Investigating Shear Strength in Two-Span Continuous Fiber-Reinforced Concrete Beams: An Experimental Study.
Volume Title: ICASGE2025
Paper ID : 1091-ICASGE-FULL (R1)
Authors
Reinforced Concrete Structures (RCS)
Abstract
This paper presents an experimental study on the shear performance of continuous reinforced concrete beams, focusing on the influence of steel fibers and stirrups. The primary objectives were to determine if steel fibers can fully replace conventional transverse reinforcement (stirrups) and to evaluate the effects of integrating steel fibers with stirrups. The experimental program comprised nine reinforced concrete beams divided into four groups, examining various parameters affecting shear behavior and strength, including fiber volume content, shear span-to-depth ratio (a/d), and stirrups. Beam span, size, and longitudinal reinforcement percentage were kept constant. Measurements of steel strain, deflection, failure modes, and crack propagation were documented for all beams.The results indicated that all test specimens failed in shear near the interior support after significant moment redistribution from hogging to sagging moment regions. Shear cracking and ultimate shear stress increased with higher fiber volume content. The incorporation of steel fibers into beams with stirrups progressively enhanced deflection behavior, ductility, and beam stiffness. The influence of the shear span-to-depth ratio (a/d) on shear capacity showed that the concrete contribution (vc) decreased with an increase in a/d, while the stirrups contribution (vs) increased. Additionally, the initial cracking shear resistance (vcr) did not accurately reflect concrete shear strength, displaying uneven variation with a/d
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