Finite Element Analysis of Steel Fiber Reinforced Concrete (SFRC): Validation of Experimental Shear Capacities of Beams

AbstractFinite element models are analyzed and validated with the experimental shear capacities of steel fiber reinforced concrete (SFRC) as well as plain concretes. In this work, steel fibers with low aspect ratio which are commonly available in Bangladesh are used and sufficient capacity enhancements are attained. Two different aggregate types are used to make the SFRC and plain concrete beam specimens, i.e. stone and brick, and also modelled in the finite element (FE) platform of ANSYS 10.0 with SOLID65 element. The experimental plan intended to investigate the shear capacity enhancement of three different types of beam specimens, i.e. single shear, double shear and flexural shear. All the specimens are tested in the 1000kN capacity digital universal testing machine (UTM) and the strain data are obtained from digital image correlation technique (DICT) using high definition (HD) images and high speed video clips. Test results showed the increase in shear capacity of about 30% to 170% of beams made of SFRC with an indication of increase in ductility. FE models are analyzed extensively and validated with the experimental stress-strain behaviours by optimizing the Poisson's ratio, modulus of elasticity, tensile capacity and stress-strain behaviours. FE models showed the same structural response and failure modes as found in experimental investigation. This paper can contribute to the construction industry of Bangladesh about SFRC with reliable experimental data and FE analyses