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An experimental investigation was conducted on the shear behavior of deep beams made with steel fiber reinforced high performance concrete (HPC). Twenty-six beam specimens with various shear span-effective depth ratios, steel fiber contents, amounts of vertical and horizontal web reinforcements were tested under static loads. In addition to the strength test, extensive instrumentations were designed for the measurements of average strains of reinforced concrete in the shear span and strains of web reinforcements. The web-shear cracking initiated as the first inclined shear crack. About 30% increase in the inclined shear strength and 25% increase in the ultimate shear strength can be achieved with addition of 1 .O% steel fiber for specimens having a/d= 1 .5. The strain of vertical web reinforcements became negative and the horizontal web reinforcements were stretched to yield state for specimens having a/d ratios approach 0.5. The measured load-deformation relationships of reinforced concrete and strains of web reinforcements were compared with the prediction of the softened truss model of steel fiber reinforced concrete proposed by other investigators. Good correlation was found from the comparisons.

SP-149 The theme of this second ACI International Conference was high-performance concrete. The conference proceedings title "High-Performance Concrete" contains 45 papers presented at this program. Whether you are currently involved with or are considering the use of high-performance concrete, this special symposium document is a must for you. Use the valuable information found in the above titles as well as the other listed in this special document.

A full factorial experimental design was used to investigate the effects of the following variables on cylinder strength: end preparation (sulfur capping versus grinding), cylinder size (100 versus 150 mm diameter), type of testing machine (1.33-MN capacity versus 4.45-MN capacity), and nominal stress rate (0.14 versus 0.34 MPa/sec). Two levels of strength were used (45 and 90 Mpa), and three replicates were tested for each run. Specific gravities were measured to check on the consistency of cylinder fabrication. Statistical analyses indicated that all the factors had significant effects on the measured compressive strength. On average, the 100-mm cylinders resulted in about 1.3 percent greater strength, the faster stress rate produced about 2.6 percent greater strength, the ground cylinders were 2.1 percent stronger, and the 1.33-MN testing machine resulted in about 2.3 percent greater strength. There were significant interactions among the factors, so that the effects were greater than the average values for particular factor settings. For example, the effect of end preparation depended on the strength level. For the 45-Mpa concrete, there was no strength difference due to the method of end preparation, but for the 90-MPa concrete, grinding resulted in as much as 6 percent greater strength in certain cases. Analysis of dispersion indicated that the 100-mm cylinders had higher within-test variability, but the differences were not statistically significant. Recommendations for modifications to testing standards are provided.

Bond reinforcing bars and concrete under impact loading were studied for both plain and steel fiber reinforced concretes. Experiments consisted of both pullout tests and push-in tests. The design compressive strengths of the concrete were 40 MPa (normal strength) and 75 MPa (high strength) at 28 days. The impact loading induced bond stress rates ranging from 0.5 x 10 -4 to 0.5 x 10 -2 MPa/sec. The bond under stress rates ranging from 0.5 x 10 -8 to 0.5 x 10 -4 MPa/sec was also studied for comparison. Each reinforcing bar was instrumented with five pairs of strain gages to monitor the actual strains during the bond-slip process. All test data were collected by a high-speed data acquisition system at a sampling rate of 200 sec. Stress distributions in both the steel and concrete, bond stresses and slips, bond stress-slip relationships, fracture energy in bond failure, and internal crack development were investigated. It was found that compressive strengths increased the bond-resistance capacity and fracture energy in bond failure, and therefore had a great influence on bond stress-versus-slip relationship. This effect was increased by high loading rates and steel fiber additions, especially for the push-in loading mode.

The interaction between aggregates and mortar matrix is an important factor for improving the strength and toughness of high-strength concrete. Experimental investigations were carried out on the influence of aggregate properties on fracture energy G F of high-strength concrete. The influence of mortar matrix strength and volume fraction of coarse aggregate on fracture energy has been tested by three-point bending in Mode I loading. The interaction between aggregates and mortar matrix was estimated by the energy balance concept on the fracture energy of aggregate inclusion G Fi and that of mortar matrix G Fm. According to the test results, G F is strongly influenced by strength properties and volume fraction of aggregates. It was clear that the improvement of toughness of high-strength concrete is obtained by using high-strength aggregate and by designing a large volume fraction of coarse aggregate.