Work

Effects of steel fibre volume fraction on the mechanical behaviour and damage index evolution of steel fibre-reinforced concrete

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: Concrete structures, such as those for wind turbine towers, face challenges including complex reinforcement fabrication, susceptibility to cracking, and underutilization of concrete’s tensile capacity, hindering their development. This study explores the use of steel fibres in concrete to improve construction efficiency and structural properties . Through uniaxial tension and compression tests on steel fibre-reinforced concrete, optimal fibre volume fractions for wind turbine towers are identified, and corresponding constitutive models and damage factor calculations are developed. The results show that the SFRC exhibits ductile failure characteristics with multiple cracks under tension, demonstrating strain-hardening behaviour in the tensile curve. As for the tensile strength of concrete, it reached its peak value with a 1.0 % volume fraction of steel fibres. Under axial compression , the SFRC exhibited localized failure characteristics. The steel fibres effectively bonded with the concrete, enhancing its compressive strength by 11.2 % – 30.1 % compared to plain concrete. The optimal volume fraction of steel fibres was determined to be 1.0 % for the SFRC. The good agreement between the experimental and predicted curves validated the proposed constitutive models for the uniaxial tension and compression of the SFRC. These findings provide a theoretical foundation for designing and nonlinear analysis of SFRC structures . Data availability The data presented in this study are available on request from the corresponding author.

Source: Alexandria Engineering Journal

DOI: 10.1016/j.aej.2025.03.004

Authors: Jike Tan, Mingshu Wang, Yuhang Wang, Zhiyun Deng