Relationship between Impact Energy and Flexural Toughness Energy of Steel Fiber Reinforced Lightweight Aggregate Concrete

In order to determine the impact resistance of lightweight aggregate concrete (LWC), especially the effect of steel fibers on impact resistance of LWC, a series of drop-weight tests, recommended by the ACE committee 544, have been carried out in the present study. Impact and flexural tests were carried out on lightweight aggregate concrete reinforced with five different percentages of steel fibers 0.0%, 0.5%, 1.0%, 1.5% and 2.0% by volume of concrete. For each volume of fibers, complete load deflection curves of SFLWC were generated in order to determine the total energy absorbed for each specimen. The addition of steel fibers to concrete has improved impact resistance and also the flexural toughness. The test results showed that a logarithmic relation exists between flexural toughness energy by means of the generated load deflection curves from the flexural tests and the impact energy by means of drop-weight tests.