Structural Performance of Reinforced Concrete Beams with Steel Fibres as Secondary Reinforcement: Experimental and Pre-peak Numerical Modelling

  • Hadjer Belkadi Laboratory of Built Environment Research, University of Sciences and Technology. Houari Boumediene (USTHB). Faculty of Civil Engineering. BP 32. El Alia. Bab Ezzouar. Algiers. 16111. Algeria
  • Abdelkrim Bourzam Ecole Nationale Polytechnique (ENP), Algiers, LMGCE/ENP & LBE/USTHB Research laboratories 10, Rue des Frères OUDEK, El Harrach 16200, Algiers, Algeria.
  • Messaoud Saidani Faculty of Engineering. Environment and Computing. School of Energy. Construction and Environment. Coventry University. Priory Street. Coventry CV1 5FB. United Kingdom
DOI: https://doi.org/10.34118/jbms.v11i2.4084
Keywords: Reinforced Concrete beams, Secondary Reinforcement, Flexural behaviour, steel fibres, FEM modelling, crack patterns

Abstract

This research consists of an experimental and a numerical investigation into improving the structural performance of reinforced concrete (RC) beams by incorporating hooked-end steel fibres. Experimentally, steel fibres were added to the concrete matrix of 80 mm × 180 mm × 1500 mm RC beams with fibre contents of 0%, 0.5%, and 1%, without replacing traditional reinforcement bars. Each beam underwent a four-point flexural test using a hydraulic press under static loading to evaluate the influence of fibres on flexural behaviour. The numerical analysis aimed to model the macro-scale flexural behaviour of RC beams using a 3D finite element approach in ABAQUS. Challenges in modelling steel fibres include their discrete nature and computational demands due to intricate meshing and convergence issues. The Simplified Concrete Damaged Plasticity Model was used to characterize the compressive and tensile behaviours of plain and steel fibre reinforced concretes. Nonlinear finite element analysis was performed to predict pre-peak load versus mid-span deflection and crack propagation. The model, which does not explicitly simulate steel fibres, was validated against experimental data, showing strong agreement and confirming its effectiveness in capturing the flexural behaviour of steel fibre reinforced concrete beams. Experiments Results showed that steel fibres enhance the flexural performance. Beams with steel fibres exhibited higher first crack loads, ultimate loads, flexural strengths, and toughness. Additionally, the fibres increased crack numbers, reduced crack spacing and length, and improved post-cracking behaviour. The simulation results were subsequently validated against experimental data. The results of the numerical finite element analysis were in good agreement with those of the experiments.

References

Altun, Fatih, Tefaruk Haktanir, and Kamura Ari. 2007. “Effects of Steel Fiber Addition on Mechanical Properties of Concrete and RC Beams.” Construction and Building Materials 21 (3): 654–61. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2005.12.006.

Arunakanthi, Eluru, Durga Chaitanya, and Kumar Jagarapu. 2020. “EXPERIMENTAL STUDIES ON FIBER REINFORCED CONCRETE ( FRC ),” no. January.

Aylie, Han, Antonius, and Aldyan W. Okiyarta. 2015. “Experimental Study of Steel-Fiber Reinforced Concrete Beams with Confinement.” Procedia Engineering 125 (January): 1030–35. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.PROENG.2015.11.158.

Behbahani, Hamid Pesaran, Behzad Nematollahi, Abdul Rahman, Mohd Sam, and F C Lai. 2018. “Flexural Behavior of Steel Fiber Reinforced Concrete Beams FLEXURAL BEHAVIOR OF STEEL-FIBER-ADDED-RC ( SFARC ) BEAMS WITH C30 AND C50 CLASSES OF CONCRETE” 1561 (January).

Bencardino, Francesco, Lidia Rizzuti, Giuseppe Spadea, and Ramnath N. Swamy. 2008. “Stress-Strain Behavior of Steel Fiber-Reinforced Concrete in Compression.” Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering 20 (3): 255–63. https://doi.org/10.1061/(asce)0899-1561(2008)20:3(255).

British Standard. 2000. “Testing Hardened Concrete - Part 1: Shape, Dimensions and Other Requirements for Specimens and Moulds.” Bs En 12390-1:2000 3: 1–14.

BS, EN BRITISH STANDARD. 1993. “BS EN 12390:2 - Testing Hardened Concrete.” Aberdeen’s Concrete Construction 38 (10).

———. 2009. “BS EN 12390:3 - Testing Hardened Concrete,” no. August: 22.

Campione, Giuseppe, and Maria Letizia Mangiavillano. 2008. “Fibrous Reinforced Concrete Beams in Flexure : Experimental Investigation , Analytical Modelling and Design Considerations” 30 (11): 2970–80. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.engstruct.2008.04.019.

Germano, Federica, Giuseppe Tiberti, and Giovanni Plizzari. 2016. Experimental Behavior of SFRC Columns under Uniaxial and Biaxial Cyclic Loads. Composites Part B: Engineering. Vol. 85. Elsevier Ltd. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compositesb.2015.09.010.

Hadi, M. N.S. 2009. “Reinforcing Concrete Columns with Steel Fibres.” Asian Journal of Civil Engineering 10 (1): 79–95.

Hafezolghorani, Milad, Farzad Hejazi, Ramin Vaghei, Mohd Saleh Bin Jaafar, and Keyhan Karimzade. 2017. “Simplified Damage Plasticity Model for Concrete.” Structural Engineering International 27 (1): 68–78. https://doi.org/10.2749/101686616X1081.

Neves, R. D., and J. C. O. Fernandes de Almeida. 2005. “Compressive Behaviour of Steel Fibre Reinforced Concrete.” Structural Concrete. https://doi.org/10.1680/stco.6.1.1.62458.

Pradeep Kumar, C., and M. Shahul Hameed. 2022. “Experimental Study on the Behaviour of Steel Fibre When Used as a Secondary Reinforcement in Reinforced Concrete Beam.” Materials Today: Proceedings 52 (January): 1189–96. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.MATPR.2021.11.033.

Rizzuti, Lidia, and Francesco Bencardino. 2014. “Effects of Fibre Volume Fraction on the Compressive and Flexural Experimental Behaviour of SFRC.” Contemporary Engineering Sciences 7 (8): 379–90. https://doi.org/DOI: 10.12988/ces.2014.4218.

Saidani, Messaoud, Danah Saraireh, and Michael Gerges. 2016. “Behaviour of Different Types of Fibre Reinforced Concrete without Admixture.” Engineering Structures 113: 328–34. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.engstruct.2016.01.041.

Sakthivel, P. B., and S. Vijay Aravind. 2020. “Flexural Strength and Toughness of Steel Fiber Reinforced Concrete Beams.” Asian Journal of Civil Engineering 21 (8): 1309–30. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42107-020-00279-3.

Yoo, Doo Yeol, and Do Young Moon. 2018. “Effect of Steel Fibers on the Flexural Behavior of RC Beams with Very Low Reinforcement Ratios.” Construction and Building Materials 188 (November): 237–54. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2018.08.099.

Zhang, Wangxi, Jia Wang, Jinyi Zhang, Yadong Cao, Peng Qin, and Weijian Yi. 2020. “Experimental Study on Post-Fire Performance of Half Grouted Sleeve Connection with Construction Defect.” Construction and Building Materials 244 (May): 118165. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.CONBUILDMAT.2020.118165.

Published
2024-12-31
How to Cite
Belkadi, H., Bourzam , A., & Saidani, M. (2024). Structural Performance of Reinforced Concrete Beams with Steel Fibres as Secondary Reinforcement: Experimental and Pre-peak Numerical Modelling. Journal of Building Materials and Structures, 11(2), 143-157. https://doi.org/10.34118/jbms.v11i2.4084
Issue
Vol 11 No 2 (2024)
Section
Original Articles

Copyright (c) 2025 Hadjer Belkadi, Abdelkrim Bourzam , Messaoud Saidani

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:

  1. Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
  2. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
  3. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work.