Title:
Toughness Performance of Lightweight Aggregate Concrete Reinforced with Steel Fibers
Author(s):
Hak-Young Kim, Keun-Hyeok Yang, and Hye-Jin Lee
Publication:
Materials Journal
Volume:
120
Issue:
5
Appears on pages(s):
3-14
Keywords:
ASTM C1018; fiber reinforcing index; lightweight aggregate concrete (LWAC); steel fibers; toughness
DOI:
10.14359/51737185
Date:
9/1/2023
Abstract:
The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of steel fiber content and type on the compressive and flexural ductility capacities of lightweight aggregate concrete (LWAC). Fiber-reinforced LWAC specimens were divided into four groups according to the type of fibers, such as conventional macrosteel fibers (SFs) with hooked ends, straight copper-coated microsteel fibers (CMSFs), crimping-shaped CMSFs, and hooked-end CMSFs. The fibervolume fractions (Vf) were 0.5, 1.0, and 1.5%. This study also modifies the ASTM C1018 method by using the initial crack point calculated from the elastic theorem to save a tedious and elaborated effort in determining the reference point at the load-deflection curve, particularly for beams with a strong hardening response. The test results revealed that the hooked-end CMSFs were better
than SFs and crimping-shaped CMSFs with the same shape and
length at decreasing the slope of the applied loads at descending branches of the compressive stress-strain and flexural load deflection curves for the LWAC. Compressive and flexural toughness indexes were derived as functions of the fiber reinforcing index based on the regression analysis of test data to assess the ductility improvement of LWAC with steel fibers.