Abstract:
Steel fibers can improve many of the properties of self-compacting concrete (SCC) elements including tensile resistance and crack control, ductility, toughness, energy absorption capacity, and resistance to fatigue. However, the structural behavior depends on the composite action of the concrete and steel in resisting the external loads. If steel fiber undergoes the same strain or deformation as the surrounding concrete, no slip occurs between the two materials under load and a prefect bond exists. Indubitably, prediction of accurate behavior of the composite material requires precise modeling and determining of the bond characteristics. In fiber reinforced concrete (FRC), the interface between fiber and cement paste is the weakest link of the micro-structure. Therefore, the study of the behavior of fiber-paste interface is vital for understanding the mechanism of the composite behavior. This paper presents a comparison of the experimental results from the four recent investigations on the bond characteristics of steel fiber reinforced self-compacting concrete (SFRSCC). The comparison is based on the measured bond stresses between steel fiber and SCC by utilizing a single fiber pullout test. The influences of the fiber end hook, embedded length, fiber orientation angle, concrete age, and concrete cover on the pullout test of the fibers were also investigated.
