• International Journal of Concrete Structures and Materials
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.119-126
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• 2009

This paper provides a brief summary of the performance of an innovative slip hardening twisted steel fiber in comparison with other fibers including straight steel smooth fiber, high strength steel hooked fiber, SPECTRA (high molecular weight polyethylene) fiber and PVA fiber. First the pull-out of a single fiber is compared under static loading conditions, and slip rate-sensitivity is evaluated. The unique large slip capacity of T-fiber during pullout is based on its untwisting fiber pullout mechanism, which leads to high equivalent bond strength and composites with high ductility. Due to this large slip capacity a smaller amount of T-fibers is needed to obtain strain hardening tensile behavior of fiber reinforced cementitious composites. Second, the performance of different composites using T-fibers and other fibers subjected to tensile and flexural loadings is described and compared. Third, strain rate effect on the behavior of composites reinforced with different types and amounts of fibers is presented to clarify the potential application of HPFRCC for seismic, impact and blast loadings.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.65 no.2
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• pp.163-171
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• 2018

Plain concrete is a brittle material with a very low tensile strength compared to compressive strength and critical tensile strain. This study analyzed the dynamic characteristics of high-performance fiber-reinforced cementitious composites based on slurry-infiltrated fiber concrete (SIFCON-based HPFRCC), which maximizes the steel-fiber volume fraction and uses high-strength mortar to increase resistance to loads, such as explosion and impact, with a very short acting time. For major experimental variables, three levels of fiber aspect ratio and five levels of fiber volume fraction between 6.0% and 8.0% were considered, and the flexural strength and toughness characteristics were analyzed according to these variables. Furthermore, three levels of the aspect ratio of used steel fibers were considered. The highest flexural strength of 65.0 MPa was shown at the fiber aspect ratio of 80 and the fiber volume fraction of 7.0%, and the flexural strength and toughness increased proportionally to the fiber volume fraction. The test results according to fiber aspect ratio and fiber volume fraction revealed that after the initial crack, the load of the SIFCON-based HPFRCC continuously increased because of the high fiber volume fraction. In addition, sufficient residual strength was achieved after the maximum strength; this achievement will bring about positive effects on the brittle fracture of structures when an unexpected load, such as explosion or impact, is applied.

• Advances in concrete construction
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.367-374
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• 2020

Concrete surfaces, industrial floors, sidewalks, roads and parking lots are typically subjected to abrasions. Many studies indicated that the abrasion resistance is directly related to the ultimate strength of the cured concrete. Chemical reactions, freeze-thaw cycles, and damages under abrasion are among many factors negatively affecting the concrete strength and durability. One of the major solutions to address the abrasive resistance of the concrete is to use fibers. Fibers are used in the concrete mix to improve the mechanical properties, strength and limit the crack propagations. In this study, implementation of the steel fibers in concrete to enhance the abrasive resistance of the concrete is investigated in details. The abrasive resistance of the concrete with and without steel fibers is studied with the sandblasting technique. For this purpose, different concrete samples are made with various hooked steel fiber ratios and investigated with the sandblasting method for two different strike angles. In total, 144 ASTM verified cube samples are investigated and it is shown that those samples with the highest steel fiber ratios have the highest abrasive resistance. In addition, the experiments determine that there is a meaningful correlation between the steel fiber percentage in the mix, strike angle and curing time which could be considered for improving structural behavior of the fiber-reinforced concrete.

• Advances in Computational Design
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.113-131
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• 2023

The use of fibers has been commonly considered in engineered cementitious composites, but their behavior with coarse aggregate in concrete has not been studied significantly, which is needed to meet structural performance objectives for design, such as ductility. This research analyzes the behavior of fiber-reinforced concrete with coarse aggregate with 0.62%, 1.23%, and 2% PVA (Polyvinyl-alcohol) content, varying the maximum aggregate size. Tensile (direct and indirect) and compressive concrete tests were performed. The PVA fiber addition in coarse aggregate concrete increased the ductility in compression, especially for the fiber with a larger aspect ratio, with a minor impact on strength. In addition, the tensile tests showed that the PVA fiber increased the tensile strength of concrete with coarse aggregate and, more significantly, improved the ductility. A selected mixture was used to build short and slender reinforced concrete beams to assess the behavior of structural members. PVA fiber addition in short beams changed the failure mode from shear to flexure, increasing the deflection capacity. On the other hand, the slender beam tests revealed negligible impact with the use of PVA.

• Advances in concrete construction
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• v.6 no.5
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• pp.423-463
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• 2018

This paper investigates the behavior of normal and self-compacted steel fiber reinforced concrete (SCC-SFRC) corbels rehabilitated by Basalt Fiber Mesh (BFM) and Basalt Fiber Fabric (BFF) for the first time in literature. The research objective is to study the effectiveness of BFM and BFF in the rehabilitation of damaged reinforced concrete corbels with and without epoxy injection. The experimental program includes two types of concrete: normal concrete, and self-compacted concrete. For normal concrete, 12 corbels were rehabilitated by BFM without injection epoxy in cracks, with two values of compressive strength, three ratios of steel fiber (SF), and two values of shear span. For self-compacted concrete, 48 corbels were rehabilitated with different parameters where 12 corbels were rehabilitated by BFM with and without epoxy injection, 18 heated corbels with three different high-temperature level were rehabilitated by repairing cracks only by epoxy injection, and 18 heated corbels with three different high-temperature level were rehabilitated by repairing cracks by epoxy and wrapping by BFF. All 48 corbels have two values of compressive strength, three values volumetric ratios of SF, and two values of the shear span. Test results indicate that RC corbels rehabilitated by BFM only without injection did not show any increase in the ultimate load capacity. Moreover, For RC corbels that were repaired by epoxy without basalt wrapping, the ultimate load capacities showed an increase depending on the mode of failure of corbels before the rehabilitation. However, the rehabilitation with only crack repairing by epoxy injection is more effective on medium strength corbels as compared to high strength ones. Finally, it can be concluded that use of BFF is an effective and powerful technique for the strengthening of damaged RC corbels.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.171-178
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• 2012

This paper presents numerical studies of stiff fiber pullout behaviors of fiber reinforced cementitious composites based on a progressive damage model. The ongoing debonding process is simulated. Interfacial stress distribution for different load levels is analyzed. A parametric study, including bond strength and the homogeneity index on the pullout behaviors is carried out. The numerical results indicate that the bond stress decreases gradually from loaded end to embedded end along fiber-cement interface. The debonding initially starts from loaded end and propagates to embedded end as load increasing. The embedded length and bond strength affect the load-loaded end displacement curves significantly. The numerical results have a general agreement with the experimental investigation.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.147-164
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• 2008

Recently, many researches have been done to examine the behavior of fiber reinforced concrete (FRC) subjected to the static loading. However, a few studies have been devoted to cyclic behaviors of FRC. A main objective of this paper is to investigate the cyclic behavior of FRC through theoretical method. A new cyclic bridging model was proposed for the analysis of fiber reinforced cementitious composites under cyclic loading. In the model, non-uniform degradation of interfacial bonding under cyclic tension was considered. Fatigue test results for FRC were numerically simulated using proposed models and the proposed model is achieving better agreement than the previous model. Consequently, the model can establish a basis for analyzing cyclic behavior of fiber reinforced composites.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.69 no.3
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• pp.243-255
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• 2019

Utilization of fiber beam-column element has gained considerable attention in recent years due mainly to its ability to model distributed plasticity over the length of the element through a number of integration points. However, the relatively high sensitivity of the method to modeling parameters as well as material behavior models can pose a significant challenge. Residual drift is one of the seismic demands which is highly sensitive to modeling parameters and material behavior models. Permanent deformations play a prominent role in the post-earthquake evaluation of serviceability of bridges affected by a near-fault ground shaking. In this research, the influence of distributed plasticity modeling parameters using both force-based and displacement-based fiber elements in the prediction of internal forces obtained from the nonlinear static analysis is studied. Having chosen suitable type and size of elements and number of integration points, the authors take the next step by investigating the influence of material behavioral model employed for the prediction of permanent deformations in the nonlinear dynamic analysis. The result shows that the choice of element type and size, number of integration points, modification of cyclic concrete behavior model and reloading strain of concrete significantly influence the fidelity of fiber element method for the prediction of permanent deformations.

• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.17-26
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• 2018

This study systematically examines the changes in the compressive and tensile strength of soil cement reinforced by natural hair fiber, which is regularly produced from human. Extensive experimental tests of various test specimens have been carried out in a laboratory. Several factors are considered, including the soil type, amount of cement, amount of fiber, fiber length, loading type, and curing age. The test results indicate that both the compressive and tensile strengths are significantly affected by the fiber, either increasing or decreasing depending on the conditions. The increase in tensile strength is significant in the sand-based soil cement due to the tensile resistance of the fiber which is interlocked with the surrounding soil or cement particles. The natural fiber provides a larger strain to failure due to its extensibility, which allows greater deformation. Based on the test results, natural hair fibers can be an effective and environmentally friendly way to improve soil ground subjected to tensile loading, such as an embankment slope, road subgrade, or landfill, thus reducing the cost for cement and waste treatment. The study results provide a useful information of better understanding the mechanical behavior of natural hair fiber in soil cement and the practical use of waste materials in civil engineering. The findings can be practically applied for improving earth structures under tensile loading.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.19-28
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• 2010

This paper describes the compaction and strength behavior of black cotton soil (BC soil) reinforced with coir fibers. Coir used in this study is processed fiber from the husk of coconuts. BC soil reinforced with coir fiber shows only marginal increase in the strength of soil, inhibiting its use for ground improvement. In order to further increase the strength of the soil-coir fiber combination, optimum percentage of 4% of lime is added. The effect of aspect ratio, percentage fiber on the behavior of the composite soil specimen with curing is isolated and studied. It is found that strength properties of optimum combination of BC soil-lime specimens reinforced with coir fibers is appreciably better than untreated BC soil or BC soil alone with coir fiber. Lime treatment in BC soil improves strength but it imparts brittleness in soil specimen. BC soil treated with 4% lime and reinforced with coir fiber shows ductility behavior before and after failure. An optimum fiber content of 1% (by weight) with aspect ratio of 20 for fiber was recommended for strengthening BC soil.