Numerical Study of the Shear Behavior of Ultra-High-Performance Concrete Beams

In the last decades, experimental and numerical studies on steel fiber-reinforced concrete have shown that providing suitable fiber content and distribution in the matrix can improve the post-cracking strength of concrete. Although there is a large database of experimental and numerical shear tests of steel fiber-reinforced concrete beams, there are not profuse test data and numerical models available for steel fiber-reinforced concrete beams with traditional transverse shear reinforcement (stirrups). In this work, the shear behavior of ultra-high-performance fiber-reinforced concrete beams is analyzed using the plastic damaged model developed in Abaqus. For this purpose, a comparative study is previously carried out by means of an experimental test available in the literature to validate the finite element model with conventional rebars. Then, the shear behavior of different ultra-high-performance concretes without fiber reinforcement, with the addition of 13 mm steel straight fibers, with 30 mm steel hooked-end fibers, and a mixture in 50% of 13 and 30 mm steel fibers are analyzed.