Effect of steel fibers on the failure of early age reinforced concrete beam

Abstract

The main aim of the present work is the investigation of the effect of steel fibers on the handlability of concrete members. The early age behaviour of concrete members were proposed to improved by the incorporation of small quantities of inert steel fibers within the concrete mix. A series of concrete specimens with steel fibers were tested. The crack spacing, width and number were recorded against load for both ordinary and fiber reinforced concrete beams. It has been observed that the steel fiber reinforcement reduces the crack widths and the deflections of early age concrete beams subjected to flexure. The ultimate loads were observed to be increased, indicating an improved tensile capacity as a result of the inclusion of fibers. It was concluded that the economy of the precast concrete industry may be increased in the application of steel fiber reinforced concrete reduce the defective production.