Experimental and Numerical Investigation on Steel Fibrous Reinforced Concrete Slab Strips with Traditional Longitudinal Steel Bars

ABSTRACT: The aim of this thesis was to investigate the influence of steel fibers on mechanical performance of reinforced concrete slab strips based on experimental and theoretical research. Two different types of fibers that are having aspect ratio 60 and 80 have been employed with 4-four diverse volumetric percentages of 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, and 2.0% fibers. All the fibrous specimens have been compared to reinforced concrete slab strips without fibers and with identical longitudinal reinforcement. The flexural tests have been performed on slab strips to examine the effects of fibers on flexural improvement of specimens, and energy absorption enhancement. The dimensions of slab strips have been chosen to observe the flexural failure and prevent the shear failures. The results of experimental study have indicated that presence of fiber has been a significant influence on flexural performance and energy absorption. In theoretical modeling, by using the constitutive model of material that suggested by previous researchers and standards, the slab strips have been modeled via a FEA software namely, Abacus and analyzed. The results of numerical modeling have illustrated that the constitutive models are compatible with experimental test results quite satisfactorily. The experimental load-deflection curves verified that numerical stress-strain relationships for fibrous concrete material could be utilized for specimen with interaction by traditional reinforcement. Keywords: Steel fibers, Reinforced concrete, Flexural strength, Energy absorption capacity. ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………