Title: Correlating Flexural and Shear Toughness of Lightweight Fiber-Reinforced Concrete

Author(s): Hiroshi Higashiyama and Nemkumar Banthia

Publication: Materials Journal

Volume: 105

Issue: 3

Appears on pages(s): 251-257

Keywords: fiber-reinforced concrete; lightweight concrete; shear; toughness

DOI: 10.14359/19821

Date: 5/1/2008

Abstract:
The purpose of this study was to assess the correlation between flexural toughness and shear toughness of normalweight and lightweight fiber-reinforced concretes (FRC). A crimped steel fiber with a crescent geometry was used throughout. For flexure, third-point loading tests were preformed as per ASTM C1609. For shear, direct shear tests were performed using a modified version of the JSCE-G 553-1999 procedure. The flexural load-deflection curves were analyzed using the post-crack strengths (PCSm) method and the JSCE-G 552-1999 procedure. The shear load-deflection curves were analyzed using similar approaches. Results indicate that for a given fiber type and volume fraction, normalweight FRC depicts superior flexural and shear toughness characteristics than its lightweight counterpart. Also, for a given FRC, there appears to be a good correlation between its flexural toughness and shear toughness.