Structures 7 (2016) 126–137

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Structures

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Deformed steel fibres as minimum shear reinforcement —

An investigation
Kranti Jain a,⁎, Bhupinder Singh b
a
Department of Civil Engineering, National Institute of Technology Uttarakhand, Srinagar-Garhwal, 246174, India
b
Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, Roorkee 247 667, India

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: An appraisal of crimped and hooked-end steel fibres as minimum shear reinforcement in reinforced concrete
Received 6 March 2016 beams made with two concrete grades is presented. Beams conventionally detailed with minimum shear
Received in revised form 9 June 2016 reinforcement were used as control specimens. The fibre reinforced beams also showed varying degrees of
Accepted 13 June 2016
multiple cracking at peak loads. The shear strength of the fibre reinforced beams though lower than those of
Available online 17 June 2016
the conventionally detailed beams were higher than a lower bound value recommended in the literature as
Keywords:
well as predictions from ACI 318. Effect of concrete grade on normalised shear strength was insignificant.
Minimum shear reinforcement Between the two deformed fibre types, depending upon the aspect ratio, the beams reinforced with the
Crimped steel fibres hooked-end fibres had up to 38% higher shear strengths than those containing the crimped fibres. The validity
Hooked-end steel fibres of the ACI 318 flexural performance criteria for deformed fibres proposed to be used as minimum shear
Shear strength reinforcement has been examined and a simple mechanics-based shear strength model for fibre reinforced
Volume fraction concrete has been proposed. The proposed model together with seven shear strength models selected from
Aspect ratio the literature have been evaluated for their predictive efficacy.
Diagonal crack
© 2016 The Institution of Structural Engineers. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
Shear failure of a beam without web reinforcement is sudden and brit-
tle and since shear strengths may vary significantly about the values pre-
dicted by design equations, most of the current design codes [1–3] require
a minimum amount of shear reinforcement to be provided if the applied
shear exceeds a certain fraction of the nominal shear strength. Minimum
shear reinforcement requirements in concrete beams have been exten-
sively investigated in the past [4–8] and although detailing of such rein-
forcement in conventional beams and other similar members may not
be problematic, its elimination, particularly in high-strength, high-
performance concrete elements can reduce reinforcement congestion,
cut down construction time and costs and result in more efficient designs.
In beams, shear strength is controlled by the ability of concrete to
resist diagonal tension and it is well established that the use of even
modest amounts of diffused steel fibre reinforcement significantly
increases the post-cracking toughness and ductility of concrete,
improves tensile strength to varying degrees and reduces width and
spacing of cracks. According to Dinh [9], fibre reinforcement enhances
shear resistance by transferring tensile stresses across diagonal cracks
and reduces diagonal crack spacing and width which in turn improves
aggregate interlock. Therefore, the use of diffused steel fibre
⁎ Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: jainkranti8@gmail.com (K. Jain), bsiitr@gmail.com (B. Singh).
reinforcement in concrete can improve shear behaviour and has the po-
tential to replace or reduce the amount of conventionally detailed shear
reinforcement [10–11]. Most of the existing guidelines for design of
Steel Fibre Reinforced Concrete (SFRC) members are valid for
elements without any conventional reinforcement. The synergistic ef-
fect between steel fibres and conventional steel reinforcement, if dealt
with at all, is done so in an empirical manner. Analytical models
which can be conveniently used in design practice for estimation of
fibre contribution to structural capacity in reinforced concrete members
are not readily available. Recently, Chalioris [12] has presented a meth-
odology for estimation of optimum steel fibre content in shear-
dominated SFRC beams for the condition of steel fibres being used as
the only shear reinforcement or in combination with a suitable amount
of stirrups. Tahenni et al. [13] have shown that the shear behaviour of
fibre reinforced high-strength concrete beams without stirrups is simi-
lar to, if not better than that of high-strength concrete beams containing
stirrup reinforcement and an empirical model for the contribution of
steel fibres to the shear strength of such beams has been proposed.
Using selected shear strength predictive models in current design
codes and the literature, Ali Amin [14] has reported satisfactory shear
strength predictions of his full-scale experimental beams with varying
transverse and steel fibre reinforcement ratios. In this investigation, a
simple analytical tool for estimation of steel fibre contribution to the
shear strength of reinforced concrete beams has been presented and
validated with the help of experimental results reported in the
literature.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.istruc.2016.06.003
2352-0124/© 2016 The Institution of Structural Engineers. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
 K. Jain, B. Singh / Structures 7 (2016) 126–137 127

Table 1
Properties of the deformed steel fibres.

Type Fibre ID Length (mm) Diameter (mm) Aspect ratio Nominal tensile strength (MPa)

H35 35 0.55 65 1100

H60 60 0.75 80 1050
Hooked-end (H)

C30 30 0.60 50 1025

Crimped (C) C60 60 0.70 85 1050

On the basis of a comprehensive review of the literature,
Parra-Montesinos [15] has shown that an average shear stress of
qffiffiffiffiffi
0 mechanics-based shear strength model for SFRC has been proposed and
0.3 f c (MPa) represents a lower bound to the shear strength of
beams reinforced with deformed steel fibres in volume fractions, Vf,
greater than or equal to 0.75%. On the basis of this data, a new provision
was included for the first time in the 2008 ACI Building Code [16] and
reaffirmed in the 2011 ACI Building Code [1] allowing the use of
deformed steel fibres in volume fractions greater than or equal to
0.75% as minimum shear reinforcement in normal-strength concrete
beams as long as Vu lies in the range 0.5φVc ≤ Vu ≤ φVc. In addition to
the specified minimum fibre content, the ACI Building Code [1] also pre-
scribes a flexural performance criteria based on the ASTM C1609 [17]
four-point bend test for the acceptance of deformed steel fibres as
minimum shear reinforcement.
Hooked-end fibres in particular and crimped fibres are used as
diffused reinforcement in concrete and it is conventionally accepted
that the former type of fibres are more effective than the latter [18].
However, Yakoub [19] has shown that for certain aspect ratios crimped
fibres can be more efficient than hooked-end fibres. In this context, it is
desirable to appraise the relative performance of the aforesaid fibre
types if they are proposed to be used as minimum shear reinforcement
and also explore the possibility of their application in concrete grades
higher than the normal-strength concrete permitted in the ACI code.
Keeping the fibre dosage fixed at a nominal volume fraction of 1%, a
comparative appraisal of hooked-end and crimped steel fibres as
minimum shear reinforcement in beams made with normal-strength
(nominal cylinder strength = 25 MPa) and medium-strength (nominal
cylinder strength =45 MPa) concrete has been carried out in this inves-
tigation. The experimental programme consisted of flexural evaluation
of steel fibre reinforced concrete (SFRC) prisms in order to test compli-
ance with the ACI Building Code flexural performance requirements.
This was followed by testing of simply supported longitudinally
reinforced SFRC beams designed to fail in shear under monotonically
increasing loads in a three-point loading configuration. The perfor-
mance of the SFRC beams has been bench-marked against the behaviour
of beams conventionally detailed with minimum shear reinforcement
in compliance with requirements of the ACI Building Code [1]. A simple
this model together with seven shear strength models selected from the
literature have been evaluated for their predictive efficacy.
2. Experimental Programme
The geometrical characteristics and the relevant mechanical proper-
ties of the hooked-end, H, and the crimped steel fibres, C, used in this in-
vestigation are presented in Table 1. The dosage of the deformed steel
fibres in the SFRCs was kept nominally constant at 1% volume fraction
(greater than the minimum 0.75% volume fraction recommended by
the ACI Building Code). Besides the fibre type, the other variable related
to the deformed fibres was the aspect ratio and two lengths (35 mm and
60 mm of the hooked-end fibres and 30 mm and 60 mm of the crimped
fibres) were used. Two concrete grades viz. normal-strength, N, and
medium-strength, M, were used for comparative investigation. The
composition of the plain (PC) and the SFRC mixes is given in Table 2.
Locally available graded crushed stone coarse aggregates of nominal
maximum size 12.5 mm procured from a single source were used in
the concrete mixes. The plain concrete was used for casting of control
specimens to be used in the evaluation of flexural performance and
shear behaviour.
In the first phase of the experimental programme, characterisation
of the SFRCs was carried out with the help of uniaxial compression
tests on 150 mm × 300 mm cylindrical specimens under a
displacement-controlled loading rate of 0.25 mm/min. A selection of
the measured stress–strain relationships is presented in Fig. 1 wherein
each curve is the average of the response of three nominally identical

Table 2
Concrete mixture proportions.

Ingredient Weight, kg/m3

Vfa = 0% (PC) Vf = 1% (SFRC)

Cement, c 396 (515) 394 (511)

Fine aggregates (FA) 870 (825) 857 (808)
Course aggregates (CA) 1009 (979) 990 (956)
High-range water-reducing admixture+ −(3.09) −(3.07)
Water, w 225 (177) 233 (196)
w/c 0.57 (0.35) 0.59(0.39)
Steel fibres – 79
CA/(FA + CA) 0.54 (0.54) 0.54 (0.54)

Note 1: Values in parentheses are for the medium-strength concrete mixture (M).
Note 2: For the normal-strength concrete, (N), initial slump of the plain concrete (PC)
was in the range of 125 mm − 150 mm whereas that of the SFRC was in the range
of 20 mm − 100 mm and the corresponding figures for the medium-strength
concrete were 150 mm − 180 mm and 40 mm − 150 mm respectively.
a
Volume fraction of fibres; + Glenium 51. Fig. 1. Measured stress–strain relationships of selected SFRCs.
128 K. Jain, B. Singh / Structures 7 (2016) 126–137

Fig. 2. Measured load–deflection relationships from the flexural performance tests for the normal- (N) and the medium-strength (M) SFRC: (a) Hooked-end [H] fibres (b) Crimped [C]
fibres.

companion specimens. The effect of concrete grade and fibre aspect
ratio on post-peak performance is clearly seen in this figure.
Evaluation of flexural performance of the SFRC mixtures per the
following criteria specified in the ACI Building Code [1] was carried
out with the help of ASTM C1609 [17] four-point bend tests.
(i) The residual strength obtained from flexural testing at a
mid-span deflection of 1/300 of the span shall be greater than
or equal to 90% of the measured first-peak strength obtained
from a flexural test or 90% of the strength corresponding to the
modulus of rupture, whichever is larger.
(ii) The residual strength obtained from flexural testing at a mid-
span deflection of 1/150 of the span shall be greater than or
equal to 75% of the measured first-peak strength obtained from
a flexural test or 75% of the strength corresponding to modulus
of rupture, whichever is greater.
The modulus of rupture, fr (MPa), was calculated from the following
expression in the ACI Building Code:
qffiffiffiffiffi
0 the validity of the ACI Building Code [1] flexural performance criteria,
f r ¼ 0:62 f c
Plain concrete and SFRC prismatic specimens, 180 mm × 180 mm in
section and 600 mm long were tested in four-point bending in a close-
loop servo-controlled UTM over a simply supported span of 540 mm
under displacement-controlled loading of 0.1 mm/min. up to a net de-
flection of span/900 (= 0.6 mm) and beyond that, at a displacement
rate of 0.25 mm/min., with the test being terminated at a net deflection
of span/150 (=3.6 mm).
Flexural failure due to formation of a prominent vertical crack in the
central flexural span of 180 mm was observed in the plain concrete and
the SFRC specimens containing the crimped fibres whereas more than
one flexural crack was seen in the flexural span of the prismatic
specimens reinforced with the hooked-end fibres. All the measured
load-mid span deflection relationships taken as the average of the
results of four nominally identical companion specimens are plotted
in Fig. 2.
The relationships presented in Fig. 2 illustrate two types of flexural
behaviour viz. deflection-hardening and deflection-softening [17].
In Fig. 2(a), the SFRCs NH60 and MH60 show hardening behaviour
while NH35 and MH35 show softening behaviour. On the other hand,
except for MC60, all the SFRCs reinforced with the crimped fibres
showed deflection-softening behaviour, Fig. 2(b). The results of a
more objective evaluation of the flexural behaviour are summarised in
Table 3 which shows that only the normal- and the medium-strength
SFRC reinforced with the 60 mm long hooked-end fibres satisfied the
ACI performance criteria and in general, between the two deformed
fibre types, the performance of the hooked-end fibres was closer to
the ACI Building Code requirements. None-the-less, in order to test
ð1Þ
both the deformed fibre types were considered for evaluation as
minimum shear reinforcement.
Ductility is an important characteristic of SFRC and it was evaluated
from the results of the four-point bend tests in terms of toughness
which is a measure of the energy absorption capacity of the prismatic
specimens. Toughness, T, has been calculated as the energy equivalent
to the area under the measured load-deflection relationships at
the following sampling points: limit of proportionality (LOP),
modulus of rupture (MOR) and at mid-span deflections of L/600

Table 3
Summary of the flexural performance tests.

Specimen
ID fp (MPa) f1 (MPa) f300 (MPa) f150 (MPa) f 'c (MPa) fr (MPa) f300/ 0.9 f1 f150/ 0.75 f1 Is the ACI performance criteria satisfied? Y (Yes)/N (No)

NH35 5.81 4.58 4.24 2.97 26.80 3.22 1.03 0.86 N

NH60 5.12 3.46 4.89 4.23 22.56 2.95 1.57 1.63 Y
NC30 3.78 3.78 2.27 1.45 25.20 3.11 0.67 0.51 N
NC60 3.90 3.90 3.12 2.28 24.40 3.06 0.89 0.78 N
MH35 7.36 6.10 5.63 3.20 45.20 4.18 1.03 0.70 N
MH60 9.49 6.81 9.25 6.62 47.12 4.27 1.51 1.30 Y
MC30 5.92 5.77 3.27 1.64 46.52 4.24 0.63 0.38 N
MC60 5.86 5.14 4.64 3.19 39.40 3.90 1.00 0.83 N
 K. Jain, B. Singh / Structures 7 (2016) 126–137
Fig. 3. Trends in toughness of the SFRCs.
(=0.9 mm), L/300 (=1.8 mm) and L/150 (=3.6 mm) where L is the
span of the prismatic specimens. The results of this analysis presented
in Fig. 3 show that TLOP of the SFRCs was practically independent of
fibre characteristics and across the other sampling points the toughness
values were more sensitive to the fibre factor in the case of the hooked-
end fibres when compared to the crimped fibres. In general, Fig. 3
shows that toughness of the hooked-end fibres was superior to that of
the crimped fibres, particularly so at higher values of the fibre factor.
Shear behaviour was investigated by testing to failure singly-
reinforced 1770 mm long beams 150 mm × 300 mm in section over a
simply supported span of 1470 mm under monotonically increasing
three-point loads. In order to check the repeatability of results, two
nominally identical companion beams were tested for every parameter
under investigation and since in most of the cases, the test results of the
Fig. 4. Geometry of a beam specimen and test set-up configuration.
129
companion beams were comparable, the average of the pair was taken
for the purpose of analysis. Previous research has identified a size-
effect on the shear strength of RC members without stirrups or with
low web reinforcement ratios, wherein the shear stress at failure de-
creases with an increase in the member depth [20–23]. This is because
a significant portion of the shear resistance attributed to cracked con-
crete is due to aggregate interlock which in turn is strongly influenced
by the width of the inclined cracks. In shallow beams, crack widths
and spacings tend to be relatively small [24] such that a large value of
shear can be transferred across the crack by aggregate interlock and
slip of the inclined crack faces relative to each other is small. Hence,
for the same concrete grade, higher shear strength values may be ob-
tained in shallow beams when compared to beams with large depths.
Although the size effect is relevant in the context of absolute values of
the measured shear strengths, its influence on the relative strengths of
the various beams of the author's investigation would be insignificant
since all the beams were of the same nominal size. It may be mentioned
that the Indian concrete design code, IS 456:2000 [25], considers size ef-
fect only for members with a depth of less than 300 mm. The 300 mm
depth of the authors' beam specimens was selected keeping the afore-
said limitation in mind and also because of ease of constructability
and testing with the available facilities.
The geometry of the beam specimens and the test set-up configura-
tion is presented in Fig. 4 which shows that the load point was so locat-
ed in the beam elevation as to divide the length of the beam into a
longer or the tested span (=875 mm) on the west side and the shorter
span (= 595 mm) on the east side. Each beam was designed to fail
in shear in the tested span whose shear span-to-effective depth ratio
(a/d) of approximately 3.5 was so selected in order to minimise any
contribution from arch action to beam shear strength. The shorter
span was reinforced with sufficient amount of stirrups to prevent any
significant shear distress during testing so that shear failure would
130 K. Jain, B. Singh / Structures 7 (2016) 126–137
Fig. 5. Detailing of the beam specimens.
always occur in the longer or the tested span. In order to ensure that
flexural failure did not pre-empt shear failure, all the beams were inten-
tionally over-reinforced with 2.67% (100Ast/bd) tension reinforcement
(5 bars of 16 mm dia. having 500 MPa nominal yield strength) provided
at a nominal effective depth of 251 mm near the beam soffit, Fig. 4.
Depending upon detailing of transverse reinforcement in the tested
span, the beams were classified into the following three categories:
(i). No transverse or steel fibre reinforcement in the tested span. This
detailing was adopted in order to observe a shear failure of the
brittle type.
(ii). Minimum shear reinforcement in the tested span (6 equally
spaced 8 mm diameter 2- legged closed rectangular stirrups) in
compliance with ACI Building Code [1] requirement.
(iii) Only deformed steel fibres as minimum shear reinforcement
in the tested span.
(iii). Across all the specimens, transverse reinforcement in the shorter
span consisted of 7 numbers of 8 mm dia. equally spaced
2-legged closed rectangular stirrups and the detailing of the
above categories of specimens is presented in Fig. 5. The beams
were cast in the laboratory using steel moulds and were
demoulded 24 h after casting followed by moist curing for a pe-
riod of 27 days after which they were tested together with the
control specimens used for monitoring concrete strength. The
mixture proportions of the plain concrete and the SFRC used
for casting of the beam specimens were the same as those used
for casting of the prismatic specimens used in the flexural perfor-
mance tests, Table 2.
A summary of the beam specimens is presented in Table 4 which
also includes important experimental results obtained from the shear
tests. To detect the formation of inclined cracks which must exist before
a shear failure can occur, an arrangement consisting of two cross-LVDT's
having a gauge length of 120 mm each and oriented at 90° to each other
and at 45° to the beam longitudinal axis was mounted on the side-face
of the beams in the tested span, Fig. 4. The intersection point of the
cross-LVDT's was at a nominal distance of 435 mm from the nearest
support and their arrangement was so configured that beam web defor-
mations (leading to inclined cracking) in the tested span would result in
a shortening of one of the LVDT's and an elongation of the other.
The beams were tested under monotonically increasing loads
applied using a hydraulic ram in 10–15 increments until failure and
 K. Jain, B. Singh / Structures 7 (2016) 126–137 131

Table 4 the widening of at least one prominent inclined crack which provided
Summary of the beam specimens and test results. some warning about impending failure.
Concrete mix and detailing of f'c Pu vu vu/(f'0.5
c) Failure mode+
transverse Reinforcement
(MPa) (kN) (MPa)
3.2. Measured load–mid-span deflection and load–web deformation
relationships
I II III IV V VI

N-Plain concrete 24.5 125 1.35 0.27 The measured load–mid-span deflection relationships of all the
DT + ST
25.5 185 1.99 0.39
beam specimens are presented in Fig. 7. The load–web deformation re-
N-ACI minimum 28.1 395 4.24 0.80
25.4 374 4.02 0.80
Flexural lationships of the beam specimens plotted in Fig. 8 have been obtained
NH35 27.9 270 2.90 0.55 after pairing the axial displacements (elongation [−]/shortening [+]) of
DT + ST + SC
26.2 305 3.28 0.64 the cross-LVDT arrangement shown in Fig. 4 with the applied load and
NH60 26.3 287 3.08 0.60 are indicative of the relationship between web deformations in the
DT + ST + SC
27.1 259 2.78 0.53
tested span and the applied loads. A closer examination of Fig. 8
NC30 27.8 194 2.09 0.40
27.2 192 2.07 0.40
DT + ST + SC shows that across all the specimens, the first change in slope of
NC60 27.6 244 2.62 0.50 the load–deformation relationship occurred at loads in the range of
DT + ST + SC
27.9 201 2.16 0.41 80 kN − 100 kN, which was taken as the first inclined cracking load
M-Plain concrete 45.9 266 2.86 0.42 and is seen to be practically independent of the shear reinforcement
DT + ST + SC
47.3 206 2.22 0.32
M-ACI minimum 43.9 416 4.47 0.67
in the beams. Relatively low shear capacity and a significant increase
Flexural in web deformation (and crack width) following peak loads is indicated
40.5 439 4.72 0.74
MH35 53.2 356 3.83 0.52 DT + ST in the response of the plain concrete beam in Fig. 8, whereas a peak load
55.3 409 4.40 0.59 DT + ST + SC having a magnitude equal to 2 to 3 times of that of the plain concrete
MH60 53.4 316 3.40 0.47 DT + ST + SC
specimen together with significantly smaller web deformations may
51.0 388 4.17 0.58 DT + ST
MC30 34.7 246 2.64 0.45 DT + ST + SC be seen in the specimens detailed with the ACI code specified minimum
36.2 247 2.66 0.44 DT + ST shear reinforcement. Depending on the shear resisting mechanisms at
MC60 37.0 272 2.93 0.48
DT + ST work in the various specimens, a range of reserve shear capacities and
38.3 257 2.76 0.45 peak loads are seen in Fig. 8.
+ ST: shear tension; DT: diagonal tension; SC: shear compression.
3.3. Analysis of normalised peak shear stress predictions
beam deflections under the load-point and the mid-span as well as the
support settlements for determining the net deflections, were It may be noted in Fig. 9 that the normalised shear stresses in none of
monitored using LVDT's. A computer-aided data acquisition system the fibre reinforced beams were lesser than the lower bound limit of 0.3
automatically recorded the loads as well as the LVDT readings at proposed by Parra-Montesinos [15]. This observation needs to be seen
pre-selected time interval of 5 s throughout the loading history. in the context that only the normal- and the medium-strength SFRCs
Cracking behaviour in terms of crack patterns, numbers of cracks and with 1% Vf of the 60 mm long hooked-end fibres had satisfied the ACI
maximum crack widths as well as failure modes were carefully noted Building Code flexural performance criteria. For concretes with cylinder
for each specimen. strengths of up to 69 MPa, the minimum shear reinforcement specified
in the ACI Building Code [1] predicts nominal shear strength of
0.34 MPa. Fig. 9 shows that the normalised shear strengths of the
3. Results and discussion beams reinforced with the deformed steel fibres were significantly
in excess of this value. In Fig. 9, the effect of concrete grade on the nor-
3.1. Analysis of failure modes malised shear stresses is insignificant which indicates that similar
mechanisms of shear resistance are at play in the normal- and in the
Observed failure modes and summary of all the specimens are medium-strength concretes of this investigation. Fig. 9 also shows that
identified in Table 4 and most of the beams showed various types of on the average the beams (of both the concrete grades) reinforced
shear failure in the tested span and representative peak-load crack with the 35 mm long hooked-end fibres had about 38% higher normal-
patterns of selected specimens, indicative of failure modes, are shown ised shear strengths compared to the beams containing the 30 mm long
for the purpose of comparison in Fig. 6. The crack patterns when seen crimped fibres whereas the corresponding figure for the 60 mm long
in context of detailing of the tested spans were distinctly different. hooked-end and crimped fibres was about 20%. The superior perfor-
Diagonal tension failure of the normal-strength concrete beams without mance of the hooked-end fibres is attributed to their better bond with
any shear reinforcement was initiated by unstable propagation of a sin- the concrete matrix. This characteristic is particularly crucial in the
gle prominent inclined crack both towards the load point as well as the shorter fibres wherein due to their lower contact length with concrete,
longitudinal reinforcement together with widening of this crack near the crimped fibres are bound to be inherently less effective in
the beam mid-depth, Fig. 6 (a). The corresponding medium-strength interlocking with the concrete matrix and thereby ensuring force trans-
concrete beams also failed in diagonal tension but in an explosive man- fer across cracks. Fig. 10 shows that for both the concrete grades, the
ner with significant spalling of concrete, Fig. 6 (g). For both the concrete normalised peak average shear stress values increased with an increase
grades, shear compression failure (accompanied by multiple inclined in the fibre factor though this relationship is seen to be relatively more
cracking) was noted in the beams with the conventional minimum valid for the normal-strength concrete beams.
shear reinforcement, Figs. 6 (b) and (h), and took the form of one or
more inclined cracks penetrating deep into the compression zone 3.4. Estimation of optimum fibre content
followed by crushing of concrete. Irrespective of concrete grade, the
fibre reinforced beams showed varying degrees of multiple cracking In practical design of SFRC beams, the objective will be to prevent
and a combination of various modes of shear failure. Shear tension a shear failure from taking place and towards this end, Chalioris et al.
failure is most clearly indicated in Figs. 6 (d), (k) and (l), wherein the in- [12] have presented an analytical methodology for calculating the
clined crack propagated along the longitudinal reinforcement towards optimum fibre content (in terms of the fibre factor) such that the
the support which tends to weaken anchorage of the reinforcement. shear strength of longitudinally reinforced SFRC beams is higher
In addition to multiple cracking, the fibre reinforced beams also showed than their ultimate flexural resistance. As a design check, the fibre
132 K. Jain, B. Singh / Structures 7 (2016) 126–137

Fig. 6. Peak load crack patterns of selected beam specimens.

factors of the beams tested in this investigation have been compared
with the predictions from the model of Chalioris et al. and the results
are presented in Table 5. In this Table, Fbal. is the lower-bound fibre
factor of Chalioris et al. corresponding to the case when a brittle
shear failure is avoided and in its place a combined shear-flexure fail-
ure or a flexural failure with low ductility occurs. The Freq. values
reported in Table 5 correspond to the amount of steel fibres required
as per the theory of Chalioris et al. to substantially change a shear
failure mode to a flexural failure with adequate ductility. It may be
noted that the Freq. values have been computed by setting the ratio
of the ultimate to the yield strength of the longitudinal steel in the
methodology of Chalioris et al. equal to 1.22, which is the measured
value in this investigation. It may be noted in Table 5 that the Fprov,
the fibre factors actually provided in the beams of this investigation,
are significantly smaller than both the Fbal. as well as the Freq. values
and thereby a shear failure is predicted as per the methodology of
Chalioris et al. The observed failure modes of the beams were in
agreement with the predicted failure modes.
 K. Jain, B. Singh / Structures 7 (2016) 126–137 133

Fig. 7. Measured shear load–mid-span deflection relationships of the beam specimens. (a) Normal-strength concrete. (b) Medium-strength concrete.

4. Shear strength predictive model are the shear resisted by the compressed concrete and the shear resisted
by tension in the fibres bridging the diagonal crack. Accordingly, the
4.1. Mechanics based analytical approach shear strength of the SFRC beams, Vu, is expressed as

A simple mechanics-based model is presented for prediction of V u ¼ V CC þ V FRC ð2Þ

shear strength of SFRC beams without stirrup reinforcement failing
in diagonal tension. This model has been adapted from an earlier
model proposed by Dinh et al. [26] wherein with reference to
Fig. 11.
An SFRC beam without stirrup reinforcement is assumed to fail along
the idealised flexure-shear crack PQR and over the compressed con-
crete, RS. The mechanisms of shear resistance considered in the analysis
where VCC is the shear resisted by the compressed concrete and VFRC is the
shear resisted by fibre tension. The contribution of aggregate interlock has
been neglected because the inclined crack would have to widen signifi-
cantly for the assumed fibre tension to be mobilized at which stage
shear resisted by aggregate interlock is expected to be negligible. The
shear resisted by the compressed SFRC has been estimated using the

Fig. 8. Web deformations in the beam specimens. (a) Normal-strength concrete. (b) Medium-strength concrete.
134 K. Jain, B. Singh / Structures 7 (2016) 126–137

where Tf is the resultant of the fibre tension along the length of the
diagonal crack and d is the effective depth of the beam. The tensile
stress, σfu, resisted by fibres bridging a unit area of the inclined crack
is calculated from the following expression

σ fu ¼ N:f ð6Þ

where N, the number of fibres crossing a unit area of the inclined crack is
estimated from the following equation of Hannant [28] and f is the
average pull-out force per fibre.

Vf
N ¼ 0:5 ð7Þ
πr 2f

where Vf is the fibre volume fraction and rf is the equivalent radius of a

Fig. 9. Comparison of measured and predicted normalised shear stress values.
following equation of Dinh et al. [26] which was derived using the failure
criterion proposed by Bresler and Pister [27] for concrete subjected to
combined normal and shear stresses.
0
V CC ¼ 0:11f c β1 cb
where f'c is the specified cylinder compressive strength of concrete, β1 is
the stress block depth factor, c is the neutral axis depth and b is the
thickness of the section.
Alternatively, if the area and the yield strength of tension reinforce-
ment are known, then Vcc may be expressed as
V CC ¼ 0:13As f y
where As is the area of the longitudinal tension reinforcement of yield
strength fy.
The shear resisted by steel fibres depends on the tensile force
transferred across the diagonal crack through fibre tension. As per the
fibre. In case of fibres with a rectangular section, equivalent radius
may be computed from the circle having the same area as the fibre
cross section.
At failure, fibre pull-out invariably occurs, since the fibre length (lf) is
usually less than the critical length necessary to develop the ultimate
tensile strength of fibre, and also due to displacement of two faces of
the crack relative to each other. Since failure is invariably by fibre pull-
out, it has been shown that the mean fibre pull-out length is lf/4 [29].
The average pull-out force per fibre, f, is given by
ð3Þ
lf
f ¼ τπD f d f ð8Þ
4
where τ is the average fibre-matrix interfacial bond strength calculated
from Eqs. (9a, 9b), Df is the fibre bond efficiency factor (=1 for hooked-
end fibres and 0.75 for crimped fibres) and lf and df are the fibre length
and (equivalent) diameter respectively.
ð4Þ
Eqs. (9a), (9b) have been obtained from a review of the fibre-matrix
interfacial bond-strength models compiled by Khuntia et al. [30] and are
assumed to hold good for normal- as well as the medium-strength
concrete of this investigation.
qffiffiffiffiffi
0

recommendation of Dinh et al. [26], an equivalent uniform tensile stress τ ¼ 0:85 f c ðFor hooked‐end fibresÞ ð9aÞ
of magnitude σfu, Fig. 11, has been assumed along the length of the
qffiffiffiffiffi
diagonal crack inclined at an angle α to the horizontal. With reference 0
τ ¼ 0:75 f c ðFor crimped fibresÞ ð9bÞ
to Fig. 11, the shear resisted by fibre tension, VFRC, is given by
 
V FRC ¼ T f cos α ¼ σ fu bðd − cÞ cotðα Þ ð5Þ Using Eqs. 6 through 9, Eq. 5 may be rewritten as
 
lf
V FRC ¼ 0:5τD f V f bðd − cÞ cotðα Þ ð10Þ
df

Combining Eqs. 2, 3 and 10, shear strength of the SFRC beam may be
written as

 
0 lf
V u ¼ 0:11f c β1 cb þ 0:5τD f V f bðd − cÞ cotðα Þ ð11Þ
df

In the present investigation, α, the inclination of the diagonal crack

Fig. 10. Trends in normalised peak shear stress with fibre factor.
in all the beams failing in shear was measured in the range of 28°–36°.
However, for simplicity and conservatism, the use of α = 35° is recom-
mended. It may be noted that the proposed model does not account for
size effect on shear strength since size effect is unlikely to be significant
in members with depths in the range of 300 mm–500 mm. Therefore,
the proposed model may be taken to be valid for beams within this
size range and for concrete in the strength range of 20 MPa to 75 MPa
though more test data is required for the purpose of validation at the
upper end of the aforesaid strength range.
 K. Jain, B. Singh / Structures 7 (2016) 126–137 135

Table 5
Calculation of flexural and shear capacities of the SFRC beams.

Beam ID fc (MPa) fc,SFC(exp.) (MPa) Fibre Type lf/df F1prov. Failure (Obs.)2 vVu/vMu Failure (Pred.)3 F4bal. F5req.

N-Plain concrete 25.0 24.5 – – – S 0.37 S 6.20 6.90

25.0 25.5 – – – S 0.37 S 6.20 6.90
NH35 25.0 27.9 H 65 0.78 S 0.56 S 1.00 1.42
25.0 26.2 H 65 0.78 S 0.56 S 1.00 1.42
NH60 25.0 26.3 H 80 0.96 S 0.61 S 1.00 1.42
25.0 27.1 H 80 0.96 S 0.61 S 1.00 1.42
NC30 25.0 27.8 C 50 0.65 S 0.50 S 1.48 2.16
25.0 27.2 C 50 0.65 S 0.50 S 1.48 2.16
NC60 25.0 27.6 C 85 1.11 S 0.59 S 1.48 2.16
25.0 27.9 C 85 1.11 S 0.59 S 1.48 2.16
M-Plain concrete 46.6 45.9 – – – S 0.37 S 13.13 14.03
46.6 47.3 – – – S 0.37 S 13.13 14.03
MH35 46.6 53.2 H 65 0.78 S 0.53 S 1.48 2.16
46.6 55.3 H 65 0.78 S 0.53 S 1.48 2.16
MH60 46.6 53.4 H 80 0.96 S 0.56 S 1.48 2.16
46.6 51.0 H 80 0.96 S 0.56 S 1.48 2.16
MC30 46.6 34.7 C 50 0.65 S 0.50 S 1.48 2.16
46.6 36.2 C 50 0.65 S 0.50 S 1.48 2.16
MC60 46.6 37.0 C 85 1.11 S 0.59 S 1.48 2.16
46.6 38.3 C 85 1.11 S 0.59 S 1.48 2.16

1: Fibre factor provided in the Beams, 2: Observed failure mode; S: Shear failure, 3: Predicted failure mode; S: Shear failure, 4: Fibre factor required for a ‘balanced’ failure, 5: Fibre factor
required as per the methodology of Chalioris [12].

4.2. Validation of the proposed model
Fig. 12 presents results of validation of the proposed shear strength
model using the experimental results from this investigation and from
the literature [31–42,9].
It may be noted that in the validation exercise all types of shear fail-
ures have been lumped together, as is recommended by Dinh et al. [9]
and no distinction has been made between beams failing in diagonal ten-
sion or in other shear failure modes though beams failing is flexure have
been positively excluded. Fig. 12 shows that in a majority of the cases,
conservative predictions with varying degrees of accuracy were obtained
from the proposed model and the values of the predicted-to-the-
experimental shear strength ratios were in the range of 0.73–1.02. The av-
erage value of this parameter for all the test results was 0.97 with a stan-
dard deviation and a coefficient of variation of 0.18 and 19% respectively.
the authors model. For ready reference, a summary of these models is
given in Jain and Singh [11]. A comparison of the results presented in
Table 6 shows that the models of Ashour et al. [45] Narayanan and
Darwish [44], Khuntia et al. [30] gave overly conservative shear strength
predictions with mean ratios of the predicted-to-measured strengths of
0.73, 0.81 and 0.82 respectively whereas the model of Kwak et al. [40]
was marginally unconservative with the aforesaid value being 1.02. The
other three models were relatively accurate (and conservative) with the
predicted-to-measured strengths being in the range of 0.88 to 0.95.
Between these models, the most accurate predictions were obtained
from the model of Mansur et al. [32] but after the authors model.
5. Conclusions
The following conclusions are drawn from the results of this
investigation:

4.3. Calibration of shear strength models in the literature
Table 6 presents predictions of the measured shear strengths of the
SFRC beams of this investigation obtained from the shear strength models
proposed by Sharma [43], Mansur et al. [32], Narayanan and Darwish [44],
Ashour et al. [45], Khuntia et al. [30], Kwak et al. [40], Dinh et al. [26] and
1. Irrespective of the fibre type, aspect ratio and concrete grade, the nor-
malised shear strength of the fibre reinforced concretes were higher
than the lower-bound strength for such concrete recommended in
the literature. Hence, both the hooked-end as well as the crimped fibres
used at the 1% volume fraction dosage in this investigation can be used
as minimum shear reinforcement in reinforced concrete beams.

Fig. 11. Assumed failure mode and internal stresses in the steel fibre reinforced concrete beams (Adapted from Dinh et al., [26]).
136 K. Jain, B. Singh / Structures 7 (2016) 126–137

Fig. 12. Comparison of experimental and predicted results.

2. For both the concrete grades and irrespective of the fibre aspect ratio, Notations
the normalised shear strengths of the beams reinforced with the
hooked-end and with the crimped fibres were higher than the a Shear span, mm
shear strength predicted by the ACI Building Code recommended Ast Area of longitudinal tension reinforcement, mm2
minimum shear reinforcement. b Thickness (out-of-plane) dimension of beam, mm
3. The fact that even the deformed steel fibres which did not satisfy the d Effective depth of beam, mm
ACI Building Code flexural performance criteria gave acceptable Fprov. Fibre factor of the steel fibres provided in the beams of the
strength values when used as minimum shear reinforcement signals database, %
the need for a re-examination of the aforesaid criteria towards mak- Fbal. “Balanced” fibre factor calculated by the cubic formula for
ing it more relevant for judging the suitability of steel fibres proposed k = 1, %
to be used as minimum shear reinforcement. F req. Fibre factor required (vVu = vMu), %
4. The effect of concrete grade on the normalised shear stresses in fc Cylinder compressive strength of plain concrete, MPa.
the fibre reinforced concrete was insignificant. This indicates f'c Cylinder crushing strength of concrete, MPa.
that similar mechanisms of shear resistance were at play in the fc,SFC(exp.) Cylinder compressive e strength of steel fibrous concrete,
normal- and the medium-strength fibre reinforced concrete of MPa
this investigation. fr Modulus of rupture, MPa.
5. At the smaller aspect ratio of the deformed fibres, the beams rein- fp Peak strength, MPa.
forced with the hooked-end fibres had about 38% higher normalised ft. Yield strength of the steel bars, MPa
shear strength when compared to the beams with the crimped fibres f1 First-Peak strength, MPa.
whereas the aforesaid figure was about 20% for the beams reinforced f300 Residual strength at net deflection of span/300, MPa
with the fibres having the larger aspect ratio. In general, irrespective f150 Residual strength at net deflection of span/150, MPa
of the concrete grade, the hooked-end fibres were more effective as h Overall depth of beam, mm
shear reinforcement when compared to the crimped fibres of this k The ratio of the ultimate to the yield strength of the tension
investigation, particularly so at the smaller aspect ratio. longitudinal reinforcement.
6. A simple mechanics-based shear strength model based on the shear Pu Peak load, kN
resisted by the compressed concrete and the shear resisted by ten- Vf Volume fraction of steel fibres, %.
sion in the fibres bridging the inclined crack has been proposed and Vu Factored shear force, kN
validated with results from the literature. Vc Nominal shear strength provided by concrete, kN
7. Among the seven shear strength models in the literature calibrated vVu Ultimate shear strength in terms of shear stress, MPa.
using the results from this investigation, the model of Mansur et al. vMu Shear stress that corresponds to the flexural capacity at
was found to be relatively the most accurate. ultimate, MPa.
8. The observed shear failure modes in the tested beams were in agree- vu Peak average shear stress, MPa.
ment with predictions of the analytical model of Chalioris et al. vu/(f'0.5
c) Normalised peak average shear stress.

Table 6
Calibration of selected shear strength models in the literature.

Statistical measure Sharma [43] Mansur et al. [32] Narayanan & Darwish [44] Ashour et al. [45] Khuntia et al. [30] Kwak et al. [40] Dinh et al. [26] Authors model

Mean 0.95 0.95 0.81 0.73 0.82 1.02 0.88 0.97

S.D. 0.27 0.20 0.17 0.15 0.17 0.24 0.21 0.18
C.o.V. 28.58 20.70 21.09 20.85 20.24 23.44 23.90 19.00
 K. Jain, B. Singh / Structures 7 (2016) 126–137
Acknowledgement
The authors gratefully acknowledge the support of Bekaert
Corporation, which donated the hooked-end steel fibres used in
this investigation. Thanks are due for the support and cooperation
of the staff of the Concrete Laboratory and the Heavy Test Laboratory,
Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology
Roorkee, Roorkee, for the experimental programme.
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Kranti Jain is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Civil
Engineering at the National Institute of Technology
Utttarakhand, Uttarakhand, India. He received his master’s
and doctoral degree from the Department of Civil Engineer-
ing, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee. His research in-
terests include the structural application of steel fibrous
concrete.
Bhupinder Singh is an Associate Professor in the Depart-
ment of Civil Engineering at the Indian Institute of Technolo-
gy Roorkee, Roorkee, India, where he also earned his doctoral
degree. His research interests include shear behaviour and
strut-and-tie modelling with recent emphasis on structural
application of recycled aggregate concrete.