Fiber reinforced concrete: from flexural tests to solid slabs

Tensile behavior of fibre reinforced concrete is assessed based on flexural tests where specifically the post cracking strength values are of interest. However, the residual tensile strength values obtained based on such characterization test exhibit a very high scatter which is mainly due to the variation of number and orientation of fibres at the fracture plane. This rather unrepeatable behavior may cast doubt on the overall performance of a structure reinforced only with fibres and may question the validity of estimated tensile strength parameters that are used in the design of such from one specimen to another structures. While there is evidence that fibre reinforced concrete structures show a behavior that can be predicted by the average material properties, no strong proof is yet available. If so, then the low characteristic value of residual strength values may be a very conservative starting point for design of such structures To validate the reliability of design approach proposed for fibre reinforced concrete structures, twelve nominally identical fibre reinforced concrete slabs sized 2000×2000×150 mm, and twelve notched specimens sized 150×150×600 mm are tested, and the results are compared. Further, a yield line method is employed to predict the ultimate load bearing capacity of the slabs based on the tensile parameters obtained from the characterization tests. The results show that the average material properties can satisfactorily predict the bearing capacity of the slabs. FraMCoS X Conference.