Title:
Reinforced Concrete Beams With a SIFCON Matrix
Author(s):
Antoine E. Naaman, Hans W. Reinhardt and Christoph Fritz
Publication:
Structural Journal
Volume:
89
Issue:
1
Appears on pages(s):
79-88
Keywords:
beams (supports); ductility; fiber reinforced concrete; matrix methods; reinforced concrete; slurries; structural design; Design
DOI:
10.14359/1298
Date:
1/1/1993
Abstract:
The results of an experimental investigation of the behavior of nine reinforced concrete beams containing a SIFCON matrix are presented. SIFCON (slurry-infiltrated fiber concrete) is characterized by a high fiber content and a very high ductility. The overall response of the beams loaded up to failure, their mode of failure, the onset of cracking, and crack development with increased load, ductility, and energy absorption are described. The effects of several variables are investigated. They include the reinforcement ratio, two different SIFCON matrixes, the presence or absence of stirrups, rectangular and T-section behavior, compression reinforcement, and the use of SIFCON only in the compression zone of a beam. The presence of SIFCON in overreinforced concrete beams leads to ductility indexes exceeding three times those obtained without SIFCON and energy-absorption capacities exceeding four and one-half times those obtained without it. Crack widths and spacing are more than an order of magnitude smaller than in conventional reinforced concrete, and the use of SIFCON may eliminate the need for stirrups in flexural members.