Shear strength of steel-fibre-reinforced concrete beams with web reinforcement

Abstract

The use of steel-fibre-reinforced concrete, mainly due to its improved mechanical characteristics beyond cracking, has been increasing recently. A particular purpose of using steel fibres is to enhance the shear characteristics of reinforced concrete beams against a brittle shear failure. While a considerable amount of research on the shear behaviour of steel-fibre-reinforced concrete beams without web reinforcement has been conducted, the studies on the shear behaviour of such beams with web reinforcement are still limited. In this study, an experimental programme aiming to examine the effects of steel fibres on the shear behaviour of reinforced concrete beams with web reinforcement was carried out. A total of nine beams having various amounts of steel fibre and web reinforcement were tested under three-point loading. In addition to the experimental study, a number of equations for predicting the shear strength of steel-fibre-reinforced concrete beams with web reinforcement were assessed by using a limited number of beams available in the literature.