See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

net/publication/289374618

PhD Thesis. CYCLIC BEHAVIOR OF STEEL FIBER REINFORCED CONCRETE:

FROM MATERIAL TO SEISMIC COLUMNS.

Research · January 2016

DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.1.2931.7203

CITATION READS

1 1,461

1 author:

Federica Germano
Università degli Studi di Brescia
11 PUBLICATIONS   68 CITATIONS   

SEE PROFILE

All content following this page was uploaded by Federica Germano on 05 January 2016.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

Università degli Studi di Brescia
Dipartimento di Ingegneria Civile, Architettura,
Territorio, Ambiente e di Matematica

quaderni del dottorato

5
Ph.D. Thesis, Ph.D course in Materials for Engineering, University of Brescia

Supervisor:

Prof. Giovanni A. Plizzari

University of Brescia

Federica Germano
Ph.D. in Materials for Engineering
University of Brescia
Via Branze 43, 25123
Brescia (Italy)

federica.germano@unibs.it
federicagermano81@gmail.com
 Federica Germano

Cyclic Behavior of Steel Fiber Reinforced Concrete:

from material to seismic columns
 Copyright © MMXIV
ARACNE editrice S.r.l.

www.aracneeditrice.it
info@aracneeditrice.it

via Raffaele Garofalo, 133/A–B

00173 Roma
(06) 93781065

isbn 978–88–548–7003–1

I diritti di traduzione, di memorizzazione elettronica,

di riproduzione e di adattamento anche parziale,
con qualsiasi mezzo, sono riservati per tutti i Paesi.

Non sono assolutamente consentite le fotocopie

senza il permesso scritto dell’Editore.

I edizione: luglio 2014

 To my father

I hope you are looking to me and you are pleased with me

 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

First of all I have to thank my promotor, prof. Giovanni A. Plizzari, for giving me the
opportunity to join his group and offering me this challenging research project.
Furthermore, the support given by many colleagues is appreciated, but special
acknowledgements go to Giuseppe Tiberti and Fausto Minelli. The precious collaboration
of eng. Angelo Mazzù and eng. Matteo Lancini is gratefully acknowledged.
Several students were partially involved in some of the aspects presented in my
thesis. The support of engineers Marco Pezzola, Mauro Arici, Francesco Donarini, Luca
Manfrin, Francesco Pasini, Riccardo Turrini, Claudia Baldassari, Daniele Pezzotta and
Luca Vacca in performing the experimental tests was precious.
The experiments of this study could not have been performed without the help and
technical expertise of the laboratory personnel, as of Domenico Caravaggi and Augusto
Botturi for the casting of the specimens and Andrea Delbarba for conducting the
experiments; the ingenuity of Augusto and the subtle irony of Andrea are particularly
recognized.
I like to thank mum and dad, parents and brother-in-law for patiently supporting me in
these years of research.
A special thank goes to my husband Giuseppe for the constant assistance during the
performing of the experimental tests and, most of all, for always preciously supporting me
in the dark periods that I have to undergo both in my private and working life. Four years
ago in my Master thesis acknowledgments I was writing: “Thanks go to eng. Giuseppe
Tiberti for the pleasant chats that gave me the chance to know his professional skills,
together with his human quality”. Now, I know that I was right because you are a man of
parts, but you have to believe in it!

Federica Germano

VII
 SOMMARIO

Le tipologie strutturali sottoposte ad azioni dinamiche quali, ad esempio, vento, moti

ondosi, vibrazioni indotte dal traffico veicolare, sisma etc. sono sempre maggiori e, di
conseguenza, una più approfondita conoscenza del comportamento ciclico delle strutture
in calcestruzzo armato diventa opportuna nonché doverosa.
I recenti eventi sismici in Italia e in tutto il resto del mondo hanno messo in luce la
particolare necessità di un’adeguata progettazione delle strutture in cemento armato ai fini
di garantirne la prevenzione del collasso e limitarne il danneggiamento.
Sempre più nuove, infine, sono le tipologie di calcestruzzi a disposizione: cementi
armati ad alta prestazione o ad alta resistenza, calcestruzzi fibrorinforzati (con fibre
metalliche e non). Numerose ricerche scientifiche hanno mostrato che l’introduzione di
fibre d’acciaio nel calcestruzzo (Steel Fiber Reinforced Concrete - SFRC) può sostituire
parzialmente, o in taluni casi totalmente, l’armatura tradizionale grazie alle migliorate
prestazioni in termini di resistenza, avanzamento della fessura, duttilità etc.
In questo contesto, pertanto, il presente lavoro di ricerca intende contribuire alla
conoscenza del calcestruzzo fibrorinforzato con fibre d’acciaio per un suo possibile
utilizzo, in combinazione con la tradizionale armatura, nella realizzazione di pilastri di telai
sismoresistenti.
Lo studio, articolato essenzialmente in due fasi, ha riguardato il comportamento a
fatica del materiale e il comportamento sismico di pilastri armati e fibrorinforzati. I risultati
ottenuti da entrambe le sperimentazioni, infine, sono stati confrontati con un modello
analitico sviluppato nel presente lavoro. Relativamente al comportamento a fatica del
calcestruzzo fibrorinforzato, gli effetti di due dosaggi di fibre e di diversi livelli di carico
sono stati oggetto di indagine ed i risultati sono stati criticamente confrontati con
riferimento ai principali parametri che governano, in genere, il comportamento a fatica del
materiale. In una seconda fase, è stato opportunamente sviluppato un programma
sperimentale in grado di verificare l’influenza delle fibre e delle staffe (tipo di acciaio e
passo) sul comportamento sismico di pilastri. Particolare attenzione è stata posta al set-up
di prova ed alla strumentazione necessaria al fine di valutare alcuni dei parametri più
importanti nella progettazione sismica quali energia dissipata, duttilità e stato di
danneggiamento degli elementi. La modellazione analitica proposta, infine, ha garantito
un’adeguata corrispondenza con i risultati sperimentali cogliendo la risposta d’inviluppo
per i carichi ciclici.

Parole chiave: calcestruzzo fibrorinforzato, fatica, carico ciclico, pilastri, sismica.

VIII
 ABSTRACT

The use of new types of structures subjected to dynamic loadings due to traffic, wind,
waves and seismic actions has noticeably increased over the years. Hence, the study of
the cyclic behavior of reinforced concrete structures has become a subject of great
interest.
The recent seismic events in Italy and all over the world make the adequate
seismic design a matter of peculiar interest with reference to both the collapse prevention
and minimum structural damage.
Meanwhile, designers have to face new types of concrete such as High
Performance or High Strength Concrete (HPC, HSC), Fiber Reinforced Concrete (FRC)
with steel or other types of fibers. Several scientific research have shown that steel fiber
addition in the concrete matrix (SFRC) can substitute partially, and in some cases totally,
the traditional reinforcement, thanks to improved performance levels with regard to
strength, crack control and durability, ductility etc.
This research work intends to be a contribution to the knowledge on steel fiber
reinforcement in combination with traditional reinforcement for its possible use in seismic
columns of RC seismic resistant frames.
The study is essentially organized in two parts. After a circumstantial literature
review, the results of two experimental campaigns concerning the fatigue behavior of
SFRC and the seismic behavior of SFRC columns were critically discussed and compared
with an analytical model developed in this work.
Firstly, concerning the fatigue behavior of SFRC, two dosages of fibers and
different load levels have been investigated and the results compared with regard to the
main parameters that govern the fatigue life.
Secondly, an experimental program was entirely developed with the aim of
evaluating the fibers effect as well as the influence of type and spacing of the stirrups on
the seismic behavior of columns. Special attention was devoted on the set-up design and
the instrumentation necessary for the evaluation of the energy dissipation, ductility and
damage state. The analytical modeling guaranteed an appropriate comparison with the
experimental results, thereby serving as envelope response for the cyclic loads.

Keywords: Steel Fiber Reinforced Concrete, fatigue, cyclic loading, columns,

seismic loads.

IX
 Labor omnia vicit improbus
(Virgilio, Georgiche, I, 145-146)
 CYCLIC BEHAVIOR OF STEEL FIBER REINFORCED
CONCRETE: FROM MATERIAL TO SEISMIC COLUMNS
 CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT……………….……………………………………………………… VII
SOMMARIO………………………………….…………………………………………………. VIII
ABSTRACT………………………..………………………………………………………….... IX

1. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................. 1
1.1. RESEARCH OBJECTIVES AND STRATEGIES .............................................. 3
1.2. OUTLINES ........................................................................................................ 4
1.3. REFERENCES.................................................................................................. 5

2. LITERATURE REVIEW ................................................................................................... 6

2.1. FATIGUE PERFORMANCE OF CONCRETE .................................................. 6
2.1.1. Fatigue loading and structural response .................................................... 6
2.1.2. Mechanism of fatigue ................................................................................. 7
2.1.3. Fatigue life assessment for concrete structure: various approaches ......... 7
2.1.3.1. S-N or Wöhler curves and Goodman diagrams ................................... 8
2.1.3.2. Cyclic Creep Curves .......................................................................... 10
2.1.4. Fatigue performance of concrete ............................................................. 11
2.1.4.1. Fatigue of concrete in compression ................................................... 11
2.1.4.2. Fatigue of concrete in tension ............................................................ 11
2.1.4.3. Fatigue of concrete in compression-tension ...................................... 12
2.1.4.4. Variability of the test results ............................................................... 12
2.1.4.5. Composition and quality of concrete .................................................. 12
2.1.4.5.1 Curing conditions ..................................................................... 12
2.1.4.5.2 Moisture conditions .................................................................. 12
2.1.4.5.3 Air entrainment ......................................................................... 13
2.1.4.5.4 Water-to-Cement Ratio ............................................................ 13
2.1.4.5.5 Type and Quality of Aggregate, superplasticizers and concrete
strength ................................................................................................... 13
2.1.4.6. Stress range ....................................................................................... 14
2.1.4.7. Loading of different waveforms and load frequencies ....................... 14
2.1.5. Fatigue modeling ...................................................................................... 15
2.1.5.1. Approach based on fracture mechanics ............................................ 15
2.1.5.1.1 Concrete modeling in tension: Gylltoft ..................................... 17
2.1.5.1.2 Concrete modeling in tension: Hordijk approach ..................... 18
2.1.5.2. Palmgren-Miner hypothesis ............................................................... 20

XV
Contents .

2.1.5.3. Failure criterion based on deformation .............................................. 20

2.1.6. Fatigue in some standards ...................................................................... 21
2.1.6.1. Design principles and safety concepts .............................................. 22
2.1.6.2. Reviewed codes ................................................................................ 22
2.2. FIBER REINFORCED CONCRETE (FRC) .................................................... 24
2.2.1. Introduction .............................................................................................. 24
2.2.2. Mechanics of crack formation and propagation ....................................... 26
2.2.2.1. Pre-cracking phase............................................................................ 26
2.2.2.2. Post-cracking phase .......................................................................... 27
2.2.3. Mechanical properties of steel fiber reinforced concrete ......................... 31
2.2.3.1. Compression ..................................................................................... 31
2.2.3.2. Direct Tension ................................................................................... 35
2.2.3.3. Bending ............................................................................................. 38
2.2.3.4. Shear ................................................................................................. 39
2.2.3.5. Fiber Orientation ................................................................................ 41
2.2.3.5.1 Fiber counting and orientation: available techniques ...................... 46
2.2.4. FRC characterization and classification ................................................... 47
2.2.4.1. UNI EN 14651 ................................................................................... 48
2.2.4.2. ASTM C1550 ..................................................................................... 49
2.2.4.3. Model Code 2010 .............................................................................. 50
2.2.5. Existing modeling method for FRC .......................................................... 52
2.2.5.1. Stress-crack width method ................................................................ 52
2.2.5.1.1 Inverse analysis ....................................................................... 53
2.2.5.1.2 Micromechanical model (Li et al.) ............................................ 56
2.2.6. Fatigue behavior of Fiber Reinforced Concrete ....................................... 58
2.2.6.1. General background .......................................................................... 58
2.2.6.2. Compression ..................................................................................... 59
2.2.6.3. Direct tension..................................................................................... 60
2.2.6.4. Bending ............................................................................................. 61
2.3. CONCRETE COLUMNS UNDER SEISMIC LOADS ...................................... 62
2.3.1. Concrete strength .................................................................................... 63
2.3.2. Aspect ratio .............................................................................................. 63
2.3.3. Axial load ................................................................................................. 64
2.3.4. Transverse reinforcement ........................................................................ 65
2.3.5. Longitudinal reinforcement and rebar instability ...................................... 66
2.3.6. Biaxial load .............................................................................................. 67
2.4. SEISMIC BEHAVIOR OF SFRC STRUCTURAL MEMBERS ........................ 69
2.4.1. Beam-column joints ................................................................................. 69
2.4.2. Beams ...................................................................................................... 70
2.4.3. Columns ................................................................................................... 71
2.4.4. Walls ........................................................................................................ 72
2.5. REFERENCES ............................................................................................... 73

XVI
 Contents
3. STATIC AND FATIGUE BEHAVIOR OF SFRC SMALL NOTCHED BEAMS ............. 85
3.1. EXPERIMENTAL PROGRAM FOR STATIC AND FATIGUE LOADING ........ 85
3.1.1. Materials ................................................................................................... 86
3.1.2. Preparation of the test specimens ............................................................ 92
3.1.3. Test setup and loading history ................................................................. 93
3.2. FIBER COUNT AND ORIENTATION.............................................................. 96
3.2.1. Analysis of a cross-section by image analysis ......................................... 97
3.2.2. Results of the image analysis................................................................... 99
3.3. BEHAVIOR UNDER STATIC LOAD ............................................................. 101
3.3.1. Results from the material phase............................................................. 101
3.3.2. Results from the structural phase........................................................... 106
3.3.3. Static behavior and fiber count/orientation ............................................. 110
3.4. BEHAVIOR UNDER FATIGUE LOAD .......................................................... 112
3.4.1. Parameters studied ................................................................................ 112
3.4.2. Results discussion.................................................................................. 115
3.4.3. S-N relationships .................................................................................... 126
3.4.4. Damage and fatigue life ......................................................................... 129
3.5. FATIGUE LIFE DISTRIBUTIONS OF plain and SFRC ................................. 133
3.5.1. Weibull distribution: parameters ............................................................. 133
3.5.1.1. Parameters estimation: graphical method (regression on Y) ........... 134
3.5.1.2. Parameters estimation: method of maximum likelihood estimate .... 135
3.5.1.3. Anderson-Darling test ...................................................................... 137
3.5.2. Weibull distribution: result discussion..................................................... 138
3.5.3. Failure probability and S-N relationships ............................................... 142
3.6. CONCLUDING REMARKS ........................................................................... 145
3.7. REFERENCES.............................................................................................. 146

4. MODELING OF STEEL FIBER REINFORCED CONCRETE ..................................... 148

4.1. BASIC PRINCIPLES OF THE ANALYTICAL MODEL .................................. 148
4.1.1. Fundamental hypotheses ....................................................................... 148
4.1.2. Input and output level ............................................................................. 151
4.1.3. Overview: aspects of concrete material modeling .................................. 155
4.1.3.1. Concrete in compression ................................................................. 155
4.1.3.2. Concrete in tension .......................................................................... 156
4.2. ANALYTICAL RESULTS: monotonic analyses ............................................. 157
4.2.1. Validation................................................................................................ 157
4.2.2. Constitutive laws adopted ...................................................................... 159
4.2.3. A case study: 2nd-SFRC-0.5% .............................................................. 160
4.2.4. Comparison ............................................................................................ 168
4.3. ANALYTICAL RESULTS: fatigue analyses .................................................. 175
4.3.1. Hordijk’s model: principles of the implementing procedure .................... 176
4.4. CONCLUDING REMARKS ........................................................................... 182
4.5. REFERENCES.............................................................................................. 182

XVII
Contents .

5. CYCLIC BEHAVIOR OF STEEL FIBER REINFORCED CONCRETE COLUMNS.... 184

5.1. TEST PROGRAM ......................................................................................... 184
5.1.1. Test specimen design ............................................................................ 184
5.1.2. Experimental program and specimens description ................................ 185
5.1.3. Materials properties ............................................................................... 187
5.1.4. Construction of specimens .................................................................... 188
5.2. TEST SETUP ............................................................................................... 190
5.2.1. Loading conditions ................................................................................. 193
5.2.2. Instrumentation and measurement of load, curvature, displacement and
reinforcement strains ....................................................................................... 196
5.2.3. Data acquisition ..................................................................................... 201
5.2.4. Test procedure ....................................................................................... 201
5.3. TEST RESULTS AND OBSERVATIONS ..................................................... 203
5.3.1. Damage states: damage distribution and crack pattern ........................ 204
5.3.2. Horizontal load vs. displacement: hysteretic behavior, envelope curve and
ductility ............................................................................................................. 210
5.3.3. Moment vs. curvature: hysteretic behavior envelope curve and ductility .... 212
5.3.4. Energy dissipation ................................................................................. 216
5.3.5. Curvature distribution and plastic hinge length ...................................... 221
5.3.6. Strains on longitudinal and transverse reinforcement ............................ 223
5.4. RESULTS DISCUSSION .............................................................................. 224
5.4.1. Damage states ....................................................................................... 224
5.4.2. Horizontal load vs. displacement: hysteretic behavior, envelope curve and
ductility ............................................................................................................. 228
5.4.3. Moment vs. curvature: hysteretic behavior, envelope curve and ductility.... 229
5.4.4. Energy dissipation ................................................................................. 230
5.4.5. Curvature distribution and plastic hinge length ...................................... 232
5.4.6. Stresses on longitudinal and transverse reinforcement ......................... 233
5.5. CONCLUDING REMARKS ........................................................................... 235
5.6. REFERENCES ............................................................................................. 235

6. MODELING OF STEEL FIBER REINFORCED CONCRETE COLUMNS.................. 236

6.1. BASIC PRINCIPLES OF THE ANALYTICAL MODEL ................................. 236
6.1.1. Fundamental hypotheses ...................................................................... 236
6.1.2. Input and output level ............................................................................ 238
6.1.2.1. Concrete constitutive laws ............................................................... 238
6.1.2.1.1 Concrete in tension ................................................................ 238
6.1.2.1.2 Concrete in compression ....................................................... 239
6.1.2.2. Steel constitutive law ....................................................................... 240
6.2. ANALYTICAL RESULTS: monotonic analyses ............................................ 241
6.2.1. Validation ............................................................................................... 241
6.2.2. Comparison (P07-P13 columns) ............................................................ 244
6.3. CONCLUDING REMARKS ........................................................................... 249
6.4. REFERENCES ............................................................................................. 250

XVIII
 Contents
7. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH .............. 251

APPENDIX A: EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS ON SMALL NOTCHED BEAMS .............. 255

APPENDIX B: EXPERIMENTAL SET-UP ...................................................................... 280

APPENDIX C: FOUNDATION PAD ................................................................................ 288

APPENDIX D: EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS OF REINFORCED CONCRETE AND STEEL

FIBER REINFORCED CONCRETE COLUMNS ............................................................. 294

APPENDIX E: ANALYTICAL RESULTS ON SMALL NOTCHED BEAMS .................... 323

BIOGRAPHY ................................................................................................................... 337

XIX

 1. INTRODUCTION

The need for a better knowledge on cyclic behavior of reinforced concrete structures has
noticeably increased over the years. In fact, the use of new types of structures subjected
to dynamic loadings due to traffic, wind, waves and the seismic action can cause damage
or, at worst, collapse.
Static behavior of concrete can be significantly improved by using a material having
an enhanced toughness such as Steel Fiber Reinforced Concrete (SFRC), which is a
composite material, with a cementitious matrix and steel fibers as discontinuous
reinforcement, that can be effectively used for structural applications. During the last three
decades, the study on SFRC has considerably increased due to its ability to control
concrete cracking, with particular reference to static loads. As far as cyclic loads are
concerned, the scientific papers available into the literature are still limited.
Many concrete structures such as highway pavements, highway bridges, railroad
bridges, airport pavements and bridges, marine structures, etc. are subjected to large
number of cycles at lower stress level (high-cycle fatigue), whereas low-cycle loading
involves the application of few load cycles at high stress level typical of earthquakes.
High losses due to recent catastrophic seismic events have raised the interest of the
research community to an adequate seismic design of structural critical elements such as
beams, beam-column joints and columns-foundation joints. Thus, the objective of this
thesis is the evaluation of the fatigue behavior of SFRC to the aim of its possible
employment (in combination with traditional reinforcement) in seismic columns of RC
frame structures.
Fatigue can be a possible failure mechanism of a material when it is subjected to
repeated load, as it was observed in metals in the 19th century, when wheel axes of trains
failed even at loads that were significantly below the strength limit of the material. In
metals, fatigue cracks show a distinctive crack pattern and therefore can be recognized at
inspections and repaired. Also, appropriate verifications for structures subjected to
repeated loading have been integrated in the codes so that fatigue failure is prevented for
the expected loads and service life of structures. However, in concrete fatigue cracks
cannot be distinguished from other types of concrete cracks. Therefore, fatigue of
concrete was not recognized as a possible failure mode until the 70s, when damage was
observed in a number of prestressed concrete bridges that was eventually attributed to
fatigue. Since then, fatigue of concrete has been a research topic and fatigue models and
design verifications have been proposed into concrete codes.
Although fatigue research began almost one hundred years ago, there is still lack of
understanding concerning the nature of fracture mechanism in cementitious composite

1
Chapter 1

materials due to fatigue; this partly depends on the fact that their properties are greatly
influenced by a large number of parameters: type and range of loading, rest period,
material properties, environmental conditions, etc. This incomplete understanding is even
more pronounced for composite materials as SFRC which seems very suitable to find
application in several structures, even if very limited and contrasting research has been
reported on its fatigue behavior up to now.
Fatigue strength data of SFRCs are needed for obtaining their effectiveness in
earthquake resistant frames. This need resulted into the first part of the present study,
which focuses on the fatigue performance and failure mechanisms of steel fiber reinforced
concrete.
Especially with regard to structural applications, it has been shown that the
combination of steel fibers reinforcement with the traditional one (rebars) is a promising
solution that leads to an efficient performance. Because of these advantages, SFRC has
emerged as an alternative construction material for floors, pavements, and pre-cast
products; moreover, the result of use has shown significant enhanced behaviors such as
joint integrity, structural ductility and energy dissipation capacity.
Nowadays all these attractive properties, performed under gravity loads and static
solicitations, are not sustained by an exhaustive study of the behavior under seismic
loads. This subject needs for a comprehensive research campaign, based on
experimental investigations, because the lack of knowledge makes the use of this material
uncertain and not so popular as it may deserve. It is investigable if, in moderate seismic
areas, fibers may replace the additional lateral reinforcement required for ductile behavior
or if, in high-seismic zones, fibers may be added to the conventional lateral reinforcement,
increasing security against collapse or alternatively, fibers may be added as partial lateral
reinforcement and still provide adequate ductility reducing the crowding in joint regions.
These aspects are much more important in the light of the new concepts introduced
in the late 1990s with the Performance Based Design (PBD), which is focused on the
realization of structural system capable to resist to seismic events with reduced damage.
This idea is still developing in order to answer to the higher expectations of the modern
society which can be summarized with three Ds: no structural collapse nor victims
(Deaths), minimum Damage, recovering costs and Downtime. The SEAOC, Structural
Engineering Association of California [1] (1995) made an effort to relate the performance
levels to the expected damage in the overall building and, in its turn, the performance
levels and the seismic hazard to three sets of performance objectives (Basic Facilities,
Essential Facilities and Safety Critical Facilities, Figure 1.1). The importance of these
aspects is highlighted also by the recent use of a new seismic design approach where the
performance target is the displacement (Displacement Based Design, DBD). These
assumptions (PBD and DBD) are an oversimplification since the level of damage is
influenced by several other parameters like, for example, the number of cycles, the
duration of the earthquake and its peak ground acceleration.
As reported for fatigue, also the SFRC in seismic resisting systems, is not supported
by an exhaustive study and is affected by a lack of knowledge. Furthermore, the results
available in the literature, are controversial. The use of FRC gave interesting indication for
seismic behavior at the University of Michigan, where the HPFRCCs (High Performances

2
 Introduction

Fiber Reinforced Cementitious Composites) represent a solution still under investigation

because of the significant results obtained. Special benefits were recognized in shear
critical elements; whereas, in some cases, flexural elements, even if the energy
dissipation increases, after the peak manifested a localized main crack that tends to
reduce the global ductility.
The scattering of investigations and the effort of improving the seismic behavior of
steel fiber reinforced concrete members must deal with the necessity of designing
structures able to sustain the expected internal forces, and develop high deformation
capacity without collapsing or, better, with limited level of damage. In particular,
deformation and strength mechanism of columns are key aspects for the assessment of
the seismic capacity of RC frame structures.

Figure 1.1: Redefinition of the Basic Objective in the Performance Design Objective from
SEAOC Vision 2000 (1995).

1.1. RESEARCH OBJECTIVES AND STRATEGIES

Firstly, the fatigue behavior of the material was investigated and, then, at the structural
level, its possible use for seismic columns was experimentally studied.
The fatigue behavior of SFRC was investigated in order to:
x determine the characteristics of the materials involved, compare them to plain
concrete and point out the differences in the material (bending) behavior and
failure modes. It will show how the fresh state properties (workability,
flowability) influence the material behavior;
x show the material characteristics, structural behavior, and failure modes under
both static and fatigue loading conditions;
x highlight the role of steel fibers with regard to the static and fatigue
performance;
x evaluate the influence of different load levels;
x provide suitable material models for describing static and fatigue behavior of
the material.

View publication stats