

50

55

(a) SFSCCB without stirrups.

(b)SFSCCB with stirrup ratio 0.22%. Fig. 4. Loaddeflection curves of RC beams with various fiber contents.

3.2.2. Possibility of totally or partially replacing stirrups with steel fibres The bending shear capacity of the diagonal section of steel reinforced SCC beam without fibers consists mainly of four parts: the residual uncracked concrete zone of the top of the beam, the stirrups crossing the diagonal cracks, the aggregate interlocking resistance of the concrete, and the dowel action of the longitudinal bars. The contribution of steel fibres to the shear capacities includes some important improvements, as follows. (a) They improve the ultimate tensile strength; (b) they improve the dowel action, preventing a breakdown of the bond when splitting cracks develop parallel to the longitudinal steel rebar; (c) they increase the ductility and deformability because much energy is absorbed in debonding and pulling steel fibres out the concrete matrix before complete concrete failure occurs; (d) they can reduce the spacing and width of diagonal cracks; thus the shear transfer capacity can be enhanced due to the increased fibreconcrete interlock effect. The three-dimensional distributed steel fibres act as effective shear reinforcement and the fibres can be more effective in arresting crack propagation and maintaining the integrity of the surrounding concrete. Fig. 5(a) shows the failure pattern of the steel reinforced SCC beam without fibers. With the widening and development of the diagonal cracks, the aggregate interlocking resistance decreases abruptly and can be neglected. The failure of dowel action and the spalling of concrete around the longitudinal reinforcement can be observed. Compared to the failure pattern in Fig. 5(a), the failure mode of the steel reinforced SCC beam with steel fibers is illustrated in Fig. 5(b). The following explanations can be suggested.

The failure of dowel action and spalling of concrete around the

bending steel can be prevented. In this case, fibers that are parallel to the longitudinal bars are more effective than those with other orientations.

The fibers can reduce the strain of longitudinal steel and stirrups
at ultimate stress.

The steel fibers increase the tensile capacity of concrete and

partially absorb the tensile stress of steel reinforcement. Based on the loaddeflection curves in Fig. 6, the ultimate load and ultimate deflection corresponding to the ultimate load and the load-carrying capacity after the peak load are analyzed, and the maximum diagonal crack width and failure mode are investigated in order to evaluate whether steel fibres can totally or partially replace stirrups in RC members. 3.2.2.1. Total replacement of stirrups with steel fibres. Fig. 6 shows the comparisons of loaddeflection curves of SCC beams with different stirrup ratios and various fibre dosages. Fig. 6(a) shows the comparison of loaddeflection curves for beams SFSCCB0-150, SFSCCB0-250 and SFSCCB50-. The following can be seen.

Compared to beam SFSCCB0-150 ( 6.5@150, stirrup ratio st = 0.22%, steel amount 29.1 kg/m3 , without fibres), the ultimate load Fu of beam SFSCCB50- (fibre dosage 50 kg/m3 , without stirrups) decreased by 11.3%, and the ultimate deflection Fu
corresponding to the ultimate load Fu decreased by 13.2%; this indicates more brittle behaviour.

The three-dimensional distributed fibers absorb part of the

shear force. The fibers can also resist the widening of the diagonal cracks; therefore, a deeper residual uncracked compressive zone can be preserved. The aggregate interlocking resistance can be significantly improved due to fiber bridging. The fibers, which are perpendicular to the diagonal cracks, increase the shear capacity clearly (see Fig. 5(b)).

Compared to beam SFSCCB0-250 ( 6.5@250, stirrup ratio st = 0.132%, steel amount 17.5 kg/m3 , without fibres), the ultimate load Fu of beam SFSCCB50- (fibre dosage 50 kg/m3 , without
stirrups) decreased by only 2.8%.

The post-peak load-carrying capacities of the beams with stirrups are better than that of beam SFSCCB50-.
This means that the load-carrying capacities of the three beam types are not equivalent, and two different shear reinforcements ( 6.5@250 and 6.5@150) of the current experiment cannot be totally replaced by only 50 kg/m3 steel fibres.

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(a) SFSCCB0-150 with failure of dowel action, spalling, and strong brittle diagonal cracking.

(b) SFSCCB25-150 with less brittle diagonal failure.

(c) SFSCCB50-150 with ductile flexural failure. Fig. 5. Crack and failure pattern of half beams with stirrup ratio 0.22%.

3.2.2.2. Partially replacing stirrups with steel fibres. Fig. 6(b) demonstrates the comparisons of loaddeflection curves between beams SFSCCB0-150 and SFSCCB25-250. The following can be seen.

Compared to beam SFSCCB0-150 ( 6.5@150, stirrup ratio st = 0.22%, steel amount 29.1 kg/m3 , without fibres), the ultimate load Fu of beam SFSCCB25-250 (fibre dosage 25 kg/m3 , 6.5@250, st = 0.132%, steel amount 17.5 kg/m3 ) increased about 14%, and the ultimate deflection Fu corresponding to the
ultimate load Fu increased by 20%.

0.225 mm, respectively. The maximum diagonal crack widths of the latter decreased by about 50%. Fig. 6(c) shows the comparisons of loaddeflection curves between beams SFSCCB25-150 and SFSCCB50-250. The following can be seen.

Compared to beam SFSCCB25-150 ( 6.5@150, st = 0.22%, 25 kg/m3 steel fibres), the ultimate load Fu of beam SFSCCB50250 (50 kg/m3 steel fibre, 6.5@250, st = 0.132%) increased by about 17%, and the ultimate deflection Fu corresponding to
the ultimate load Fu increased by 6.5%.

The post-peak load-carrying capacities of beam SFSCCB25-250 ( 6.5@250, st = 0.132%) with 25 kg/m3 fibre dosage were similar to that of beam SFSCCB0-150 ( 6.5@150, st = 0.22%)
with stirrups but without fibres. The initial diagonal cracking shear loads of beams SFSCCB0-150 and SFSCCB25-250 were 145 kN and 150 kN,respectively, which are similar. If the shear load remains constant, the maximum diagonal crack width of beam SFSCCB25-250 clearly decreases compared to that of beam SFSCCB0-150. For example, when the shear load was 200 kN, the maximum diagonal crack widths of beams SFSCCB0-150 and SFSCCB25-250 were 0.45 mm and

The post-peak load-carrying capacity of beam SFSCCB50-250 (50 kg/m3 steel fibre, 6.5@250, st = 0.132%) was greater than that of beam SFSCCB25-150 ( 6.5@150, stirrup ratio st = 0.22%, 25 kg/m3 steel fibre).
When the shear load remains constant, the maximum diagonal crack width of beam SFSCCB50-250 decreases clearly compared to that of beam SFSCCB25-150. For example, when the shear load was 320 kN, the maximum diagonal crack widths of beams SFSCCB25150 and SFSCCB50-250 were 0.8 mm and 0.45 mm, respectively. The maximum diagonal crack widths of the latter decreased by about 43% compared to the former.

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113

375 350 325 325 300 275 250 225 200 175 150 125 100 75 50 25 0 300
SFSCCB0-150
SFSCCB25-250

275 250 Load / kN 225 200 175 150 125 100 75 50 25 0

SFSCCB0-150

Load / kN

SFSCCB0-250 SFSCCB50-

2.5

7.5

10

12.5

15

17.5

20

22.5

25

2.5

7.5

10

12.5

15

17.5

20

22.5

Deflection / mm
(a) Case a. (b) Case b.

Deflection / mm

450 425 400 375 350 325 300 275 250 225 200 175 150 125 100 75 50 25 0

SFSCCB50-250

SFSCCB25-150

Load / kN

10

15

20

25

Deflection / mm
(c) Case c. Fig. 6. Comparisons of loaddeflection curves of beams for replacing of stirrups by steel fibers.

The experiments above show the following results. (a) The combination of stirrups and steel fibres demonstrated a positive composite effect in reducing the maximum diagonal crack widths and improving the deformability performance. (b) On increasing the fibre dosage up to 50 kg/m3 , the results show that a stronger positive composite effect between the rebar and steel fibre can be achieved than that with only 25 kg/m3 steel fibres. (c) A steel fibre content of 25 kg/m3 can partially replace a stirrup ratio 0.088%, which means that the addition of 25 kg/m3 steel fibres can partially replace at least 11.6 kg/m3 of stirrups. Though 25 kg/m3 steel fibres cannot replace the same amount of stirrups against shear load in the beams of this program, it can enlarge the stirrup spacing from 150 to 250 mm. The combination of stirrups and steel fibers in SCC members can reduce the construction period and the cost of assembling reinforcement, affect the concrete casting, and improve the concrete quality as well as the bond behaviour between the steel rebar and concrete matrix. In addition to the positive effect of steel fibers on the shear property, the fibers also enhance the flexural behaviour and partly reduce the longitudinal

reinforcement [17,18], lower the stress concentration and crack width, and improve the serviceability and durability. 3.2.3. Ultimate load, ultimate deflection, shear strength, and failure mode of SFSCC beams The shear strength (the average ultimate shear stress) of SCC beams u at failure is defined as the maximum shear force divided by the beam width b and effective depth d (u = V /bd [1]). In order to investigate the fibre influence on the shear capacity and deformability, the term increased rate ( ) has been introduced. The mean values of the mechanical parameters such as the ultimate load (Fu ), the shear strength (u ), and the ultimate deflection (Fu ) corresponding to the ultimate load Fu of SFSCC beams with various fibre dosages (0, 25, 50 kg/m3 ) and without stirrups are listed in Table 5. Compared with reference beam SFSCCB0- (with neither stirrups nor steel fibre), the increased rate ( ) of the mechanical parameters and the failure mode of different beams are also given in Table 5. For SFSCC beams with a stirrup ratio 0.132% ( 6.5@250) and various fibre dosages (25, 50 kg/m3 ), the mean values of Fu , u and Fu are listed in Table 6. Compared with reference beam SFSCCB0250 (with only 0.132% stirrups, but no steel fibre), an increased

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Table 5 Comparison of the mechanical parameters, the increased rate, and the failure mode of SFSCC beams without stirrups. Beam Ultimate load Fu (kN) Shear strength u (MPa) 1.51 2.00 2.71 Increased rate Fu or vu 32.5% 79% Ultimate deflection Fu (mm) 3.76 5.65 9.11 Increased rate

Failure mode Shear Shear Shear

SFSCCB0- (Ref. beam) 157.27 SFSCCB25- 210.52 SFSCCB50- 281.17

50% 142%

Table 6 Comparison of the mechanical parameters, the increased rate, and the failure mode of SFSCC beams with stirrup ratio 0.132%. Beam Ultimate load Fu (kN) Shear strength u (MPa) 2.78 3.48 4.25 Increased rate Fu or vu 25.1% 52.7% Ultimate deflection Fu (mm) 10.02 12.63 13.96 Increased rate

Failure mode Shear Shear Shear

SFSCCB0-250 (Ref. beam) 289.24 SFSCCB25-250 361.82 SFSCCB50-250 441.74

26% 39.3%

Table 7 Comparison of the mechanical parameters, the increased rate, and the failure mode of SFSCC beams with stirrup ratio 0.22%. Beam Ultimate load Fu (kN) Shear strength u (MPa) 3.06 3.61 >4.48 Increased rate Fu or vu 18.4% 47.0%, for Fu >47.0%, for vu
5

Ultimate deflection Fu (mm) 10.50 13.11

Increased rate

Failure mode Shear Shear Flexure

SFSCCB0-150 (Ref. beam) 316.93 SFSCCB25-150 375.25 SFSCCB50-150 465.81

24.9%

Shear strength / MPa

rate ( ) of the mechanical parameters and the failure mode of different beams are demonstrated in Table 6. For SFSCC beams with a stirrup ratio 0.22% ( 6.5@150) and different fibre dosages (0, 25, 50 kg/m3 ), the mean values of Fu , u and Fu are given in Table 7. Compared with reference beam SFSCCB0-150 (with 0.22% stirrups, but without steel fibre), the increased rate ( ) of the mechanical parameters and failure modes of different SFSCC beams are shown in Table 7. Tables 57 show some great improvements, as follows. (1) For SFSCC beams without stirrups, a fibre dosage of 25, 50 kg/m3 can enhance Fu and u about 32.5%, 79%, respectively, and increase Fu about 50%, 142% respectively (see Table 5). (2) For SFSCC beams with lightly reinforced stirrups (st = 0.132%, s = 250 mm), a fibre dosage of 25 kg/m3 can enhance Fu and u about 25% and increase Fu about 26%; a fibre dosage of 50 kg/m3 can increase Fu and u about 53%, and enhance Fu about 39% (see Table 6). (3) For SFSCC beams with constructive reinforced stirrups (st = 0.22%, s = 150 mm), a fibre dosage of 25 kg/m3 can enhance Fu and u about 18%, and Fu about 24.9%. The SFSCCB50-150 beam (fibre dosage 50 kg/m3 , st = 0.22%, s = 150 mm) failed in flexure. A fibre dosage of 50 kg/m3 increased the Fu and u about 47.0%, and the Fu was also greatly improved (from a sudden shear failure of SFSCCB0-150 into a ductile flexure failure of SFSCCB50-150) (see Table 7). Fig. 7 shows the influence of steel fibre content on the shear strength of SFSCC beams with different stirrup ratios. It can be seen that the shear strength increases with the increase of fibre content for each stirrup ratio, and the shear strength is approximately proportional to the steel fibre content. A similar phenomenon has also been observed in other investigations [19]. 3.2.4. Proposed predictive formula for the shear strength of SFSCC beams A comparison between the values of shear strength obtained by our experiment and values deduced by using the following formulas [1,2023] is carried out. For beams without stirrups, the expression used to calculate the average shear strength by formula (1), taken from Russo et al. [20] is utilized:

Stirrup ratio 0%

Stirrup ratio 0.132% Stirrup ratio 0.22%

25 Fiber content / kg.m-3

50

Fig. 7. Influence of fiber content on shear strength.

uc = a + b [ ] 1 0.46 2 0.91 0.38 0.96 2.33 = 0.97s fc + 0.2s fc fy1 (a/d)

with

(1)

= 1/ 1 + d/(25da ) s = As /(bd), where a and b are the shear stresses due to the arch and beam actions, respectively. is the factor for taking into account size
effect. d is the effective depth of the beam. da is the maximum size of coarse aggregate. fc is the compressive strength of the circular cylinder. s is the longitudinal reinforcement ratio. fyl is the yielding strength of the longitudinal reinforcement. a/d is the shear span-to-depth ratio. A third term must be added in formula (1) when stirrups are included:

u = uc + s s = 1.75Ib st fyst
with Ib =
0.46 0.97s fc 0.46 f 0.97s c

(2)
1/2

1/2

0.96 + 0.2s0.91 fc0.38 fyl (a/d)2.33

Y. Ding et al. / Engineering Structures 33 (2011) 107117 Table 8 Shear strength of SCC beams without steel fibres. Type SFSCCB0- SFSCCB0-250 SFSCCB0-150 Observed u (MPa) 1.51 2.78 3.05 Predicted [formulas (1) + (2)] (MPa) 1.58 2.04 2.35 ACI 318 [23] (MPa) 1.16 1.61 1.91

115

GB 50010 [8] (MPa) 1.37 1.31 1.57

Table 9 Shear strength of steel fibre reinforced SCC beams. Type (MPa) Observed u Predicted [formulas (1) + Predicted [formulas (1) + Predicted [formulas (1) + Predicted [formulas (1) + CECS 38:2004 [22] (2) + (3)] (2)+ (4)] (2) + (5)] (2) + (6)] SFSCCB25- 2.00 1.61 1.49 1.58 1.92 1.97 SFSCCB50- 2.71 2.27 2.04 2.21 2.89 2.30 SFSCCB25-250 3.48 2.65 2.53 2.61 2.96 2.64 SFSCCB50-250 4.25 2.99 2.76 2.93 3.61 2.75 SFSCCB25-150 3.61 2.95 2.84 2.92 3.26 2.94

st = Ast /(bs), where s is the shear stress due to the stirrups, Ib is the index of beam action, fyst is the yielding strength of the stirrup, and st is
the stirrup ratio evaluated with reference to the spacing s. For beams with fibre reinforcement, four different formulas proposed in the literature [1,2224] are used below for comparison with the experimental results. Narayanan and Darwish [1]

Chinese Guidelines for FRC, CECS 38:2004 [24]: Ast 1.75 ft bd(1 + v f ) + fyst d +1 s uf = Vuf /(bd), Vuf = where Vuf is the shear load of the fiber reinforced RC member, and v is the influence coefficient of the steel fibers. f is fiber factor, and f = Vf lf /df , uf is shear strength of fiber reinforced RC member. ACI code 318-02 [25] 1 [ fc + 120s (d/a)] + st fyst . 7 The results for the shear strength of SCC beams without steel fibres are listed in Table 8. The following can be seen. (1) The values of shear strength of SFSCCB0- predicted by formulas (1) + (2) are close to that of the experimental values. (2) The predicted values of shear strength of SFSCCB0-250 and SFSCCB0-150 are conservative compared to the values observed. The results for the shear strengths of steel fibre reinforced SCC beams are listed in Table 9. The values predicted by formulas (1) + (2) + (6) are relatively close to our experimental values, and therefore more suitable compared to the calculated values from other formulas. The difference between the experimental results and predicted values (formulas (1) + (2) + (6)) are acceptable, considering the limited number of beams tested for each type. Based on previous studies and the analysis above, the following formula is suggested for predicting the shear strength of SFSCC beams:

f = 0.41 F (3) with F = (lf /df )Vf kf , where f is shear stress due to steel fibres, is the average fibre matrix interfacial bond stress, and = 4.15 MPa. F is the fibre factor. lf /df is the fibre aspect ratio. Vf is
the fibre volume fraction. kf is the bond factor that accounts for differing bond characteristics of the fibre; it is assigned a relative value of 0.5 for round fibres, 0.75 for crimped fibres, and 1.0 for indented fibres. In this paper, kf = 1.2 with reference to k in [21]. Taan and Feel [21]

u =

f =

8.5 9

kVf

lf df

(4)

where k is a factor reflecting the fibre shape. For hooked end fibres, k = 1.2. Swamy et al. [22]

f = 0.37 Vf

lf df

(5)

is assumed equal to 4.15 MPa as suggested by Narayanan and

Darwish [1]. Lim and Oh [23]

f = 0.5 Vf

lf df

ctg .

0.96 uf = [0.97s0.46 fc1/2 + 0.2s0.91 fc0.38 fyl (a/d)2.33 ]

(6)

the shear crack, and is assumed to be equal to 45. Tables 8 and 9 show the shear strength values calculated by the different formulas above, the values of shear strength obtained in our experiment, and the values calculated according to Chinese code GB 500102002 [10], CECS 38:2004 [24] and ACI31802 [25]; the formulas in the guidelines used are reproduced and illustrated as follows. Chinese Code for Design of Concrete Structure, GB500102002 [8]: 1.75 Ast Vu = ft bd + fyst d +1 s u = Vu /(bd), where Vu is the shear load of the RC member, ft is the tensile strength of the prism, is the shear span-to-depth ratio, and u is the shear strength of the RC member.

is the inclination between the longitudinal reinforcement and

+ 1.75Ib st fyst + 0.5 Vf

lf df

ctg .

(7)

This formula is used for predicting the values from data from different sources as given in Table 10. It is noted that the proposed formula can explain the data satisfactorily and is more suitable for predicting the values measured experimentally than other formulas, including the Chinese Code [10,24] and ACI Code [25]. The comparison between experimental shear strengths from four different papers [4,5,26,27] and predicted shear strengths using the proposed formula (7) are given in Table 10. From Table 10, the following can be seen. (1) The mean ratio of experimental shear strength to the predicted values (test /predicted ) of fiber reinforced SCC beam without stirrups is 1.22. The predicted shear strength is safe and acceptable for the experimental values. The coefficient of variability is 0.28. Therefore, the proposed formula (7) shows good applicability.

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Y. Ding et al. / Engineering Structures 33 (2011) 107117

Table 10 Summary of beam details and comparison of experimental and predicted shear strengths. Investigator Fiber type Vf 0.5 1.0 1.5 1.0 1.0 0 0.5 0.75 0 0.5 0.75 0 0.5 0.75 1.0 0.5 0.75 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 0.5 0.5 0.75 0.75 1.0 0.75 lf /df 75 75 75 75 75 62.5 62.5 62.5 62.5 62.5 62.5 62.5 62.5 62.5 40 90 73 50 40 40 40 90 90 73 73 40 73 fc 99 95 96 94 94 62.6 63.8 68.6 62.6 63.8 68.6 62.6 63.8 68.6 80.0 90.6 80.5 80.5 85.4 91.4 93.3 69.6 76.8 76.8 69.3 69.3 60.2 75.7 76.8 60.2 b 125 125 125 125 125 125 125 125 125 125 125 125 125 125 200 200 200 200 200 200 200 200 200 200 200 200 200 200 300 300 d 215 215 215 215 215 212 212 212 212 212 212 212 212 212 180 180 180 180 235 235 235 410 410 410 410 410 410 410 570 570 a/d 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 4.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 4.0 4.0 4.0 3.33 3.33 3.33 3.33 2.77 2.77 2.77 2.93 2.93 2.93 2.93 2.93 2.93 2.93 2.98 2.98

s
2.84 2.84 2.84 4.58 4.58 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 4.5 4.5 4.5 4.5 4.3 4.3 4.3 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 2.9 2.9

fyl 460 460 460 470 470 442 442 442 442 442 442 442 442 442 590 590 590 590 500 500 500 590 590 590 590 590 590 590 590 590

da 10 10 10 10 10 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16

st

fyst

test
4.82 6.06 7.21 4.89 3.88 3.02 5.09 5.44 2.53 3.09 3.40 1.98 2.41 2.74 5.86 8.31 7.00 7.28 5.96 6.60 7.72 2.16 3.52 4.10 3.21 3.80 4.13 3.56 2.60 2.98

predicted
4.94 6.08 7.3 7.72 4.8 2.13 3.15 3.73 1.39 2.41 2.96 1.16 2.18 2.73 3.18 4.65 4.64 4.95 3.46 5.17 4.88 2.22 3.6 3.6 3.66 3.66 3.84 4.06 3.32 3.58 . 4.67 5.77 2.83 2.25 7.02 7.27

test /predicted
0.98 1.00 0.99 0.63 0.81 1.42 1.62 1.46 1.82 1.28 1.15 1.71 1.11 1.00 1.84 1.79 1.51 1.47 1.72 1.28 1.58 0.97 0.98 1.14 0.88 1.04 1.08 0.88 0.78 0.83 Average = 1.22 CV = 0.28 1.41 1.48 1.42 1.34 1.07 1.05

Ashour [24]

Hooked

Kwak [3]

Hooked

Noghabai [25] Plain Hooked Hooked Hooked Plain Plain Plain Hooked Hooked Hooked Hooked Plain Hooked

Noghabai [25]

ZHANG [4]

Hooked Hooked

1.0 1.0

55 55

80.0 85.4 69.6 69.6 57.6 65.3

200 200 200 300 150 150

180 235 410 570 255 255

3.33 2.77 2.93 2.98 2.0 2.0

4.5 4.3 3.0 2.9 4.93 4.93

590 500 590 590 421 421

16 16 16 16 20 20

0.39 0.46 0.17 0.084 0.293 0.293

400 590 400 400 321 321

130 110 300 400 150 150

6.58 8.55 4.01 3.02 7.51 7.62

(2) When the SCC beams are only reinforced with stirrups, the predicted values (predicted ) given by formula (7) are more than 34% lower than the experimental shear strengths from Noghabai [27], so the formula is relatively conservative. (3) The proposed formula (7) can provide a good fit for fiber reinforced SCC beams with stirrups, as illustrated in the experimental values of Zhang [5]. From the analysis above, it can be seen that the proposed formula (7) is suitable for predicting the values measured experimentally in [4,5,26,27]. 4. Conclusions A series of steel fibre reinforced SCC beams under combined actions of flexure and shear was investigated. The fibre influence and the composite effects of the rebar and fibre on the load-carrying capacity of SCC beams were ascertained. The experimental and analytical results led to the following conclusions.

The positive hybrid effect of stirrups and steel fibres can be

used to enhance the flexural and shear resistance and to replace the stirrups of RC members. 25 kg/m3 steel fibres can partially replace stirrups and enlarge the stirrup spacing from 150 to 250 mm. 50 kg/m3 steel fibres can transform the brittle shear failure pattern of SCC beams with constructive reinforced stirrups (SFSCCB0-150) into a ductile flexure failure pattern. A suitable formula has been proposed for predicting the shear strength of fibre reinforced SCC beams. The correlation is satisfactory. The combination of stirrups and steel fibres in SCC members can also positively affect the concrete casting, improve the concrete quality as well as the bond behaviour between the steel rebar and concrete matrix, and reduce the construction period. Acknowledgements The authors gratefully acknowledge the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant: 51078058) and Fundao para a Cincia e a Tecnologia (FCT) (SFRH/BPD/22680/2005). References
[1] Cladera A, Mari AR. Experimental study on high-strength concrete beams failing in shear. Eng Struct 2005;27:151927. [2] Narayanan R, Darwish IYS. Use of steel fibres as shear reinforcement. ACI Struct J 1987;84(3):112532.

50 kg/m3 steel fibre is apparently the upper bound of the

fibre content regarding the workability of SCC members with a reinforcement ratio 2.6%. The combination of stirrups and steel fibres demonstrates a positive hybrid effect on the mechanical behaviour, and is one of the optimal choices for improving the shear capacity. For each stirrup ratio, the steel fibres can increase the ultimate load, the shear strength, and the deformability corresponding to the ultimate load.

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