Title:
Towards Elaboration of Design Criteria at Serviceability for Fiber Reinforced Concrete Structures
Author(s):
C. Desmettre and J. Charron
Publication:
Symposium Paper
Volume:
280
Issue:
Appears on pages(s):
1-12
Keywords:
Fiber reinforced concrete, Water permeability, Tensile behavior, Crack width, Reinforcement, Admissible stress.
DOI:
10.14359/51683580
Date:
12/27/2011
Abstract:
Reinforced concrete structures exhibit frequent deterioration problems that are related to the penetration of water, air and deleterious agents into the concrete. Cracking initiated by internal and external loads applied to the structures favors a deepen penetration of gaz and fluids and accelerates deterioration processes. The impact of cracking and load application on concrete durability can be evaluated with water permeability measurement. In this project, a novel device was used to evaluate water permeability of reinforced concrete specimens made in normal strength concrete (NSC) and fiber reinforced concrete (FRC). The permeability was measured during the application of a tensile load on the specimens. Complementary tensile tests permitted to characterize the crack pattern and the crack openings in the specimens under loads. Experimental results were combined to collectively analyze measurements of permeability, crack opening and stress in reinforcement were combined to establish correlations. The permeability of the FRC was approximately 3 times smaller than the one of the NSC at an equivalent loading level in the reinforcement of the specimens. Moreover, for the same permeability, admissible stresses in the reinforcement can be at least 75 MPa higher when it is embedded in FRC rather than in NSC. It means that for an equivalent durability, an engineer can design structural members with the studied FRC with less reinforcement or to withstand higher loads at serviceability.