Mechanical properties of steel fiber-reinforced, high-strength, lightweight concrete

This paper presents basic information on the mechanical properties of steel fiber-reinforced, high-strength, lightweight concrete with compressive and flexural strengths up to 85.4 MPa and 11.8 MPa, respectively. The influence of steel fiber on modulus of elasticity and Poisson's ratio of concrete are investigated and flexural fracture toughness is calculated. Test results show that the effect of fiber volume fraction (V-f) and aspect ratio (l(f)/d(f)) on flexural strength and fracture toughness is extremely prominent, compressive strength is only slightly improved, and tensile/compressive strength ratio is obviously enhanced. It is observed that the flexural deflection corresponded to ultimate loan increased with the increase of V-f and l(f)/d(f), and due to fiber arresting cracking, the shape of the descending branch of load-deflection tends towards gently. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.