An integrated approach for predicting the shear capacity of fibre reinforced concrete beams

This paper describes the development of an integrated design approach for determining shear capacity of flexurally reinforced steel fibre reinforced concrete members. The approach considers fibre distribution profile, fibre pull-out resistance and the modified compression field theory integrated using a comprehensive strategy. To assess the performance of the developed model, a database consisting of 122 steel fibre reinforced and prestressed concrete beams failing in shear was assembled from available literature. The model predictions were shown to correlate well with the test data. The performance of the analytical model was also compared to predictions attained by the two approaches recommended by the fib Model Code 2010, one based on an empirical equation and the other on the modified compression field theory approach. The predictive performance of the proposed approach was also assessed by using the Demerit Points Classification (DPC), being the prediction as better as lower is the total penalty points provided by the classification. The model developed in this paper demonstrated a superior performance to those of the Model Code, with a higher predictive performance in terms of safety and reliability.The authors wish to acknowledge the grant SFRH/BSAB/114302/2016 provided by FCT and the Australian Research Council grant DP150104107, as well as the support provided by the UNSW Sydney for the research activities carried out under the status of Visiting Professorial Fellow for the first author. The support of the FCT through the project PTDC/ECM-EST/2635/2014 is also acknowledged.