Measuring and numerical modeling of behaviour of fibre concrete in a direct tensile test

Efficiency of fibre reinforced concrete in tension depends on the strength of contact between the fibre or aggregate and the cementitious matrix. The present study focuses on the measuring and numerical modelling of the behaviour of concrete and fibre concrete samples under tension. The device used in present study for tensile loading of concrete samples enabled to control and track the applied tensile load after the cracking of concrete in a sample with steel fibre. In case of pure concrete sample, the configuration of the device made possible to track the applied load until the sectional area of concrete was completely cracked. The numerical simulations of the tensile cracking load, as well as the tensile softening behaviour of the pure concrete sample demonstrated the dependence on the values of the fracture energies used