Title: Application and Modeling of Steel Fiber-Reinforced Concrete for Buried Structures

Author(s): D. M. Brodowski, M. G. Katona, and J. A. Pope

Publication: Symposium Paper

Volume: 268

Issue:

Appears on pages(s): 1-16

Keywords: arch; bridge; buried structure; culvert; fiber-reinforced concrete (FRC); precast concrete; steel fiber; tensile behavior.

DOI: 10.14359/51663704

Date: 3/1/2010

Abstract:
The current research shows that the addition of steel fibers to plain concrete is effective in enhancing the tensile ductility and loading capacity of buried concrete structures such as bridges, culverts, and vaults. This paper details the development of a steel fiber reinforced concrete (SFRC) analytical model used in the finite element program, CANDE, and describes the experimental and analytical approach used to test the accuracy of the model. The results of full-scale, in-place load tests on many precast buried SFRC arch structures (composed of less than or equal to 1% steel fibers by volume) correlated well with the CANDE model predictions. The CANDE program exhibits the ability to model the material behavior of SFRC as well as the effects of soil-structure interaction. The analytical and experimental research summarized in this paper leads to the ability to design SFRC for structural applications such as buried bridges, culverts, and vaults.