NORMAL- AND H I G H - S T R E N G T H FIBER-REINFORCED

CONCRETE UNDER COMPRESSION

By A. Samer Ezeldin, 1 Associate Member, ASCE, and
Perumalsamy N. Balaguru, 2 Member, ASCE
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ABSTRACT: TO use steel fiber-reinforced concrete in structural applications, the

complete stress-strain behavior of the material in compression is needed. This paper
presents the experimental stress-strain behavior of fiber-reinforced concrete with
compressive strength ranging from 5 ksi to 12 ksi (35 MPa to 85 MPa). Three fiber
volume fractions of 50 lb/cu yd, 75 lb/cu yd, and 100 lb/cu yd (30 kg/m3, 45 kg/m3,
and 60 kg/m3) and three aspect ratios of 60, 75, and 100 are investigated. The
influence of the fiber-reinforcing parameters on the peak stress, corresponding
strain, the secant modulus of elasticity, the toughness of concrete, and the curve
shape are reported. A simple equation is proposed to predict the complete stress-
strain curve. Addition of steel fibers to concrete with or without silica fume effec-
tively increases the toughness of such concrete. A marginal increase in the com-
pressive strength, the strain corresponding to peak stress, and the secant modulus
of elasticity is also obtained. The increase of silica-fume content renders the fiber-
reinforced concrete more brittle then non-silica-fume concrete. The equation pro-
posed to generate the complete stress-strain curve for non-silica-fume fiber-rein-
forced concrete provides a good correlation between predicted and experimental
results.

INTRODUCTION

During the last 20 years, considerable developments have taken place in

the field of steel fiber-reinforced concrete (Bentur and Mindess 1990). The
current field applications include; highway and airport pavements, hydraulic
structures, and tunnel linings (Shah and Batson 1987). As noted by ACI
Committee 544, the composite has potential for many other applications,
specially in the area of structural elements ("State of" 1982).
To design (or analyze) structures using steel fiber-reinforced concrete,
the stress-strain behavior of the material in compression is needed. While
the compressive strength is used for strength calculations of the structural
components, the stress-strain curve is needed to evaluate the toughness
resistance that is important for the ductility of structures.
Many researchers have studied the mechanical properties of fiber-rein-
forced concrete ("State of" 1982; "Measurement of" 1978). The reported
effect of steel fibers on the compressive strength ranges from negligible
(Williamson 1974) to marginal (Fanella and Naaman 1985). Typical stress-
strain curves of steel fiber-reinforced concrete in compression show an in-
crease in the strain at the peak stress and substantially higher toughness,
where toughness is a measure of the ability to absorb energy during defor-
mation estimated using the area under the stress-strain curves (Hughes and
Fattuhi 1977; Shah and Naaman 1976).

'Asst. Prof., Dept. of Civ. Envir., and Coastal Engrg., Stevens Inst, of Tech.,
Hoboken, NJ 07030.
2
Prof., Dept. of Civ. and Envir. Engrg., Rutgers-State Univ. of New Jersey,
Piscataway, NJ 08855.
Note. Discussion open until April 1,1993. To extend the closing date one month,
a written request must be filed with the ASCE Manager of Journals. The manuscript
for this paper was submitted for review and possible publication on July 25, 1990.
This paper is part of the Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering, Vol. 4, N o . 4,
November, 1992. ©ASCE, ISSN 0899-1561/92/0004-0415/$1.00 + $.15 per page.
Paper No. 170.

415

J. Mater. Civ. Eng. 1992.4:415-429.

 A number of empirical expressions for the stress-strain diagram of plain
concrete have been proposed (Carreira and Chu 1985; Wang et al. 1978;
Popovics 1973; Desayi et al. 1964; Hognestad et al. 1955). However, they
cannot represent fiber-reinforced concrete behavior. The main limitation of
these equations is that the effect of fibers is not accounted for in the pa-
rameters given as constants.
Fanella and Naaman (1985) proposed an analytical model to predict the
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complete stress-strain curve of fiber-reinforced mortar taking into account

fiber shape, volume fraction, and fiber geometry. They used different pa-
rameters to define the ascending and the descending branches of the stress-
strain curve. Four constants were used to represent the ascending part and
four more to determine the descending segment. The constants were de-
termined using the characteristics of the curve such as modulus of elasticity
and empirical relationships obtained using the experimental curves.
This paper presents the experimental stress-strain behavior of fiber-rein-
forced concrete with compressive strength ranging from 5 ksi to 12 ksi (35
MPa to 85 MPa). The matrix consisted of concrete rather than mortar. The
strain values were measured at the middle half of cylinders. Silica fume was
used for the high-strength concretes. Three fiber volume fractions and three
aspect ratios were investigated. The influence of the fiber-reinforcing pa-
rameters on the peak stress, corresponding strain, the secant modulus of
elasticity, the toughness of concrete, and the curve shape were investigated.
A simple yet accurate equation is proposed to predict the complete stress-
strain curve. The proposed equation uses only one parameter and generates
both the ascending and descending segments of the stress-strain curves of
concrete reinforced with hooked-end or straight steel fibers.

EXPERIMENTAL PROGRAM

A comprehensive investigation was carried out to study the bond and

compression behavior of normal- and high-strength fiber-reinforced con-
crete (Ezeldin 1989). The bond behavior experimental findings of rebars
embedded in fiber reinforced concrete were reported in previous publica-
tions (Ezeldin and Balaguru 1989, 1990). A detailed presentation of the
experimental program was presented in the paper by Ezeldin and Balaguru
(1989).
The materials used consisted of type I cement satisfying ASTM C150,
sand from local sources, crushed-stone aggregate, tap water, silica fume in
a slurry form, and high-range water-reducing admixture. The sand had a
fineness modulus of 2.6, bulk-specific gravity (SSD) of 2.64, and an ab-
sorption of 1.25%. The maximum size for coarse aggregate was 3/8 in. (9
mm). The solid content in the silica fume slurry was 50%. The water/cement
ratio was adjusted to account for the water in the slurry. The steel fibers
used in this investigation were made from low carbon steel, hooked at the
ends, and collated into bundles.
A total of 18 concrete mixes were evaluated. Two, 4 x 8 in. (100 X 200
mm) cylinders were tested under uniaxial compression. The details of mix-
ture proportions are presented in Table 1. Essentially, there were four
groups of mixtures. Group A and group B mixtures had no silica fume,
while groups C and D had 10% and 20% (by weight of cement) of silica
fume, respectively. Steel fiber reinforcement consisted of three fiber con-
tents of 50 lb/cu yd, 75 lb/cu yd, and 100 lb/cu yd (30 kg/m3, 45 kg/m3, and
60 kg/m3), and three equivalent aspect ratios of 100 (/ = 50 mm; (j> = 0.5
mm), 75 (Z = 60 mm; <> j = 0.8 mm), and 60 (/ = 30 mm; 4> = 0.5 mm).
416

J. Mater. Civ. Eng. 1992.4:415-429.

 TABLE 1. Mixture Proportions and Compressive Strength
Silica Water/ Fiber Fiber Aspect
Mix fumea cementb content length ratio HRW° f'cf
Group designation (%) ratio (Ib/cu yd) (mm) (?/*) (%) Oral)
(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9)
A Gl — 0.46 — — — — 5.2
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G2 — 0.46 50 50 100 — 5.8

G3 — 0.46 75 50 100 — 6.7
G4 — 0.46 100 50 100 — 6.8
B G5 — 0.46 50 30 60 — 5.9
G6 — 0.46 75 30 60 — 5.9
G7 — 0.46 100 30 60 — 5.5
G8 — 0.46 50 60 75 — 6.9
G9 — 0.46 75 60 75 — 6.5
G10 — 0.46 100 60 75 — 6.2
C Gil 10 0.35 50 30 60 4 10.9
G12 10 0.35 100 60 75 4 9.8
D G13 20 0.35 — — — 4 11
G14 20 0.35 50 50 100 4 10.7
G15 20 0.35 75 50 100 4 10.3
G16 20 0.35 100 50 100 4 10.7
G17 20 0.35 50 30 60 4 11
G18 20 0.35 100 60 75 4 11.8
"Silica-fume (solid content) percentage by weight of cement.
b
Water/cement ratio computed using added water plus water available in silica fume
slurry.
c
High range reducing admixture percentage by weight of cement.
Note: 1 lb/cu yd = 0.59 kg/m3; 1 ksi = 6.9 MPa; cement = 700 lb/cu yd (413 kg/m3),
fine aggregate = 1,300 lb/cu yd (767 kg/m3), and coarse aggregate = 1,850 lb/cu yd (1,092
kg/m3).

The experimental program was designed to study the effect of fibers for
concrete made with and without silica fume.
An electrical mixer with a capacity of 3 cu ft (0.10 m3) was used for all
the mixes. The mixing sequence and curing conditions were as reported in
Ezeldin and Balaguru's (1989) paper. The cylinders were tested according
to ASTM C-39 standards after 28 days {Annual Book 1989). The tests were
conducted using a 1,000 kip capacity universal testing machine with a rate-
of-loading controller. Prior to testing, each cylinder was capped with high-
strength sulfur compound at both ends to ensure parallel loading faces of
the test specimens and constant length for all cylinders. A compressometer
equipped with two linear variable differential transducers (LVDT's) was
used to measure the deformation of the middle half of the cylinder. The
specimen strain was not regulated in the postpeak stress segment of the
curve. An electronic data acquisition system was used to record the strain
values and corresponding loads.

EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS

The shape of the uniaxial stress-strain curve is strongly affected by the

testing conditions (stiffness of the testing machine, size and shape of the
specimen, etc.) and concrete characteristics' (water/cement ratio, aggregate
417

J. Mater. Civ. Eng. 1992.4:415-429.

 type, fibers, etc.). To minimize the testing condition effects, careful atten-
tion was exercised to avoid variations in the testing setup and specimen's
instrumentation.

Concrete without Silica Fume

The average results for mix designations G1-G10, covering concrete
without silica fume, are presented in Table 2. A deviation of less than 10%
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was recorded for the strength results of duplicate specimens. Typical ex-
perimental stress-strain curves are shown in Fig. 1.
The addition of steel fibers increased the strain corresponding to the peak
stress eof and the secant modulus of elasticity Ecf, as shown in Table 2.
Hence, the strain capacity and the elastic deformation capability of the
concrete matrix in the prefailure zone is increased with the inclusion of steel
fibers. Fig. 2 indicates that the contribution of fibers to the strain capacity
at peak stress is more effective when using higher fiber content and longer
fiber length.
Toughness can be estimated using the area under the stress-strain curve.
The experimental stress-strain curves shown in Fig. 1 show a larger area
under the curve with the increase of fiber content, indicating an increase in
toughness. In this paper, the toughness value of all concrete mixes were
compared to the toughness of a rigid plastic material. This comparison is
presented in the form of a "toughness ratio" (TR) shown in Fig. 3. The

TABLE 2. Experimental Results

Mix f'cf e„/ x 1 0 " 3 V Toughness Reinforcing
designation Oral) (in./in.)B Oral) ratio0 indexd
(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6)
Gl 5.2 2.23 4,453 0.48 —
G2 5.8 2.56 4,559 0.54 1.25
G3 6.7 2.9 5,340 0.56 1.85
G4 6.8 3.1 5,868 0.64 2.5
G5 5.9 2.5 4,743 0.58 0.75
G6 5.9 2.54 4,993 0.61 1.11
G7 5.5 3.1 4,779 0.76 1.50
G8 6.9 2.71 5,053 0.58 0.94
G9 6.5 3.02 5,053 0.69 1.39
G10 6.2 3.53 4,785 0.75 1.88
Gil 10.9 2.60 6,050 0.46 0.75
G12 9.8 2.75 6,140 0.6 1.88
e
G13 11 — 6,120 —
G14 10.7 2.60 6,220 0.41 1.25
G15 10.3 2.94 5,940 0.56 1.85
G16 10.7 3.15 5,975 0.70 2.50
G17 11 2.63 5,870 0.38 0.75
G18 11.8 3.03 6,020 0.62 1.88
"Strain corresponding to peak stress, f'cf.
b
Secant modulus of elasticity.
c
See Fig. 3.
d
Reinforcing index of steel fibers by weight.
c
Not obtained experimentally.
Note: 1 ksi = 6.9 MPa; 1 in. = 25.4 mm; and RI = W/(//9).

418

J. Mater. Civ. Eng. 1992.4:415-429.

 STRESS, kol

CONTROL - a - 60 Ib/oyd - * - 78 Ib/oyd ->- 1 0 0 Ib/oyd

/ ^ K .
J ^NiC"-^
/ v . * N v ~~K~~+~~^K~~,-H.
I V^^^o^ —'—
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I \ ^"^N, ^
i 1 1 1 —

20 30 40
STRAIN* (10-3), In./ln.

FIG. 1. Stress-Strain Curves for Fiber-Reinforced Concrete, Aspect Ratio = 60

(1 ksi = 6.9 MPa; 1 in. = 25.4 mm; 1 Ib/cu yd = 0.59 kg/m3)

H I L°30mm ^ ^ L-50mm H I L-60mm -*- CONTROL

STRAIN *10-3 , In./ln.

H
1 —
1
m
§§§§§§

i ^^w i. I
60 76 100
FIBER CONTENT , Ib/eyd

FIG. 2. Steel Fiber Effect on Strains at Peak Stress (1 in. = 25.4 mm; 1 Ib/cu yd
= 0.59 kg/m3)

strain limit was taken as 0.015, which is five times the ultimate concrete
strain of 0.003 adopted in the ACI Code (Building Code 1989). Fanella and
Naaman (1985) used this strain value as an adequate limit to represent the
trend of the postfailure behavior. By using this approach, the effect of steel
fibers on the toughness of concrete could be easily evaluated as shown in
Table 2. Fig. 4 presents the variation of the computed toughness ratio with
respect to the fiber content and fiber length. For higher fiber content and
longer fiber length, larger toughness-ratio values are obtained, indicating
the effective contribution of steel fibers to concrete toughness. However,
excessive fiber content with large aspect ratio could reduce TR due to
nonuniform distribution of fibers during mixing (e.g., /<}> = 100 and fiber
content of 100 lb/ cu yd). Figs. 5 and 6 show the normalized stress-strain
curves {fclf'cf versus s/eo/) of fiber-reinforced concrete. The postpeak seg-
ment of the stress-strain curves was affected by the addition of steel fibers.
A decrease in the slope of the descending part of the stress-strain curve was
obtained by increasing the fiber content at a constant aspect ratio, Fig. 5,
and by increasing the aspect ratio for a constant fiber content, Fig. 6.
To combine the effect of both the weight fraction Wf( Wf = 3 Vf, the volume
fraction) of steel fibers and their aspect ratio //<(>, the reinforcing index RI
(= W*//([>) can be used as the fiber-reinforcing parameter for a given type
419

J. Mater. Civ. Eng. 1992.4:415-429.

 STRESS , KSI
6 — — -

4
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0
0 i„{ 7.6 15
STRAIN • (10-3), in./ln.

FIG. 3. Toughness Ratio Computation (1 in. = 25.4 mm; 1 ksi = 6.9 MPa)

• H i L-30mm ^ 1 L"50mm H I L-60mm - " - CONTROL

TOUGHNESS RATIO, T R
0.8
—
0.6
r — — i P —
Li P
0.4
-I t w
\ I
0.2

0
-\
1
1
i
—
P 1
M
—

50 75 100
FIBER CONTENT (Ib/cyd)
FIG. 4. Steel Fiber Effect on Toughness Ratio, Rl (1 Ib/cu yd = 0.59 kg/m3)

of fiber, where Wf = fiber content in weight fraction; / = fiber length, mm;

and (}> = fiber diameter, mm. A similar approach was used by Fanella and
Naaman (1985). The increase of reinforcing index would yield a larger area
under the stress-strain curve (a flatter descending segment) and a higher
toughness ratio, as shown in Table 2.
In order to quantify the effect of fibers on the compression behavior of
fiber reinforced concrete, a square-fitting line analysis was performed to
establish a possible relationship between the steel fiber-reinforcing index
and the major parameters of the stress-strain curve, namely; the compressive
strength f'cf, the corresponding peak strain eo/, the secant modulus of elas-
ticity Ecp and the toughness of concrete (area under the stress-strain curve).
The following equations were obtained using the regression analysis per-
formed using all data points.
Compressive strength:
420

J. Mater. Civ. Eng. 1992.4:415-429.

 f
NORMALIZED STRESS, c / fk
1.2
— 50 Ib/yd3 - * - 75 Ib/yd3 - * - 100 Ib/yd3
1 -—a
0.8

0.6
• = * _ _ _ - - -
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0.4

0.2
I—

0 5 10 15 20 25 30
NORMALIZED STRAIN, «c / eof

FIG. 5. Normalized Stress-Strain Curves for Different Fiber Contents, Aspect Ra-
tio = 60 (1 Ib/cu yd = 0.59 kg/m3)

NORMALIZED STRESS, fc ' *U

10 15 20 25
NORMALIZED STRAIN, % I ta

FIG. 6. Normalized Stress-Strain Curves for Different Aspect Ratios, Fiber Con-
tent = 50 Ib/cu yd (1 Ib/cu yd = 0.59 kg/m3)

f'cf = f'e + 3.51 (RI) MPa (1«)

f'cf = f'e + 509 (RI) psi (r = 0.75) (lb)
Strain corresponding to peak stress:
e 0/ = e0 + 446 x 10" 6 (RI) (r = 0.70) (2)
Secant modulus of elasticity:
Ecf = Ec + 3,105 (RI) MPa (3a)
6
Ecf = Ec + 0.941 X 10 (RI) psi (r = 0.75) (3b)
Toughness ratio:
TRy = TR + 0.075 (RI) (r = 0.65) (4)
where f'cf= compressive strength of fiber concrete;/^ = compressive strength
of normal concrete; e o/ = corresponding strain .to the maximum stress f'cf;
eD = corresponding strain to the maximum stress/£; Ecf = secant modulus
of elasticity of fiber concrete; Ec = secant modulus of elasticity of normal
421

J. Mater. Civ. Eng. 1992.4:415-429.

 concrete; TR r = toughness ratio for fiber-reinforced concrete; and TR =
toughness ratio for normal concrete.
According to (l)-(4), when a RI value of 1.85 [//<)> = 100 and fiber
content of 75 lb/cu yd (45 kg/m3)] is used for hooked fibers, the compressive
strength and the secand modulus of elasticity are expected to increase by
only 15%. The strain corresponding to the peak stress and the toughness
ratio should increase by 30%. This would agree with published literature
indicating that fiber's effective contribution is obtained in the postfailure
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stage [Bentur and Mindess 1990; Shah and Batson 1987], The correlation
coefficients for the linear equations (l)-(4) were in the range of 0.6-0.8.
Higher order regressions did not yield better correlation coefficients. This
range indicates that the correlation assumed may not be the best represen-
tation of the fiber's effect on concrete behavior. However, the analysis
establishes that there is a definite contribution from fibers. More data points
are needed to obtain a better correlation that improves the accuracy of the
magnitude of increase. Hence, (l)-(4) can be used as a first approximation
in design.

Concrete with Silica Fume

Addition of silica fume to concrete increases its compressive strength and
makes it more brittle (Carrasquillo et al. 1981). Fibers capable of retarding
cracks' growth and propagation can be used to stabilize and improve the
postpeak behavior of such concrete. In this study, the crack-arrest mech-
anism of steel fibers allowed the evaluation of the postpeak segment of the
stress-strain curve without controlling the specimen strain. Usually, special
test setups are usually required to obtain the postpeak compressive response
for high-strength plain concrete. The two most common experimental meth-
ods for obtaining a complete stress-strain diagram of concrete in uniaxial
compression were discussed by Ahmad and Shah (1979). One method is
loading the concrete specimen in parallel with a steel tube. The other method
is using a closed-loop testing system.
The average test results for silica-fume concrete are included in Table 2.
Fig. 7 presents typical stress-strain curves for concrete with 10% and 20%
silica fume, respectively. These figures indicate the ductile effect on the
descending segment of the stress-strain curve when steel fibers are added
to the matrix. The postfailure behavior of plain high-strength concrete was
not obtained due to cracks' rapid and unstable growth. The toughness of
high-strength fiber concrete is highlighted in Fig. 8, where the normalized
stress-strain curves for concrete with 0%, 10%, and 20% silica fume are
shown. It can be noticed that the descending segment of the curve for
concrete with 20% silica fume is steeper than the ones with 0% and 10%.
This indicates a reduced toughness for high-strength concrete. It was found
that once the steel fiber-reinforcing index is increased to 1.88 or higher, the
negative effect of silica fume on the brittleness of concrete could be avoided,
see Fig. 9.
The inclusion of silica fume in a concrete matrix to obtain higher strength
increases the strain corresponding to the peak stress ("State of" 1984). The
inclusion of steel fibers provides further increase of this strain (Table 2).
While high-strength concrete reaches its peak stress at a compressive strain
slightly higher than for lower-strength concrete, the ultimate strain is lower
for high-strength concrete. A constant value for ultimate strain of 0.003
specified by ACI Committee 318 (Building Code 1989) could be less con-
servative for high-strength concrete. The presence of steel fibers would
422

J. Mater. Civ. Eng. 1992.4:415-429.

 . 10% Silica Fu»B (Fibers 100 lb/ydJ, Asp. ratio = 100)

- 207, Silicn Fuse (Fibers 75 lb/yd3, ilp. ratio = 100)

. M X Silica Fua« (Fibers 50 lb/yd3, lip. ratio = 60)

- 10! Silica Fuse (Flbera 100 lb/yd3, Asp. ratio • 80)

• 107, Silica Fuse (Fibers 50 lb/yd3, isp. ratio = 30)

STRESS, kal
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6 8 10 12 14
STRAIN* (10-3), In./ln.

FIG. 7. Stress-Strain Compression Curves for Silica-Fume Fiber-Reinforced Con-

crete (1 ksi = 6.9 MPa; 1 in. = 25.4 mm; 1 Ib/cu yd = 0.59 kg/m3)

— NO SILICA FUME - " - 1 0 * SILICA FUME " 2 0 * SILICA FUME

f
NORMALIZED STRESS, c / fcf

0 2 4 6 8 10
NORMALIZED STRAIN, tc / eo(

FIG. 8. Normalized Stress-Strain Curves for Different Silica-Fume Content Con-

cretes (Reinforcing Index = 0.75)

increase this ultimate strain, thereby allowing high-strength concrete to

withstand more deformation before failure.

ANALYTICAL EQUATION TO PREDICT COMPLETE STRESS-STRAIN CURVE

FOR FIBER-REINFORCED CONCRETE

The most common parameters with physical significance used to define

the stress-strain relationship of steel fiber concrete include (see Fig. 3):
fcf = the maximum stress of the fiber concrete, usually considered as the
material strength; e0f = corresponding strain to the maximum stress f'g, Eint
= slope at the inflection point of the descending branch; and RI =
W/(//(f>) = reinforcing index by weight.
After investigating several empirical expressions available in the litera-
ture, the analytical expression proposed by Carreira and Chu (1985) for
uniaxial compression of plain concrete was used as a basis to obtain an
423

J. Mater. Civ. Eng. 1992.4:415-429.

 — NO SILICA FUME - + - 10% SILICA FUME - 2 0 * SILICA FUME

f £
NORMALIZED STRESS, c / rf

0.8

0.6
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0.4

0.2

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1 0
NORMALIZED STRAIN, ec / EO£

FIG. 9. Normalized Stress-Strain Curves for Different Silica-Fume Content Con-

cretes (Reinforcing Index = 1.88)

equation applicable to normal strength (non-silica-fume) fiber-reinforced

concrete. The expression is presented by the following equation:

P' o /
fc 8

(5)
f'cf
p - W/
where/rf = compressive strength of fiber concrete; e o/ = strain correspond-
ing to the compressive strength; fc, ec = stress and strain values on the
curve, respectively; and p = material parameter. To use (5) for a given
f'cf to generate the compressive stress-strain curve, only two values are needed,
namely; e o/ and (3.
When using the steel fibers in concrete for structural applications, the
fiber content, length, and diameter are usually known. These terms can be
combined in one constant, the reinforcing index RI, as explained previously.
Also, it has been noticed from the experimental results that fibers have
more effective contribution on the compression stress-strain curve in the
postfailure region. Hence, using the experimental results, a best-fitting sta-
tistical analysis was performed to obtain a relationship between the param-
eter p and the reinforcing index of fiber-reinforced concrete, RI, based on
a physical property of the stress-strain curve, which is the slope of the
inflection point at the descending segment. The following equations were
found to best describe that relationship for hooked fibers:
0.512£inf (ksi)
P = 1.093 + (r = 0.97) .(6a)
104
0.074£inf (MPa)
P = 1.093 + (r = 0.97) . (6b)
104
£ inf (ksi) = 104[1.393(RI)-°-926] (r = 0.90) (6c)
4 926
£ inf (MPa) = 10 [9.610(RI)-°- ] (6d)
from (6a)-(6d):
P= 1.093 + 0.7132(RI)-°-925 ... (6e)
424

J. Mater. Civ. Eng. 1992.4:415-429.

 MATERIAL CONSTANT, p
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1 2 3 4
REINFORCING INDEX, R.I.
FIG. 10. Material Constant B for Hooked-End and Straight Fibers

p-1.86 p-1.76 p-1.66

p-1.66 p-1.46

f
Normalized Stress^ c / fcf

1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5 5

€
Normalized Strain, €c / 0f

FIG. 11. Material Constant Effect on Compression Stress-Strain Curves

425

J. Mater. Civ. Eng. 1992.4:415-429.

 R.I." 0.75 R.I - 1.25
NORMALIZED 8TRESS, l
° !
*'* NORMALIZED STRE33, h I 'if
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NORMALIZED STRAIN, E C / e^ N O R M A L I Z E D STRAIN, « c / 6rf

—-EXPERIMENTAL -*-ANALYTICAL -EXPERIMENTAL

FIG. 12. Analytical versus Experimental Stress-Strain Curves for Hooked Fibers

R.I.- 0.284 R.I. - 0.664

f
NORMALIZED 8TFES8, C ' *cf NORMALIZED 8TREB8, c ' Scf

NORMALIZED STRAIN, 6C / * o f NORMALIZED STRAIN, e

c / c of
-ANALYTICAL - * - EXPERIMENTAL -ANALYTICAL -*-EXPERIMENTAL
(F&nella and Haaaaa 1985) (Tanella and Naaa&n 1985)

FIG. 13. Analytical versus Experimental Stress-Strain Curves for Smooth Fibers

Using the experimental results of Fanella and Naaman (1985) for mortar
reinforced with straight fibers, the following relationship was obtained for
straight steel fibers.
p = 1.093 + 7.4818(ri)" (7)
where RI = the reinforcing index by weight of hooked end fibers; and ri
= the reinforcing index by weight of straight fibers.
It must be emphasized that (6) and (7) are proposed for reinforcing index
values ranging from 0.75 to 2.5 for hooked-end fibers and from 2 to 5 for
straight fibers as shown in Fig. 10. The value for plain concrete can be
computed using the following equation proposed by Carreira and Chu (1985).

- I + 1.55 (8)
4.7
where f'c = compressive strength of plain concrete (ksi).
The average value of 0.002 for the strain corresponding to the peak stress,
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J. Mater. Civ. Eng. 1992.4:415-429.

 STRESS , KSI
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0 1.6 3 4.5 6 7.5 9 10.6 12 13.5 15

STRAIN • (10-3)

FIG. 14. Sensitivity of Model Strain Corresponding to Peak Stress (1 ksi = 6.9
MPa; 1 in. = 25.4 mm)

e„, has been widely accepted as a constant for designing plain reinforced
concrete (International Recommendations 1970). The strain corresponding
to the peak stress for fiber-reinforced concrete, eof, is usually larger. In
absence of reliable experimental data for fiber reinforced concrete, (2) is
proposed to estimate this strain value for concrete reinforced with hooked-
end fibers using a value of 0.002 for e0.
Eq. (5) was used to generate a set of normalized compression stress-strain
curves for different (3 values (Fig. 11). It can be seen that the postfailure
segment is affected by the p value, namely; a flatter curve is obtained with
the reduction of p. Figs. 12 and 13 show a good correlation between the
experimentally measured and analytically obtained curves. The analytical
curves were obtained using equations (2) and (5)-(7). The experimental
curve for straight fibers obtained by Fanella and Naaman (1985) was based
on the deformation of the whole length of the specimen. Hence, (7) could
be used if the stress-strain curves are to be generated for the whole specimen
length. Since experimental results have shown that the length of the strain
gages has a definitive effect on the shape of the stress-strain curve (Car-
rasquillo et al. 1981), a correction term would be needed if the generated
analytical curves are needed in terms of the middle-third strain measure-
ments.
To generate the complete stress-strain curve of fiber-reinforced concrete,
the proposed equation requires the knowledge of the reinforcing index of
steel fibers, RI, the peak stress of fiber concrete, f'^, and the strain corre-
sponding to this stress, e0/. Usually, the value most difficult to accurately
determine is eof. Slight variations (within 10%) may be attributed to the
concrete curing conditions prior to testing; namely, moist cured up to testing
427

J. Mater. Civ. Eng. 1992.4:415-429.

 versus having been allowed to dry prior to testing (Carreira and Chu 1985).
To check the sensitivity of the proposed model to the variation of this value,
a set of curves were generated using different critical strain values, as shown
in Fig. 14. An increase of 50% in the critical strain value (0.002-0.003)
yielded a reduction of about 10% for the (3 value (1.65-1.45). This is equiv-
alent to having the reinforcing index increased by about 20% for hooked-
end fibers and 10% for straight fibers. These results indicate acceptable
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sensitivity, due to the fact that the variation in measuring the critical strain
of concrete, due to curing conditions, is usually in the range of ±10%.
Nevertheless, careful consideration should be taken when measuring or
obtaining this strain value.

CONCLUSIONS

Based on the results of this experimental investigation, the following

observations can be drawn regarding the compression behavior of normal-
and high-strength fiber-reinforced concrete.
The addition of hooked-end steel fibers to concrete, with or without silica
fume, effectively increases the toughness of such concrete. A marginal in-
crease in the compressive strength, the strain corresponding to peak stress,
and the secand modulus of elasticity is also obtained.
The increase in silica-fume content renders the fiber-reinforced concrete
more brittle as compared to non-silica-fume concrete (descending branch
of the stress-strain curve is steeper). This effect can be avoided once the
steel fiber in concrete is increased to a reinforcing index, RI more than 1.88
for hooked-end fibers.
An analytical expression, (5), is proposed to generate the complete stress-
strain curve for non-silica-fume fiber-reinforced concrete using the fiber
parameter, p, and strain corresponding to the compressive strength, eof.
Eq. (6) is proposed to determine the parameter p for hooked steel fibers,
while (7) is proposed to determine its value for straight steel fibers.
The proposed analytical expression provides a good correlation between
predicted and experimental results.

APPENDIX. REFERENCES

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and nonlinear design," Progress Report, Univ. of Illinois, Urbana, 111.
Annual book ofASTM standards, concrete and mineral aggregates. (1989). ASTM,
Philadelphia, Penn.
Bentur, A., and Mindess, S. (1990). "Fibre reinforced cementitious composites."
Elsevier Science Publishers Ltd.
Building code requirements for reinforced concrete (ACI318-89) and commentary-
ACI318R-89. (1989). American Concrete Inst., Detroit, Mich.
Carrasquillo, R., Nilson, A. H., and Slate, F. O. (1981). "Properties of high strength
concrete subjected to short-term loads." ACI J., 78(3), 171-178.
Carreira, D. J., and Chu, K. M. (1985). "Stress-strain relationship for plain concrete
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Desayi, P., and Krishman, S. (1964). "Equation for the stress-strain curve of con-
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Ezeldin, A. S., and Balaguru, P. N. (1990). "Bond performance of reinforcing bars
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 embedded in fiber reinforced concrete and subjected to monotonic and cyclic
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International recommendations for the design and construction of concrete structures:

Principles and recommendations. (1970). Commite Europeen du Beton/Federation
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"State-of-the-art report on fiber reinforced concrete." (1982). ACI544.1R-82, Amer-
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