STRESS-STRAIN RELATIONSHIP OF HIGH-STRENGTH FIBER CONCRETE

IN COMPRESSION

By M. A. Mansur,1 Member, ASCE, M. S. Chin,2 and T. H. Wee3

ABSTRACT: Tests conducted to characterize the stress-strain relationship of high-strength fiber concrete in
compression using both cylindrical and prismatic specimens are reported. The concrete strength investigated
ranges from 70 to 120 MPa. Other parameters include volume fraction of steel fibers and direction of casting
in relation to the loading axis. Test results indicate that inclusion of fibers improves the strength and enhances
the strain at peak stress but results in a smaller initial tangent modulus for specimens cast in an upright (vertical)
position. Vertically cast prisms provide higher strains at peak stress and better postpeak ductility than cylindrical
specimens. Based on the test data, an analytical model is proposed to generate the complete stress-strain ␴-ε
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curves of high-strength fiber concrete derived from cylinders and horizontally cast prisms. The proposed model
has been found to agree well with the stress-strain curves generated experimentally.

INTRODUCTION lindrical specimens for concrete strengths ranging from 60 to

90 MPa. However, a study on the effects of the shape and
In recent years, the demand for high-strength concrete casting direction of specimens was not included.
(HSC) has been growing at an ever increasing rate, and many As part of a continuing research program aimed at investi-
new structures have been built using concrete with a com- gating the deformation and ductility of HSC, this paper deals
pressive strength as high as 100 MPa. It is, however, well- with the complete ␴-ε relationship of fiber concrete with a
known that concrete becomes more brittle as its strength in- compressive strength ranging from 70 to 120 MPa. The effects
creases. This brittle response of HSC has apparently set some of parameters such as volume fraction of fibers and shape and
limitations and reservations on its widespread use. Recent casting direction of specimens on strength, stiffness, defor-
studies have, however, shown increasing evidence that the brit- mations, and ductility of the resulting concrete, are presented
tle nature of HSC can be overcome by the addition of discrete and discussed. Based on the test data, analytical models have
fibers of short length and small diameter in the concrete mix been developed for generating the complete ␴-ε curves from
(Fanella and Naaman 1985; Hsu and Hsu 1994). To incorpo- easily obtainable concrete parameters for cylinders and hori-
rate such improvement in structural design, it is necessary to zontally cast prisms.
establish the complete stress-strain ␴-ε characteristics of the
resulting fiber concrete. EXPERIMENTAL PROGRAM
As no standard test method is available, researchers resort
to either cylinders or prisms to generate the ␴-ε curve; they To cover the strength range of 70 – 120 MPa, five basic
are different in shape. Moreover, cylinders are always cast in mixes for plain concrete, designated F1-0.0, F2-0.0, F3-0.0,
an upright position (vertical) while prisms are usually made F4-0.0, and F5-0.0 according to the respective water-binder
keeping their longer dimension horizontal (horizontal casting). ratios of 0.40, 0.35, 0.30, 0.25, and 0.20, were selected. As
These differences in the shape and casting direction of speci- shown in Table 1, at least one fiber concrete mix was prepared
mens might have some effects on the resulting ␴-ε curve. for each water-binder ratio, the volume fraction of fibers Vf in
In an investigation involving normal-strength fiber concrete. percent being indicated by the numerals after the hyphen in
Tanigawa et al. (1980) observed that the ␴-ε curves generated mix designation. Due to the inclusion of fibers, some minor
from prisms (cast horizontally) are quite different from those adjustments in terms of the amount of different ingredients had
of cylinders. This difference has been attributed to the different to be made as shown.
orientation of fibers in relation to the loading axis. It has a Ordinary portland cement and silica fume having a fineness
practical significance in the sense that most structural members of 25,000 m2/kg were used in the ratio of 9:1 by weight as
are cast horizontally, except for cast-in-place columns and binder for all of the mixes. The aggregates used were natural
walls. Therefore, in the design of such members, it may be
more logical to use the ␴-ε curve generated from prisms (cast TABLE 1. Mix Proportions of Fiber Concrete
horizontally) rather than cylinders. Coarse
Although a number of researchers investigated the effect of Water-to- Ce- Silica aggre- Steel
inclusion of discrete steel fibers on the ␴-ε relationship of binder ment fume Water Sand gate fiber Vf
concrete (Tanigawa et al. 1980; Fanella and Naaman 1985; Mixa ratio (kg/m3) (kg/m3) (kg/m3) (kg/m3) (kg/m3) (%)
Ezeldin 1989), research on HSC where fibers may play a more (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8)
useful role is particularly lacking. Recently, Hsu and Hsu
F1-0.0 0.40 383 42 170 696 1,045 0.0
(1994) and Taerwe (1991) conducted compression tests on cy- F1-1.0 0.40 383 42 170 686 1,029 1.0
F2-0.0 0.35 437 48 170 675 1,012 0.0
1
Assoc. Prof., Dept. of Civ. Engrg., Nat. Univ. of Singapore, 10 Kent F2-1.0 0.35 437 48 170 665 996 1.0
Ridge Cres., Singapore. F3-0.0 0.30 495 55 165 625 1,021 0.0
2
Executive Dir., Titans Repair Services Pte Ltd., Malaysia. F3-1.0 0.30 495 55 165 616 1,004 1.0
3
Sr. Lect., Dept. of Civ. Engrg., Nat. Univ. of Singapore, 10 Kent Ridge F4-0.0 0.25 576 64 160 569 1,012 0.0
Cres. Singapore. F4-0.5 0.25 576 64 160 564 1,004 0.5
Note. Associate Editor: Nemkumar Banthia. Discussion open until July F4-1.0 0.25 576 64 160 560 995 1.0
1, 1999. To extend the closing date one month, a written request must F4-1.5 0.25 576 64 160 555 987 1.5
be filed with the ASCE Manager of Journals. The manuscript for this F5-0.0 0.20 675 75 150 514 998 0.0
paper was submitted for review and possible publication on December 4, F5-1.0 0.20 675 75 150 505 981 1.0
1997. This paper is part of the Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering, a
F1 – F5 denote mixes with different w/b ratio; numeral after hyphen
Vol. 11, No. 1, February, 1999. 䉷ASCE, ISSN 0899-1561/99/0001- denotes volume fraction of steel fiber used, as shown.
0021 – 0029/$8.00 ⫹ $.50 per page. Paper No. 12107.

JOURNAL OF MATERIALS IN CIVIL ENGINEERING / FEBRUARY 1999 / 21

J. Mater. Civ. Eng. 1999.11:21-29.

 sand and crushed granite of 19 mm maximum size. The coarse
aggregate was prewashed and stored properly to achieve a sat-
urated surface dry condition. The steel fibers used were Dra-
mix hook-ended fibers of diameter ␾ = 0.5 mm and length l
= 30 mm giving an aspect ratio l/␾ of 60. The properties of
fibers used are given in Table 2. A superplasticizer, Darax
Super100PHX, with a dosage ranging from 1.5 to 3.0 L per
100 kg of binder was used in all of the mixes to obtain Vebe
values of 10 ⫾ 2 s for fiber concrete and a slump of 125 ⫾
25 mm for plain concrete.
The concrete was mixed using a twin shaft mixer and com-
pacted on a vibrating table. For each mix, at least three 100
mm cubes, three 100 ⫻ 200 mm cylinders (cast vertically) and
three 100 ⫻ 100 ⫻ 200 mm prisms (cast horizontally) were
produced. An additional three 100 ⫻ 100 ⫻ 200 mm vertically
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rates adopted were 0.05 and 0.07 mm/min for concrete
strengths above and below 90 MPa, respectively. A data ac-
quisition system was used to capture the data. The method
used to obtain the complete ␴-ε curves from these measure-
ments that involves inclusion of a correction factor to account
for the end-restraint and machine flexibility effects was de-
scribed in details in an earlier paper (Mansur et al. 1995).
RESULTS AND ANALYSIS
The ␴-ε relationship of concrete essentially consists of two
distinct branches — an ascending branch up to the peak stress
followed by a descending branch until the concrete crushes.
The key properties that are normally used to characterize the

ascending branch of the curve are the initial tangent modulus

cast prisms were prepared for each of the five mixes with 1% Eit, the compressive strength f0, and the strain at peak stress
volume fraction of fibers to study the effect of specimen shape ε0. These properties are obtained from the respective ␴-ε
(when compared to cylinders) and direction of casting (when curve, and the average values for each group of specimens are
compared to horizontally cast prisms). All specimens were wa- presented in Table 3. For the descending branch, the additional
ter-cured at ⬃28⬚C until the age of testing at 28 days. information needed is the extent of stress softening in the post-
Tests were conducted in a closed-loop, servocontrolled com- peak loading range.
pression testing machine with a capacity of 3,000 kN. Prior to To comprehend the effects of different parameters, consider
testing, the ends of each specimen were made parallel by the resulting differences in test specimens. Cylinders and
grinding. To obtain the stress-strain curves, a compressometer prisms used to study the effect of specimen shape are circular
comprising a set of four displacement transducers with a gauge and square in cross section, respectively. Square cross section
length of 100 mm was mounted directly to the test specimen means an additional volume of concrete surrounding the circle
to monitor the strains. The displacements between the machine as shown in Fig. 1. However, both cylinders and prisms have
platens were also monitored for each specimen. The loading the same aspect ratio (length over least dimension of cross
section). For prisms, two directions of casting were used. Ac-
TABLE 2. Properties of Dramix Hook-Ended Steel Fiber
cording to Tanigawa et al. (1980), the coarse aggregate as well
as the discrete fibers have a greater tendency to align horizon-
Geometry and properties Values tally, and some air and water may be trapped underneath the
(1) (2) fibers and coarse aggregates leaving some voids (Fig. 1).
Specific gravity 7.85 Therefore, casting and testing of a specimen in an upright po-
Diameter ␾ (mm) 0.50 sition (vertical) means that the fibers and coarse aggregate will
Length l (mm) 30 be predominantly aligned in a direction perpendicular to the
Ultimate fiber stress ␴fu (MPa) 1,130 loading axis. However, this situation is reversed when the
Modulus of elasticity, Ef (GPA) 200
Strain at proportioanl limit εfp (microstrain) 5,650
specimens are cast horizontally but tested in an upright posi-
tion. These differences in the geometry of test specimens and

TABLE 3. Summary of Results

CYLINDRICAL SPECIMEN
(100 ⫻ 200 mm) PRISMATIC SPECIMEN (100 ⫻ 100 ⫻ 200 mm)
Horizontally Cast Vertically Cast
Compres- Initial Strain at Compres- Initial Strain at Compres- Initial Strain at
Cube sive tangent peak Cube sive tangent peak Cube sive tangent peak
strength strength modulus stress ε0 strength strength modulus stress ε0 strength strength modulus stress ε0
fcu f0 Eit (micro- fcu f0 Eit (micro- fcu f0 Eit (micro-
Mix (MPa) (MPa) (GPa) strain) (MPa) (MPa) (GPa) strain) (MPa) (MPa) (GPa) strain)
(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9) (10) (11) (12) (13)
F1-0.0 74.7 70.2 43.0 2,110 64.6 64.1 41.6 1,910 64.6 66.0 40.4 2,100
F1-1.0 80.5 79.9 41.0 2,490 80.5 74.6 42.4 2,150 — — — —
F1-1.0a 69.8 61.4 — — 69.8 60.0 41.6 1,980 69.8 59.5 37.9 2,630
F1-0.0 88.6 85.9 45.0 2,260 75.3 71.4 41.4 2,120 75.3 72.9 39.6 2,260
F2-1.0 86.4 79.7 42.5 2,500 86.4 76.7 43.9 2,130 — — — —
F2-1.0a 88.1 83.2 — — 88.1 78.5 46.6 2,130 88.1 80.7 43 2,760
F3-0.0 88.3 85.9 44.3 2,310 91.4 85.3 44.2 2,310 91.4 87 42.8 2,410
F3-1.0 102.4 93.4 44.1 2,650 102.4 82.9 45.3 2,470 — — — —
F3-1.0a 96.7 89.3 — — 96.7 81.5 45.2 2,270 96.7 87.8 42.3 2,730
F4-0.0 108.5 103.6 47.1 2,480 100.4 94.2 45.7 2,340 100.4 99.3 45.9 2,660
F4-0.5 110.8 103.5 45.7 2,640 110.8 101.7 49.5 2,430 — — — —
F4-1.0 114.4 106.6 46.6 2,810 114.4 103.3 48.7 2,440 — — — —
F4-1.0a 109.2 103.8 — — 109.2 100.4 48.5 2,330 109.2 104.6 45.1 2,720
F4-1.0a 110.4 98.8 — — 110.4 96.7 47.5 2,320 — — — —
F4-1.5 111.0 104.0 43.9 2,860 111.0 96.6 47.1 2,500 — — — —
F5-1.0 111.3 119.9 49.1 2,750 113.8 113.5 47.9 2,580 113.8 115.6 46.9 2,650
F5-1.0 123.0 115.0 47.6 2,880 123.0 112.6 49.1 2,610 — — — —
F5-1.0a 119.6 113.1 — — 119.6 108.9 47.7 2,570 11.96 112.2 45.7 2,880
a
Different batch of concrete.

22 / JOURNAL OF MATERIALS IN CIVIL ENGINEERING / FEBRUARY 1999

J. Mater. Civ. Eng. 1999.11:21-29.


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FIG. 1. Schematic Representation of Shape and Casting Di-
rection Effects
internal configuration of fibers and coarse aggregate may in-
fluence the response of the concrete under loading. In the fol-
lowing analysis of the effect of various parameters on the key
properties and overall shape of the ␴-ε curves, frequent ref-
erences are made to these inherent differences.
A detailed analysis of test data for a particular concrete mix
shows that they fall within a narrow band. Although there is
some overlapping, the average result for a particular mix is
distinctly different from the other. In view of this, the average
results may be assumed to be a reflection of the variables
investigated.
Initial Tangent Modulus Eit
The initial tangent modulus (i.e., the slope of the ␴-ε curve
at the origin) depicts the initial response of the specimen under
load. Results of horizontally cast plain and fiber concrete
FIG. 2. Initial Tangent Modulus as Function of Compressive Strength — Effect of: (a) Fibers for Cylindrical Specimens; (b) Fibers for
Horizontally Cast Prisms; (c) Specimen Shape; (d) Casting Direction
JOURNAL OF MATERIALS IN CIVIL ENGINEERING / FEBRUARY 1999 / 23
J. Mater. Civ. Eng. 1999.11:21-29.
prisms presented in Fig. 2(b) show practically no influence of
fibers on Eit. But for vertically cast prisms [Fig. 2(d)], as well
as for cylinders [Fig. 2(a)], inclusion of fibers yields a smaller
Eit.
With respect to the specimen shape, test results of vertically
cast fiber concrete prisms and cylinders presented in Fig. 2(c)
do not show any significant effect on initial tangent modulus.
Also, the effect of Vf was found to be small for cylinders, only
⬃6% for a Vf of 1.5%.
In this study, analytical expressions should be obtained that
describe the complete stress-strain curves of fiber concrete ob-
tained from cylinders and horizontally cast prisms. Regression
analyses for these groups of specimens resulted in the follow-
ing expressions for the initial tangent modulus Eit:
For 100 ⫻ 100 ⫻ 200 mm horizontally cast prisms
Eit = 10,300 f 1/3
0 (1)
For 100 ⫻ 200 mm cylinders
Eit = (10,300 ⫺ 400Vf) f 1/3
0 (2)
where Eit and the compressive strength f0 are all expressed in
megapascals; and Vf is in percent. Eq. (2) is valid for Vf ⱕ
1.5%. It was observed in an earlier study (Mansur et al. 1994)
that for HSC, the initial tangent modulus depends on the type
of coarse aggregate used. Therefore, if a coarse aggregate other
than crushed granite is employed, the relevant relationship
should be established.
Compressive Strength
The peak stress (compressive strength) f0 and the corre-
sponding strain ε0 depend on the response of the specimen at
or near the ultimate load. At this stage, cracks will form in the
specimen due to lateral expansion of the concrete. These
cracks will be directed parallel to the direction of loading.
Fibers aligned normal to the loading direction will therefore
be intercepted by these cracks and offer some resistance to
their growth. As a result, vertically cast specimens are likely
to exhibit higher strengths than those cast horizontally. In the
 latter case, cracks will miss the fibers as they are mostly
aligned in the direction of cracking.
To check this hypothesis, the results of the present tests are
presented in Fig. 3. To have a common basis for comparison,
the strengths of cylinders and prisms are plotted against the
corresponding cube compressive strengths. Each point in this
figure represents the average of at least three specimens, all
containing 1% volume fraction of fibers. It can be observed
that the cylinders and vertically cast prisms, both with an as-
pect ratio of 2, possess almost identical strengths (⬃7% lower
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FIG. 3. Compressive Strength of Fiber Concrete of Different
Shape and Casting Direction
FIG. 4. Relationship between Compressive Strength of Fiber
Concrete and Plain Concrete
FIG. 5. Strain at Peak Stress as Function of Compressive Strength — Effect of: (a) Vf for Horizontally Cast Prisms; (b) Specimen
Shape; (c) Casting Direction; (d) Vf for Cylinders
24 / JOURNAL OF MATERIALS IN CIVIL ENGINEERING / FEBRUARY 1999
J. Mater. Civ. Eng. 1999.11:21-29.
than the corresponding cube strength), thus indicating that the
shape effect of specimens is negligible as far as the compres-
sive strength of fiber concrete is concerned.
However, when these data are compared with the results of
prisms (cast horizontally), the latter consistently shows lower
(⬃4%) strength for the entire strength range (Fig. 3). The pos-
sible reason for this marginal difference may be attributed to
the differences in the preferred alignment of fibers for the two
casting directions, thus offering different resistance to the
growth of cracks as discussed earlier.
The effect of fibers on compressive strength of concrete may
be evaluated from Fig. 4. In this figure, the cube strength of
all fiber concrete, irrespective of Vf , is plotted against the cube
strength of corresponding plain concrete. It may be seen that
inclusion of fibers results in a marginal increase in compres-
sive strength (⬃5% higher than the corresponding plain con-
crete). Similar observations have also been made by other re-
searchers (Wafa and Ashor 1992; Hsu and Hsu 1994).
Strain at Peak Stress ␧0
The strains at peak stress for each specimen are plotted
against the respective compressive strength in Fig. 5. In gen-
eral, the strain at peak stress increases from about 2,000 to
3,000 microstrains with an increase in concrete strength from
60 to 120 MPa.
Fig. 5(a) shows the values of ε0 for horizontally cast prisms
containing a Vf ranging from 0 to 1.5%. As the fibers are pre-
dominantly aligned in the direction of loading (Tanigawa et
al. 1980), they do not seem to influence the strain at peak
stress, and the results can be represented by a single line as
shown. However, for vertical casting, inclusion of fibers im-
parted a significant amount of deformation by restricting the
growth of cracks as can be seen in Fig. 5(c) where the results
of vertically and horizontally cast prisms with Vf = 1% are
presented.
A comparison of cylinder test results with those of vertically
cast prisms reflects the shape effect of specimens. The higher
values of ε0 for vertically cast prisms, as can be seen in Fig.
5(c), might be due to the confinement provided by the outer
ring of concrete as shown in Fig. 1. However, this confinement
effect decreases with increasing concrete strength and even-
tually vanishes when compared to the results of corresponding
cylinders.
 To study the effect of Vf on ε0 for vertically cast cylinders,
the results of the present tests are plotted in Fig. 5(d). It may
be seen that unlike horizontally cast prisms where fiber has no
influence on ε0 [Fig. 5(a)] vertically cast cylinders show an
increase in ε0 with increasing Vf. This is obvious because a
higher Vf means more fibers are available to arrest the cracks.
From regression analysis of the relevant data obtained in
this study, the following expressions for ε0 are obtained:
For horizontally cast prisms
ε0 = 0.00048( f0)0.35
For cylinders
ε0 = 冋 冉 冊册 Vf l
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0.00050 ⫹ 0.00000072 ( f0)0.35
␾
where ε0 is expressed in millimeters per millimeter; and f0 in
megapascals. The two most important factors that characterize
the behavior of fiber reinforced concrete, namely the volume
fraction Vf and the aspect ratio l/␾ (ACI 544, 1986) were in-
corporated in (4) to reflect the observed performance of these
high-strength fiber concretes (HSFCs).
Compressive Stress Softening
The extent of compressive stress softening or, in other
words, the shape of the descending branch of the stress-strain
curve depends on the postpeak response of the specimen when
fibers are fully activated due to extensive cracking and dilation
of the concrete.
First, consider the effect of specimen shape. For this pur-
pose, the stress-strain curves of vertically cast prisms and cyl-
inders are plotted in Fig. 6 for each strength group. Note that
the stresses have been normalized (with respect to its peak
stress) to account for the differences in concrete strength, and
only the average curves are presented for clarity. It may be
seen that at a particular strain value in the softening branch,
prisms show a higher stress level as compared to cylinders.
However, this difference decreases with decreasing a water-to-
binder ratio of the mix or, in other words, with increasing
concrete strength. This effect of specimen shape for fiber con-
crete is the same as that for plain concrete as can be noted
FIG. 6. Stress-Strain Curves for Cylinders and Vertically Cast Prisms for Different Concrete Mixes
J. Mater. Civ. Eng. 1999.11:21-29.
from the same figure. The prismatic specimen can be viewed
as a cylinder surrounded by an additional volume of concrete
(Fig. 1) that provides some kind of confinement resulting in a
more ductile response when compared to cylinders.
To study the effect of casting direction, the stress-strain
curves of horizontally cast prisms are compared with those of
identical specimens but cast vertically in Fig. 7. It may be seen
that the vertically cast specimens exhibit higher postpeak duc-
tility. Also, similar to the shape effect, this casting direction
effect gets smaller as the concrete strength is increased. The
(3) better ductility of vertically cast specimens might be due to
more beneficial fiber orientation.
Fig. 8 shows the effect of Vf on the postpeak response of
the concrete. As expected, use of a higher Vf leads to a more
(4) ductile response, and the effect is more pronounced in cylin-
drical specimens than in horizontally cast specimens.
Ductility of Concrete
A convenient way to quantify ductility is to use the tough-
ness index. Hsu and Hsu (1994) and Taerwe (1991) defined
toughness index as the ratio of the toughness of fiber concrete
to that of corresponding plain concrete. Depending on the ex-
tent of the stress-strain curves obtained, a common strain value
is normally chosen. In this study, the toughness index is de-
fined as the ratio of the area under the stress-strain curve up
to a strain of 3ε0 to the area up to a strain of ε0. The toughness
indices thus calculated are plotted against the respective com-
pressive strength in Fig. 9.
For plain concrete, the toughness index remains essentially
the same for cylindrical specimens irrespective of concrete
strength. Horizontally cast prisms exhibit higher ductility for
lower grade concrete but reduce drastically and become about
the same as that of cylinders when the concrete strength ap-
proaches 120 MPa.
For fiber concrete with 1% steel fiber, a comparison of the
solid line with the chain line in Fig. 9 denotes the shape effect
of specimens. It may be seen that the square cross section of
prisms provides higher ductility than the circular cross section
of cylinders. This shape effect, however, decreases with in-
creasing concrete strength.
JOURNAL OF MATERIALS IN CIVIL ENGINEERING / FEBRUARY 1999 / 25
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FIG. 7. Stress-Strain Curves for Both Horizontally and Vertically Cast Prisms for Different Concrete Mixes
FIG. 8. Effect of Volume Fraction of Steel Fiber on Stress-
Strain Curves of Cylindrical and Prismatic Specimens
The casting direction effect may be observed by comparing
the dotted line with the chain line. Vertically cast prisms are
found to possess much higher ductility than horizontally cast
prisms. This effect also reduces with increasing concrete
strength. The more dominant casting direction effect over the
shape effect makes the cylinders have only slightly higher duc-
tility than the horizontally cast prisms. In the case of plain
concrete, the shape effect was found more dominant than the
casting direction effect (Chin et al. 1997). However, inclusion
of fiber makes the casting direction effect become more dom-
inant than the shape effect. For both prisms and cylinders, the
26 / JOURNAL OF MATERIALS IN CIVIL ENGINEERING / FEBRUARY 1999
J. Mater. Civ. Eng. 1999.11:21-29.
toughness index reduces with increasing concrete strength in-
dicating that higher strength concrete is less ductile than lower
strength concrete.
When compared to plain concrete (0% steel fiber), inclusion
of fibers leads to better ductility for cylindrical specimens than
for horizontally cast prisms. It may be seen in Fig. 9 that the
improvement in ductility for prisms is much smaller for grade
70 concrete compared to that for grade 120. For concrete of
higher strength, failure after peak stress is relatively more
abrupt and is characterized by the formation of large vertical
cracks. Although the number of fibers in the favorable orien-
tation for horizontally cast prisms is relatively small, they can
impart significant ductility to higher strength concrete. In con-
trast, concrete with lower strength already possesses a certain
degree of ductility and therefore the improvement due to fiber
inclusion is relatively smaller. For cylinders, the improvement
in ductility is slightly more for concrete with lower strength.
Table 4 summarizes the shape and casting direction effects on
ductility and other key properties of fiber concrete as discussed
earlier.
PROPOSED ANALYTICAL MODEL
For analytical modeling of the complete ␴-ε curve, two
groups of specimens are considered — cylindrical specimens
and horizontally cast prisms on the presumption that the ␴-ε
curves derived from them will reflect the true response of the
concrete in vertically and horizontally cast structural members,
respectively. It is assumed that the compressive strength of
concrete for each type of specimen is known in advance from
the quality control program. However, if only cubes or cyl-
inders are employed to ensure concrete quality, the strength
determined may be converted to equivalent cylinder and prism
strengths by using the relationships presented in Fig. 3.
Fig. 10 shows the typical ␴-ε curves derived from cylinders
and horizontally cast prisms for different grades of concrete
containing 1% fiber. It has been discussed earlier that for ver-
tical casting, the square cross section (prism) gives higher duc-
tility than the circular cross section (cylinder), but this shape
effect is overshadowed by the effect of casting direction even-
tually making the cylinder slightly more ductile than prisms
(cast horizontally). Despite the differences in peak stress, the
descending branches of the ␴-ε curves may be seen to have
approximately the same residual strength at a strain value of
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FIG. 9. Toughness Index Expressed as Function of Compressive Strength for Concrete Specimens of Different Shape, Casting Di-
rection, and Volume Fraction of Steel Fibers

TABLE 4. Effects of Specimen Shape and Casting Direction (1985) model can adequately describe the ascending branch of
(Fiber Concrete) the curve provided appropriate values of Eit, f0, and ε0 are used.

冋 册
Casting direction Shape effect This equation is given as follows:
effect (vertically (cylinder versus Cylinder versus

Property
(1)
versus horizon-
tally cast prisms)
(2)
vertically cast
prism)
(3)
prism (horizon-
tally cast)
(4)
␤ 冉冊 ε
ε0

冉冊
f = f0 ␤ (5)
Compressive Yes (lower for hori- No Higher for cylinder
ε
strength f0 zontally cast spec- ␤⫺1⫹
imen) ε0
Initial tangent Yes (higher for hori- No Higher for prism
modulus Eit zontally cast spec- where
imen)
Strain at peak Yes (lower for hori- Yes (lower for Higher for cylinder 1
stress ε0 zontally cast spec- cylinder, influ- ␤= (6)
imen, influence re- ence reduces f0
1⫺
duces as
f0 increases)
as f0 increases)
ε0 Eit
Toughness index Yes (lower for hori- Yes (lower for Higher for cylinder
zontally cast spec- cylinder) where f0 = peak stress; and ␤ = material parameter that de-
imen) pends on the shape of the stress-strain diagram.
For the descending branch of the curve, two correction fac-
tors, k1 and k2, are introduced to reflect the effect of fibers and
0.01. This phenomenon was also reported by Wee et al. (1996) to cater for the residual stress. The modified expression for

冋 册
for high-strength plain concrete. the descending branch then becomes
In an earlier study (Wee et al. 1996), a number of available
models of plain concrete had been assessed, and a modified
Carreira and Chu (1985) equation was found to be simple, yet
provided a good correlation with the test data on HSC. The
k1␤ 冉冊 ε
ε0

冉冊
f = f0 k2␤ (7)
same model has been chosen here for high-strength fiber con- ε
crete (HSFC). An analysis of the test data generated in this k1␤ ⫺ 1 ⫹
ε0
study reveals that the original form of the Carreira and Chu

FIG. 10. Stress-Strain Curves of Fiber Concrete (Cylinders and Horizontally Cast Prisms) with Different Compressive Strength

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FIG. 11. Comparison of Proposed Model with Test Data for Fiber Concrete Cylindrical Specimens

Hsu and Hsu (1994) also used a modified Carreira and Chu
equation to express the complete ␴-ε curves of unconfined and
confined fiber concrete. However, instead of using two cor-
rection factors, they proposed a common factor, n, throughout
such that n = k1 = k2. The value of n depends on the com-
pressive strength and volume fraction of steel fiber. This mod-
ified Carreira and Chu equation, however, generates a ␴-ε re-
lationship only up to a strain value equal to 0.6 of the
maximum compressive stress in the descending portion of the
stress-strain curve. Beyond this, a separate equation is re-
quired.
From the analysis of the present set of test data, the follow-
ing equations are obtained:
For cylindrical specimens
For a given concrete strength, f0, Eit, and ε0 are calculated
using (1) – (4). These values are then inserted into (6) to obtain
␤. With k1 and k2 estimated from (8) to (11) for the given
concrete strength and reinforcing index (Vf l/␾), and ␤ and ε0
being known, the ascending branch of the ␴-ε curve may be
generated using (5) while the descending branch is obtained
from (7).
The predictions of the proposed model as compared in Figs.
11 and 12 with test data show a very good agreement. Since
␤ depends on Eit, the use of a different coarse aggregate may
affect the values of k1 and k2, and the relationship should first
be evaluated before the proposed model is used.
CONCLUSIONS

冉冊冋 冉 冊册 The following conclusions may be drawn from the study

3.0 2.5
50 Vf l
k1 = 1 ⫹ 2.5 (8) reported herein on HSFC with compressive strength ranging
f0 ␾ from 70 to 120 MPa:

冉冊冋 冉 冊 册
1.3 ⫺1.1
50 Vf l
k2 = 1 ⫺ 0.11 (9) 1. Initial tangent modulus is not affected by specimen
f0 ␾
shapes. However, horizontally cast prisms give a higher
For horizontally cast prisms value than those cast vertically. When compared to plain

再冎 concrete, the horizontally cast prisms have about the

2.0
40
k1 = A (10) same value of Eit, but fiber concrete cylinders exhibit a
f0 lower value.

再冎
1.3
40 2. Concrete specimens cast vertically have marginally
k2 = B (11) higher compressive strength than those cast horizontally.
f0
The shape of the specimen has, however, no effect on
In (10) and (11), A = 0.96 and B = 0.80 for fiber concretes the strength provided the aspect ratio remains the same.
while A = 1.00 and B = 1.00 for plain concrete. In case of 3. An increase in Vf increases the strain at peak stress for
plain concrete, Vf l/␾ = 0. Eqs. (8) and (9) then reduce to the cylindrical specimens, but it does not affect this value
same forms as proposed by Wee et al. (1996) for plain con- for horizontally cast prisms. Vertically cast prisms have
crete. higher strain at peak stress than the corresponding cyl-
28 / JOURNAL OF MATERIALS IN CIVIL ENGINEERING / FEBRUARY 1999

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FIG. 12. Comparison of Proposed Model with Test Data for Horizontally Cast Fiber Concrete Prisms

inders. These shape and casting direction effects, how- Mansur, M. A., Wee, T. H., and Chin, M. S. (1995). ‘‘Derivation of the
ever, decrease with an increase in concrete strength. complete stress-strain curves for concrete in compression.’’ Mag. of
Concrete Res., 47(173), 285 – 290.
4. In the postpeak region, cylinders exhibit better ductility Taerwe, L. R. (1991). ‘‘Influence of steel fibers on strain-softening of
than the corresponding horizontally cast prisms. high-strength concrete.’’ ACI Mat. J., 88(6), 54 – 60.
5. The Carriera and Chu equation, as modified herein by Tanigawa, Y., Hatanaka, S., and Mori, H. (1980). ‘‘Stress-strain behavior
introducing two correction factors (k1 and k2) for the de- of steel fiber reinforced concrete under compression.’’ Trans. of the
scending branch, gives good predictions of the complete Japan Concrete Inst., Japan, 2, 187 – 194.
␴-ε response of HSFC. Wafa, F. F., and Ashor, S. A. (1992). ‘‘Mechanical properties of high-
strength fiber reinforced concrete.’’ ACI Mat. J., 89(5), 449 – 455.
Wee, T. H., Chin, M. S., and Mansur, M. A. (1996). ‘‘Stress-strain rela-
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS tionship of high-strength concrete in compression.’’ J. Mat. in Civ.
The research reported in this paper was financially supported by Re- Engrg., ASCE, 8(2), 70 – 76.
search Grant No. RP 910706 from the National University of Singapore.
The writers gratefully acknowledge this generous support. APPENDIX II. NOTATION
The following symbols are used in this paper:
APPENDIX I. REFERENCES
ACI Committee 544. (1982). ‘‘State-of-the-art report on fiber reinforced A, B = constants in Eqs. (10) and (11);
concrete.’’ Concrete Int.: Des. and Constr., American Concrete Insti- Eit = initial tangent modulus;
tute, Detroit, 4(5), 9 – 29. f ⬘c = cylinder (100 ⫻ 200 mm) compressive strength of con-
Carreira, D. J., and Chu, K. H. (1985). ‘‘Stress-strain relationship for plain crete;
concrete in compression.’’ ACI J., 83(6), 797 – 804.
Chin, M. S., Mansur, M. A., and Wee, T. H. (1997). ‘‘Effects of shape,
fcu = cube (100 ⫻ 100 ⫻ 100 mm) compressive strength of
size and casting direction of specimens on stress-strain curves of high- concrete;
strength concrete.’’ ACI Mat. J., 94(3), 209 – 219. f0 = compressive strength (peak stress) of concrete specimen;
Ezeldin, A. S. (1989). ‘‘Bond and compression behaviour of normal and fp(H) = compressive strength of horizontally cast prisms (100 ⫻
high-strength fiber-reinforced concrete subjected to generalized load- 100 ⫻ 200 mm);
ing,’’ PhD thesis, Rutgers — The State University, New Brunswick, fp(V) = compressive strength of vertically cast prisms (100 ⫻
N.J., 355. 100 ⫻ 200 mm);
Fanella, D. A., and Naaman, A. E. (1985). ‘‘Stress-strain properties of k1, k2 = correction factors, Eq. (7);
fiber-reinforced mortar in compression.’’ ACI J., 82(4), 475 – 483. l = length of fiber;
Hsu, L. S. M.,and Hsu, C. T. T. (1994). ‘‘Stress-strain behavior of steel
fiber high-strength concrete under compression.’’ ACI Mat. J., 91(4),
Vf = volume fraction of steel fiber;
448 – 457. ␤ = material parameter given by Eq. (6);
Mansur, M. A., Wee, T. H., and Chin, M. S. (1994). ‘‘Some engineering ε = concrete strain;
properties of locally produced high-strength concrete.’’ Proc., 19th ε0 = concrete strain at peak stress; and
Conf. on Our Worlds in Concrete and Struct., Cl-Premier, 97 – 106. ␾ = diameter of fiber.

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