Shear Strength of Prestressed Steel Fiber Concrete I-Beams

Six full-scale prestressed concrete (PC) I-beams with steel fibers were tested to failure in this work. Beams were cast without any traditional transverse steel reinforcement. The main objective of the study was to determine the effects of two variables—the shear-span-to-depth ratio and steel fiber dosage, on the web-shear and flexural-shear modes of beam failure. The beams were subjected to concentrated vertical loads up to their maximum shear or moment capacity using four hydraulic actuators in load and displacement control mode. During the load tests, vertical deflections and displacements at several critical points on the web in the end zone of the beams were measured. From the load tests, it was observed that the shear capacities of the beams increased significantly due to the addition of steel fibers in concrete. Complete replacement of traditional shear reinforcement with steel fibers also increased the ductility and energy dissipation capacity of the PC I-beams.