International Journal of Impact Engineering 46 (2012) 62e73

Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect

International Journal of Impact Engineering

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ijimpeng

An experimental and numerical study on how steel and polypropylene fibers

affect the impact resistance in fiber-reinforced concrete
A. Alavi Nia a, *, M. Hedayatian a, M. Nili b, V. Afrough Sabet b
a
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Bu-Ali Sina University, Hamedan, Iran
b
Department of Civil Engineering, Bu-Ali Sina University, Hamedan, Iran

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

Article history: In this paper, impact loading results from numerical simulations of plain concrete (PC) and fiber-
Received 5 January 2011 reinforced concrete (FRC) are compared with experimental testing data, which were based on
Received in revised form a testing procedure recommended by ACI committee 544. Concrete specimens were prepared with two
4 December 2011
waterecement ratios 0.36 and 0.46. Hooked-end steel fibers with an aspect ratio equal of 80 at 0.5% and
Accepted 24 January 2012
Available online 23 February 2012
1% volume fractions and polypropylene fibers at 0.2%, 0.3% and 0.5% volume fractions were used. Both the
numerical and experimental analysis results indicated that increasing the fiber volume fraction increased
the impact resistance of the concrete specimens. The impact resistance increase was greater for normal-
Keywords:
Fiber-reinforced concrete
strength than that for high-strength concrete. The results also demonstrated that steel fibers are more
Modeling effective at increasing impact resistance than polypropylene fibers.
Mechanical properties Ó 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Finite element analysis
Impact resistance

1. Introduction
Both normal and high-strength concretes are brittle, where the
degree of brittleness increases as its strength increases. It is
generally accepted that the ductility of high strength concrete
(HSC) can be improved by adding various types of fibers to the
cement mixtures [1]. Due to an increasing use of FRC (fiber-rein-
forced concrete) in construction and military industries against
impact loads, these concretes are important role in human life.
Adding fibers to concrete increases its ductility, tensile strength,
flexural strength and resistance against dynamic and impact loads
[2,3]; furthermore, adding fibers reduces the possibility of spalling
and scabbing failures, prevents crack propagation and extends the
softening region in the concrete matrix [4]. Steel and polypropylene
fibers are the most useful fibers [5]. The aspect ratio (L/d) and
volume fraction (Vf) are important fibers parameters in FRC. When
cracks are initiated in FRC, the fibers bear the applied loads. When
the load increases, the fibers tend to transmit the excess stresses to
the matrix. If these stresses exceed the fiber-matrix bond strength,
which in turn is influenced by fiber properties the fracture process
may lead to fibers pullout or rarely rupture of the fibers. Thus, fiber-
reinforced concretes are more ductile than other concretes [6].
* Corresponding author. Tel.: þ98 811 8257409; fax: þ98 811 8257400.
E-mail addresses: alavi495@basu.ac.ir, alavi1338@yahoo.com (A. Alavi Nia).
There are several test methods that evaluate the impact strength of
FRCs where the simplest method is the drop-weight test proposed
by the ACI (American Concrete Institution) committee 544. Exper-
imental results from concrete specimens containing 0.1%e2%
polypropylene fibers showed that the impact strength of concrete
increased both for the first crack and final fracture compared with
plain concrete [7]. Marar et al. [3] showed that for FRCs containing
0.5%, 1%, 1.5% and 2% hooked-end steel fibers with aspect ratios of
60, 75 and 83, the samples with a higher fiber content (in all of
aspect ratios) had a higher impact strength; also for specimens
with 2% fiber content and aspect ratios equal of 60, 75 and 83, the
absorbed energies increased by 38, 55 and 74 times, respectively.
Using a drop hammer apparatus, Nataraja et al. [8] investigated the
impact strength of steel fiber-reinforced concrete with an aspect
ratio of 40 and two strength types, 30 MPa and 50 MPa. The results
showed that the impact strength of all of the samples for the first
crack and final fracture increased as the volume fraction of fibers
increased. They found that a 0.5% fiber content led to the impact
resistances of the FRC sample at the first crack and final fracture
increasing 3 and 4 (times greater) than the results from the plain
concrete, respectively. These values were 7 and 10 for 50 MPa
strength concrete. Song et al. [9] studied the impact resistance of
(HSC) and high strength fiber-reinforced concrete (HSFRC) with
a 1% volume fraction of hooked-end steel fibers with length of
3.5 mm and aspect ratio of 48. The compressive strengths of the
reference and fiber-reinforced specimens were 76 and 66 MPa,

0734-743X/$ e see front matter Ó 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.ijimpeng.2012.01.009
 A. Alavi Nia et al. / International Journal of Impact Engineering 46 (2012) 62e73 63

with the commercial name of carboxylic 110 M was used to adjust

Nomenclature the workability of the mixtures.

ACI American Concrete Institution 2.2. Mixing proportions

E absorbed energy
FRC fiber-reinforced concrete In this study, water-binder ratios of 0.46 and 0.36, steel fibers at
g gravity acceleration 0.5% and 1% volume fractions and polypropylene fibers at 0.2%, 0.3%
HSC high strength concrete and 0.5% volume fractions were used. Twelve mix proportions were
HSFRC high strength fiber-reinforced concrete prepared. The codes and materials specifications are listed in
M drop mass Table 2. Typically, code (W/C)0.46 PP 0.5 refers to an FRC mixture
n number of impacts with water-binder ratio of 0.46 containing 0.5% of polypropylene
PC plain concrete fiber.
PPFRC polypropylene fiber-reinforced concrete
SP Superplasticizer
2.3. Mixing procedure and specimens preparation
V impact velocity
W/C water to cement ratio
The mixing procedure, which was designed by trial and error,
Ec modulus of elasticity of concrete
was chosen as follows: the binder and fine aggregate were mixed
Wc specific weight of concrete
initially for one minute, and half the mixing water and Super-
fc0 compressive strength of concrete
plasticizer (SP) were mixed for two minutes. The coarse aggregate
nc Poisson’s ratio of concrete
and the remainder of the water were added and mixed for five
minutes. Finally, fibers were added to the mixture and mixed for
respectively. The results showed a 10% and 3% increase in impact five minutes. Each type of freshly mixed concrete was cast into
resistance of HSFRC and HSC, respectively. Bindiganavile et al. [10] cubic (100 mm) and cylindrical (100  200 mm) discs to be used in
investigated the effect of the loading rate on the performance of the compressive and splitting tensile strength tests, respectively.
FRC. They showed that for higher rates of loading, the impact Cylindrical (150  64 mm) discs were used in the impact tests.
resistance of the concrete with polypropylene fibers was higher
than with steel fibers. Ramakrishnan et al. [11] reported that steel 2.4. Compressive strength
fibers increased the impact resistance of FRCs up to six times
compared with the impact resistance of plain concrete. In several Compressive strength tests were performed on three 100-mm
investigations it was indicated that usage of fibers, especially steel cubic samples 28 days after the samples were mixed for each
fiber, improves impact resistance of concrete [12e15]. In the mixing plan. A 2000 KN ADR hydraulic press was used for the tests.
present paper, the impact resistances of specimens with steel and
polypropylene fibers were both experimentally and numerically 2.5. Splitting tensile strength tests
investigated. Furthermore, attempts were done to evaluate how the
weight and height of the drop hammer affected the results. The splitting tensile strength tests were done on two ɸ
100  200 mm cylindrical samples for each mixing plan.

2. Experiments 2.6. Impact tests

2.1. Materials properties
Ordinary portland cement (type 1) was used in this study. A
coarse aggregate with a maximum nominal size of 19 mm and
a fine aggregate with a fineness modulus of 3.4 were used in the
experiment. Polypropylene and hooked-end steel fibers were used;
their geometry and apparent shape are shown in Fig. 1 and their
properties are listed in Table 1. A high-range water reducer agent
Impact tests to determine the impact strength were performed
in accordance with the ACI committee 544 on six ɸ 150  64 mm
cylindrical samples. The test procedure was as follows: a 4.54 kg
drop weight was released from a height of 457 mm repeatedly that
hit a steel ball with a diameter of 64 mm, which would come in
contact with the top surface of the concrete sample. The number of
impact blows until the first crack appeared was recorded. The test
then continued, and the number of impacts until complete fracture

Fig. 1. Geometry and apparent shape of fibers of (a) steel, (b) polypropylene.
64 A. Alavi Nia et al. / International Journal of Impact Engineering 46 (2012) 62e73

Table 1
Specifications of steel and polypropylene fibers.

Type of fiber Density (g/cm3) Tensile strength (MPa) Diameter (mm) Length (mm) Aspect ratio Modulus of elasticity (GPa)
Steel 7.8 1050 0.75 60 80 210
3
Polypropylene 0.91  10 350e400 0.022 12 545 4

Table 2
Mixing proportions.

Mix no. Sample code Water Cement Fine aggregate Coarse aggregate W/C Vf % Superplasticizer %

(kg/m3)
1 W/C 0.46 PC 177.1 385 920 884 0.46 0.0 0.6
2 W/C 0.46 PP 0.2 177.1 385 918 882 0.46 0.2 0.9
3 W/C 0.46 PP 0.3 177.1 385 916 881 0.46 0.3 1.1
4 W/C 0.46 PP 0.5 177.1 385 914 877 0.46 0.5 1.5
5 W/C 0.46 St 0.5 177.1 385 914 877 0.46 0.5 0.9
6 W/C 0.46 St 1.0 177.1 385 907 871 0.46 1.0 1.2
7 W/C 0.36 PC 162 450 912 876 0.36 0.0 1.1
8 W/C 0.36 PP 0.2 162 450 910 874 0.36 0.2 1.3
9 W/C 0.36 PP 0.3 162 450 908 872 0.36 0.3 1.5
10 W/C 0.36 PP 0.5 162 450 906 870 0.36 0.5 1.7
11 W/C 0.36 St 0.5 162 450 906 870 0.36 0.5 1.3
12 W/C 0.36 St 1.0 162 450 899 863 0.36 1.0 1.4

was recorded. From the tests, the energy absorption capacity of
each specimen was calculated using Equation (1):


Eimp ¼ mV 2 =2 : n ¼ mgh:n
The variables, V, m, g, n and Eimp are the impact velocity, drop
mass, gravity acceleration, number of impacts and absorbed energy,
respectively. The test apparatus, test set up and dimensions are
shown in Fig. 2.
0.46 St 1), the compressive and tensile strengths increased 14.4%
and 62.1% compared with results of the plain concrete, respectively.
The results indicate that steel fibers, due to their high tensile
(1) strength, improved the tensile strength of the specimens more
effectively than polypropylene fibers. It is also clear from the figure
that the strength increase in concrete with a 0.46 waterebinder
ratio was greater than for the 0.36 ratio.
3.2. Impact tests results

3. Experimental results
Experimental results reported in this section are average values
of parameters obtained from several tests.
3.1. Compression and splitting tensile tests results
The effect of the type and volume fraction of fibers on
compressive and tensile strengths of the concrete is shown in
Figs. 3 and 4. It is clear from Fig. 3 that in general, as the volume
fraction of fibers increased, the compressive strength increased.
Fig. 4 shows that splitting tensile strength increased as the fiber
volume fraction increased. In a typical experiment mix code ((W/C)
The number of blows needed until the initiation of the first crack
and the final fracture of PC as well as the FRC with different types
and fibers content are shown in Fig. 5. As the results show, by using
steel fibers in the mixtures there was a conclusive increase in the
number of blows required for the first and final cracking compared
with the reference values. As Fig. 5 shows, for both water-binder
ratios, the highest impact strength was achieved when 1% steel
fiber content was used. The ratios of impact strengths of FRC to PC
for the first crack and the final fracture are shown in Fig. 6.
It is clear that the ratio of the impact strengths of FRC to PC for
the first crack and the final fracture of samples increased as fiber
content increased. This result is true for both the normal and high-
strength concretes but is more intense for the former. Furthermore,

Fig. 2. (a) Drop hammer apparatus, (b) specimen set-up and (c) impact tests instruments and dimensions.
 A. Alavi Nia et al. / International Journal of Impact Engineering 46 (2012) 62e73 65

a 70
W/C = 0.46
b 6
W/C = 0.46
W/C = 0.36

Compressive Strength [MPa]

60
5 W/C = 0.36

Tensile Strength [MPa]

50
4
40
3
30
2
20

10 1

0 0

1
t1

5
3

5
2

C
PC

0.

0.

0.

0.

0.

0.
0.

0.

St
S

St
P

P
St
P
PP

PP

P
P

Fig. 3. Effect of the type and volume fraction of fibers on (a) compressive strength, (b) tensile strength of FRC and PC.

using steel fibers increased the impact strength more than when The results of solutions for optimizing the element size of (W/C)
using polypropylene fibers, which may be due to the longer length, 0.46 PC are plotted in Fig. 8. As the figure shows, the optimum
better bond of steel-concrete compared with polypropylene- number of elements for the sample was determined to be
concrete and larger tensile strength of the steel fibers [12]. 150,176.

4. Numerical simulations
4.3. Damage criterion
4.1. Material model for concrete
In the simulation, the Winfrith concrete material model was
Numerical simulations were carried out using version 971 LS- used to model the concrete samples. Based on the data from tests in
DYNA explicit software. In this software, there are many material ACI committee 544.IR for FRCs with volume fractions of fibers less
models for concrete. Based on [CEB’s recommendation], the type 84 than 2%, the modulus of elasticity and Poisson’s ratio were the same
Winfrith concrete material model which considers the strain rate as the values of plain concrete [7] because the behavior of the
effect is selected as the concrete material model. This material samples before the yield point are similar, and adding fibers to the
model has the ability to model impact and impulsive loads [16]. concrete matrix extends the softening region of concrete. Further-
more, based on the ACI committee 318 recommendation [17], the
4.2. Simulation procedure modulus of elasticity and Poisson’s ratio can be determined as
follows:
For the numerical simulation, the cylindrical concrete specimen, (
holder steel ring and spherical steel bar were modeled using their 33Wc1:5 fc00:5 for 90 < wc < 155
Ec ¼ (2)
actual dimensions. The drop weight was modeled as a prismatic bar 57000fc00:5 for Normal weigth concrete
with the same mass as the hammer (Fig. 7). The specimen and
hammer were modeled with hexagonal solid elements. The total 7
vc ¼ 4:5  10 Wc1:75 fc00:5 (3)
number of elements for the specimen was 150,176. The holder steel
ring, spherical ball and hammer were considered rigid and thus, where Ec is the modulus of elasticity (psi), Wc is the specific weight
their elements sizes had no effect on the solution. (lbf/ft3),fc0 is the compressive strength (psi) and nc is the Poisson’s
In order to verify the optimum number of the elements, the ratio of concrete.
problem was solved for different mesh sizes, and the number of Since no accurate model exists for FRC in LS-DYNA, the Add-
blows until the first crack was measured. When this value Erosion option was used as the failure criterion of the concrete
approached a constant, the mesh size was considered optimum. matrix [18]. This option has several failure criteria, each being
suitable for different materials. In this research, similar to [19,20],
the maximum principal strain was used as the failure criterion of
concrete.
Steel fibers in concrete improve both the concrete’s tensile
deformation capability and the critical crack opening, up to
10e30 mm [21]. Tai [19] and Liang et al. [20] found the maximum
principal strain in plain concrete and FRC to be 0.02 and 0.075,
respectively. Qian et al. [18] explained that the maximum principal
strain of SFRC can be four times greater than that of PC’s. Further-
more, the opening displacement of the critical crack in SFRC was
found to be two times greater than PPFRC [5]. In the impact
experiments, the test was stopped when the peripheral surface of
the sample contacts the adjacent base (Fig. 2(c)), and its maximum
displacement was 5-mm [22], therefore, the value of the maximum
principal strain for SFRC, PPFRC and PC was determined to be 0.07,
0.04 and 0.0175, respectively. The parameters values of the material
Fig. 4. Increase in compression and tensile strengths of FRC with different concrete model, which were determined from the tests, are listed in Table 3.
types and volume fractions of fibers compared with strength of the plain concrete. MSA value for all the samples was 19 mm.
66 A. Alavi Nia et al. / International Journal of Impact Engineering 46 (2012) 62e73

a 1000 b 1000
W/C = 0.46 - First Crack W/C = 0.36 - First Crack
800 800
W/C = 0.46 - Ultimate Crack W/C = 0.36 - Ultimate Crack

Number of Blows
Number of Blows
600 600

400 400

200 200

0 0

0
2

PC

0.
PC

0.

0.
0.

0.

1.
0.

0.

0.

1.

St

St
PP

PP

PP
St

St
PP

PP

PP
Fig. 5. Effect of concrete type and fiber on the number of blows needed for the first crack and final fracture in (a) normal-strength concrete and (b) high-strength concrete.

Fig. 6. The ratios of impact strengths of FRC with different types of fibers and volume fractions to that of PC (a) for the first crack and (b) for the final fracture.

4.4. Boundary and initial conditions 4.5. Simulation results

Two types of conditions were used in the model, boundary
conditions and initial conditions. All the nodes of the lower base
must prevent movement in Z-direction; and all the nodes of the
holder ring must prevent movement in each direction. The initial
condition was related to the drop weight, where its velocity must
be 3 m/s at the moment it reaches the spherical ball. These
conditions are shown in Fig. 9.
Three types of samples were simulated: plain concrete sample,
FRC with 0.5% polypropylene fibers and FRC with 0.5% steel fibers.
The number of blows needed until the first crack initiation and the
final fracture are shown in Fig. 10, for normal and high-strength
concretes. As shown the number of blows needed at the bottom
surface until the first crack initiation was generally less than that of
the top surface; therefore, the first crack initiated at the bottom
surface.
The mechanism of the crack propagation and the crack-induced
fracture at the top and bottom surfaces of the PC and FRC samples at
four different time steps are shown in Figs. 11e13. One of the
benefits of the numerical simulation is the possibility of observing
where the first crack is initiated, which is a difficult task experi-
mentally due to the lack of instrumentation. This type of failure is
related to FEM 3D mesh which has no axial symmetry. The figures

50

40
Number of Blows

30

First Crack on Bottom Surfaces

20
First Crack on Top Surfaces
10

0
23400 41600 65000 93660 150176 192300 260000
Number of Elements

Fig. 8. Number of blows with the first crack vs. the number of elements of (W/C)0.46
Fig. 7. Finite element model of impact test. PC specimen.
 A. Alavi Nia et al. / International Journal of Impact Engineering 46 (2012) 62e73 67

Table 3
Input parameters of the Winfrith concrete material model.

Material properties W/C 0.46 W/C 0.36

PC PP 0.5 St 0.5 PC PP 0.5 St 0.5

Density (kg/m3) 2413.5 2447.2 2440.1 2411.1 2414.9 2457.7
Compressive strength (MPa) 41.30 46.09 46.36 55.58 58.24 58.45
Tensile strength (MPa) 3.22 3.68 3.84 4.39 4.68 4.77
Elastic modulus (GPa) 32.13 33.94 34.04 37.28 38.16 38.23
Poisson’s ratio 0.19 0.21 0.21 0.23 0.24 0.24
Failure strain 0.0175 0.04 0.07 0.0175 0.04 0.07

show that adding fiber to the concrete changes how cracks form
and propagate. In PC samples, the initiation of cracks and the final
fracture occurred at the top and bottom surfaces simultaneously,
and a single diametric crack split the sample in two; alternatively,
in the FRC samples, the first crack was initiated from the bottom
surface; then, secondary cracks were formed at the top surface, and
the specimen split into four parts.
5. Comparison of the results and discussion
The experimental and numerical values of the number of blows
needed until the crack initiation and final fracture in both normal
and HSC specimens are compared in Fig. 14. Fitted lines on the data
points show an acceptable agreement between the numerical
results and experimental data. Differences between these results
are attributed to the inability of the simulation to model how the
fibers are pullout and some approximations about the material
parameters.
The experimental and numerical values of the absorbed ener-
gies at the first crack and final fracture for PC and FRC specimens
are shown in Fig. 15. It is clear from this figure that numerical values
of absorbed energies are slightly smaller than those of experi-
ments; because in tests cracks are usually observed when their
width is sufficiently developed whereas in numerical simulations
they are detected at earlier stages. This, however, would have led to
numerical energies that are consistently lower than their corre-
sponding experimental values.
Fig. 16 shows the ratio of impact strength of FRC to PC for the
first crack and final fracture of specimens in both ratios of the
water-binder. The figure shows that the increase of impact strength
for normal-strength concrete was greater than that of high-
strength concrete, which is due to a better distribution of fibers
in the concrete matrix. Furthermore, steel fibers, due to their
hooked-end and higher tensile strength, are more effective than
polypropylene fibers and hence required more energy before
fracture of specimens. Simulation results were in good agreement
with the experimental data, where the impact strength could be

Fig. 9. (a) Boundary conditions and (b) Initial conditions.

Fig. 10. Number of blows needed until the first crack initiation and the final fracture of different specimens: (a) Normal-strength concrete, (b) High-strength concrete.
68 A. Alavi Nia et al. / International Journal of Impact Engineering 46 (2012) 62e73

Fig. 11. Maximum strain contours in PC at 15, 25, 35 and 39 ms (from left to right).
 A. Alavi Nia et al. / International Journal of Impact Engineering 46 (2012) 62e73 69

Fig. 12. Maximum strain contours in FRC with 0.5% polypropylene fibers content at 139, 146, 155 and 170 ms (from left to right).
70 A. Alavi Nia et al. / International Journal of Impact Engineering 46 (2012) 62e73

Fig. 13. Maximum strain contours in FRC with 0.5% steel fibers content at 308, 322, 338 and 360 ms (from left to right).
 A. Alavi Nia et al. / International Journal of Impact Engineering 46 (2012) 62e73 71

a 500 b 500
W/C = 0.46-PC W/C = 0.46-PC
W/C = 0.46-PP 0.5 W/C = 0.46-PP 0.5
W/C = 0.46-St 0.5 W/C = 0.46-St 0.5

Number of Blows for First Crack

Number of Blows for Ultimate

400 W/C = 0.36-PC 400 W/C = 0.36-PC

Crack (UR) - Experimental

W/C = 0.36-PP 0.5 W/C = 0.36-PP 0.5

(FCR) - Experimental
W/C = 0.36-St 0.5 W/C = 0.36-St 0.5
Median Line Median Line
300 300

200 200

100 100

0 0
0 100 200 300 400 500 0 100 200 300 400 500
Number of Blows for First Crack (FCR) - Simulation Number of Blows for Ultimate Crack (UR) -
Simulation

Fig. 14. Number of blows needed for: (a) the first crack initiation, (b) final fracture of normal and high-strength concrete samples.

Fig. 15. Absorbed energy of concrete samples (a) at the first crack initiation, (b) at the final fracture.

increased up to ten times with the addition of 0.5% steel fibers. As polypropylene fibers were only two and four times for the first
an example, using 0.5% of steel fibers in concretes with 0.36 and crack and final fracture, respectively.
0.46 ratios of water-binder increased their strength at the first crack Fracture modes in the PC and FRC samples from the simulations
up to three and eight times and increased their final fracture three and experiments are compared in Fig. 17. The figure shows the
and ten times, respectively; whereas the increases for 0.5% different modes of fracture: diametric in PC, to radial in FRC and

Fig. 16. Increase in the impact strength of FRC with respect to the PC (a) at the first crack initiation, (b) at the final fracture.
72 A. Alavi Nia et al. / International Journal of Impact Engineering 46 (2012) 62e73
Fig. 17. Comparison of fracture modes of concrete specimens between the numerical and experimental methods.
SFRC, where it is seen more clearly in the SFRC. Differences in the
fracture modes between the tested and simulated specimens are
partly caused from the homogeneity assumption in the simulation:
the tested specimens were made from materials with different
sizes and properties, which may change the crack propagation path.
6. Conclusions
In this paper, experiments and numerical simulations were
performed to observe how different volume fractions of steel and
polypropylene fibers added to a concrete matrix affect the impact
strength. Tests were carried out using a drop hammer apparatus
based on the ACI committee 544, and simulations were performed
with LS-DYNA software. Important results of this research are the
following:
1. Adding fibers to concrete increased it’s compressive and tensile
strengths regardless of the water-binder ratio. For example,
adding 1% steel fibers to concrete with waterecement ratios of
0.46 and 0.36 increased tensile strengths by 62% and 30%,
respectively. Whereas, the compressive strengths of the 1%
fibrous specimens with waterecement ratios of 0.46 and 0.36
increased 14% and 8%, respectively, compared to the reference
specimen.
2. Fibers in concrete improved its impact strength; steel fibers
with hooked-ends exhibited a better performance than with
using polypropylene fibers because of their larger length,
greater tensile strength and better cohesion due to their
hooked-ends.
3. Fibers increased the impact resistance of concrete against the
first crack initiation and final fracture in both ratios of
waterecement; which meant the energy absorption capacity in
FRC increased.
4. Fracture of plain concrete occurred suddenly due to its brittle
behavior, and the number of blows needed until the first crack
and final fracture were approximately equal.
5. A Winfrith concrete material model associated with the add-
erosion option and maximum principal strain was an appro-
priate model for simulating of FRC behavior under impact loading.
6. The results of the numerical simulation showed a good
agreement with the experimental data; therefore, it seems that
the numerical method can predict tests results with an
acceptable accuracy.
References
[1] Afrough Sabet V. Experimental study of FRC properties. M.S. thesis: Bu-AliSina
University; 2008.
[2] Lau A, Anson M. Cem Conc Res 2006;36:1698e707.
[3] Marar K, Eren O, Celic T. Mater Let 2001;47:297e304.
[4] Farnam Y, Mohammadi S, Shekarchi M. Int J Impact Engng 2010;37:220e9.
[5] Yao W, Li J, Wu K. Cem Conc Res 2003;33:27e30.
[6] Ramezanian Pour A. Concrete technology. Tehran, Iran: Azarang Publications;
1998.
[7] ACI Committee 544. State-of-the-art report on fiber-reinforced concrete. ACI
committee 544 report 544.1R-96. Detroit: American Concrete Institute; 1996.
[8] Nataraja MC, Nagaraja TS, Basavaraja SB. Cem Conc Res 2005;35:2350e9.
[9] Song PS, Wu JC, Hawang S, Sheu BC. Cem Conc Res 2005;35:393e9.
[10] Bindiganavile V, Banthia N. ACI Materls J 2001;98(1):339e53.
[11] Ramakrishnan V, Coyle WV, Kulandaisamy V, Schrader EK. ACI Mater J 1981;
78(5):388e94.
[12] Mohammadi Y, Carkon-Azad R, Singh SP, Kaushik SK. Constr Build Mater
2009;23:183e9.
[13] Zhang MH, Shim VPW, Lu G, Chew CW. Int J Impact Engng 2005;31:825e41.
[14] Nili M, Afroughsabet V. Int J Impact Engng 2010;37:879e86.
[15] Mystrom U, Gylltolt K. Int J Impact Engng 2011;38:95e105.
[16] Hallmquist J. LS-DYNA theory manual. California: Livermore Software Tech-
nology Corporation; 2006.
 A. Alavi Nia et al. / International Journal of Impact Engineering 46 (2012) 62e73 73

[17] ACI Committee 318R. Building code requirements for structural concrete (ACI
318-99) and commentary (ACI 318R-99). Farmington Hills, Mich: American
Concrete Institute; 1997.
[18] Qian GU, Hanfeng XU, Mindess S. WuhanUniversity J Natur Sci 2009;14(1):
047e52.
[19] Tai YS. Theor Appl Frac Mech 2009;51:117e28.
[20] Liang Teng T, Chu Yi An, Chang Fwu An, Chin Hua Sheng. Cem Conc Res 2004;
34:2067e77.
[21] Lofgren I. Fiber-reinforced concrete for industrial constructionea fracture
mechanics approach to material testing and structural analysis. Thesis for the
degree of doctor of philosophy. Goteborg, Sweden; 2005.
[22] Badr A, Ashour AF, Platten AK. Int J Impact Engng 2006;32:1907e20.