This paper intends to examine the effects if the length and shape of steel fibers on the mechanical characteristics of ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC). Accordingly, the length (l) of the steel fibers with diameter (d) of 0.2 mm is varied as 13 mm, 16.3 mm and 19.5 mm and their corresponding aspect ratios (l/d) are 65, 82 and 98. Straight and wave-shaped fibers are adopted to manufacture UHPC. Thereafter, the effects of the aspect ratio and characteristics of the wave-shape of the steel fibers on the strength characteristics of UHPC are examined through compressive and flexural strength tests. The results showed small differences in the workability and compressive behavior but revealed that changing the length of the fibers and increasing the aspect ratio are improving the flexural behavior of UHPC. Specifically, the flexural strength was enhanced by 25% and the flexural toughness by 30%. Compared to rectilinear fibers, the adoption of wave-shaped fibers is seen to degrade the flexural behavior regardless of the aspect ratio. Consequently, using straight steel fibers and adopting larger aspect ratio seems advisable to improve the toughness of UHPC.
Influence of different kinds of steel fibers on flexural behavior of ultra-high performance concrete beam by AnSYS
