Investigation of ductility behavior of pva fiber reinforced beams

Polyvinyl Engineered Cementations Composites (PVA-ECC), had been extensively investigated by many researchers. However, adding PVA to the normal concrete has not been much investigate the mechanical and structural characteristics in concrete beams. This research aimed to investigate the mechanical properties of the fibrous concrete reinforced with conventional reinforcement. The tested parameter was the volume fraction of the fiber (Vf %), and reinforcement ratio (ρ) on the conventional concrete beam. To achieve this aim, a set of experiments were carried out. Concrete mixes containing different PVA fiber volume fractions ranging between 0.5 % and 1.5 % with different conventional reinforcement ratio ranging from 0.5 % to 1.0 % were prepared and tested. Material tests are done for compressive strength (f 'c), tensile strength (fsp) and modulus of elasticity of fiber reinforced concretes. And also beams are tested under 4-point monotonic test, to assess their structural behaviors. The results showed that the PVA fibers is significantly enhanced the compressive strength up to 44 % and improved the beam ultimate strength up to 10 %. Moreover, the inclusion of PVA increases the beam ductility factor up to 130 %. These improvements also affect the initiations of the first crack and its depth in the tension zone, where the load resistance of the compression zone is increased with increasing the fiber percentages. Key Words: PVA fiber reinforced concrete, ductility of fiber reinforced beams.