Materials and Structures (2019) 52:1

https://doi.org/10.1617/s11527-018-1302-0 (0123456789().,-volV)
(0123456789().,-volV)

50 YEARS OF MATERIALS AND STRUCTURES

Biaxial bending of SFRC slabs: Is conventional

reinforcement necessary?
Marco di Prisco . Matteo Colombo . Ali Pourzarabi

Received: 18 November 2018 / Accepted: 11 December 2018 / Published online: 22 December 2018
 The Author(s) 2018, corrected publication 2019

Abstract Fibre reinforced concrete shows enhanced rebars, shows the higher efficiency of steel fibres in
performance in statistically redundant bi-dimensional terms of load carrying capacity, but with a lower
structural elements that undergo biaxial bending. ductility. The combination of steel fibres and rebars
However, the lack of reinforcing rebars in fibre allows for a better exploitation of the capacity of both
reinforced structural elements may affect the struc- reinforcement solutions. Finally, the reliability of the
tural ductility which may further affect the overall approach implemented for the ultimate load prediction
load bearing capacity of these structures. To investi- is shown and the need of rebars in providing ductility
gate the influence of fibres in such elements, six in fibre reinforced concrete members is underlined.
concrete plates of 2000 9 2000 9 150 mm rein-
forced with steel fibres and/or reinforcing rebars are Keywords Biaxial bending  Reinforcement
tested under a central concentrated load. Two of the efficiency  Fibre reinforced concrete  Slabs 
elements are reinforced with only 35 kg/m3 of steel Serviceability and ultimate behaviour  Ductility
fibres, two are reinforced with 2-way conventional
reinforcing rebars (35 kg/m3, in each direction) and
two are reinforced with both steel fibres and rebars.
The specimens are simply supported at the middle of 1 Introduction
each side by means of a bilateral restraint; the
deflection response and cracking behaviour of all the The addition of steel fibres in concrete to prevent the
specimens are recorded and compared. Moreover, the brittle tensile behaviour shown by plain concrete has
methodology introduced in the fib Model Code 2010 been studied for over half a century after the obser-
for design of steel fibre reinforced concrete is imple- vation of the crack arrest mechanism by Romualdi and
mented to predict the ultimate load bearing capacity of Batson [1]. As early as 1971, Shah and Rangan [2]
these elements and its reliability is determined in pointed out the effect of fibres in tensile, flexural, and
comparison with the experimental values. The com- compressive behaviour of steel fibre reinforced con-
parison of the behaviour of the specimens reinforced crete (SFRC) and also briefly studied some related
only with steel fibres, with those reinforced with steel aspects like fibre volume, geometry, and orientation
on tensile behaviour of concrete. Ever since, different
properties and influencing factors of this material have
M. di Prisco (&)  M. Colombo  A. Pourzarabi
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering,
been extensively studied [3–6].
Politecnico di Milano, Milan, Italy
e-mail: [email protected]
1 Page 2 of 15 Materials and Structures (2019) 52:1

Steel fibres are commonly adopted as a substitution Døssland [20] carried out three-point bending test
for diffused reinforcement in concrete structures. under a concentrated load on R/FRC slabs of
Fibre addition to reinforced concrete members is an 3600 9 1200 mm. The R/FRC slabs containing
effective solution for cracking control leading to more 0.7% of fibres and a reinforcement ratio as low as
durable structures [7]. While in a conventionally qs = 0.07% showed less deflection compared to the
reinforced concrete member tensile stresses are trans- control specimen without fibres and having a qs-
ferred to concrete between the cracks by stretched = 0.33%. However, at a deflection of 20 mm a
rebars through the steel–concrete bond, in fibre softening behaviour was observed for the R/FRC
reinforced concrete (FRC), due to the presence of slabs.
fibres, concrete is able to carry tensile stresses also Despite the advantages of application of steel fibres
along the cracks. This stiffening effect brought by in reinforced concrete tension ties and statically
fibres is responsible for closer crack spacing and determined structural elements under uniaxial bend-
narrower crack widths in a structural system contain- ing, the highest advantages of this material would be in
ing both reinforcing bars and fibres (R/FRC) [8–12]. statically redundant structures in which stress redis-
There are several studies in the literature concern- tribution may occur [21]. The greater number of yield
ing the simultaneous application of reinforcing bars lines needed for the formation of a failure mechanism,
and fibres in simply supported beams and slabs under a the higher would be the contribution of the fibres in the
three-point or four-point bending test. Meda et al. [13] load carrying capacity of the structure [22]. Facconi
tested concrete beams of 2000 mm long in a four-point et al. [23] investigated a thin slab of
bending setup. The incorporation of 30 kg/m3 and 4200 9 2500 9 80 mm which was once reinforced
60 kg/m3 of steel fibres reduced deflections for with 91 kg/m3 of rebars and once with an optimized
respectively 7% and 25% in the SLS range of combination of 43 kg/m3 of rebars and 25 kg/m3 of
behaviour. Comparable results are reported by Oh steel fibres (in total 68 kg/m3). There was an opening
[14] and Alsayed [15]. Vandewalle [16] studied the in the slab and it was continuously supported on all
effect of fibre volume and aspect ratio on crack sides. While the R/C slab suffered from a sudden
spacing in R/FRC beams and proposed a relationship decay of stiffness after cracking, the R/FRC slab
to take into account the reduced crack spacing in these maintained its stiffness up to a much higher load and at
elements. The same testing method was adopted by collapse, smaller crack widths and higher maximum
Tan et al. [17] to examine short term and long term load were achieved for this specimen. Fall et al. [24]
flexural cracking behaviour of R/FRC beams. A tested octagonal slabs with the reinforcement ratio
dosage of up to 2% of steel fibres with an interval of being different in the two directions to create a weaker
0.5% volume was investigated in the beams. While side in the slabs. The addition of 35 kg/m3 of steel
primary cracks appeared at the location of stirrups, fibres reduced the deflection of the slabs under loading
maximum crack width reduced with fibre dosage at all and the presence of fibres led to a more uniform load
loading stages for an instantaneous deflection and also transfer at the position of the supports through a
for long term flexural creep testing. Mertol et al. [18] smearing effect.
tested lightly and heavily reinforced concrete beams The importance of structural indeterminacy in fibre
with and without fibres and pointed out the effect of reinforced structures is reflected in the fib Model Code
fibres in reducing ductility in very low reinforcement 2010 (MC 2010) [25] where the use of fibres as sole
ratios. In a work by Pujadas et al. [19] concrete slabs of reinforcement is permitted only if a certain level of
3000 9 1000 9 200 mm were tested in a four-point ductility is provided to structural elements. In this
bending configuration with addition of 0.25% and regard two-way slabs are of particular interest as they
0.5% by volume of steel and polypropylene fibres. may allow a significant stress redistribution when
Steel fibres were effective in both dosages in control- properly reinforced. This may explain why steel fibres
ling crack widths, specifically in the serviceability have been extensively adopted in construction of flat
range. Although the overall response in terms of load– slabs, slabs on pile, and slab on ground. Higher
deflection behaviour was comparable for all speci- flexural strength and much higher ductility has been
mens, smaller deflections and higher load bearing reported for FRC slabs on grade as compared to
capacities were obtained for specimens with fibres. similar concrete slabs made of plain concrete [26–28].
Materials and Structures (2019) 52:1 Page 3 of 15 1

Slabs on pile and elevated slabs have been success- 2 Experimental programme
fully built and tested with only steel fibres with a
dosage in the range of 45 kg/m3 and 100 kg/m3 The experimental programme reported herein is part
[29, 30] for industrial, commercial, and residential of a more extensive experimental campaign activated
buildings, with the presence of continuous steel rebars during the construction of the first industrial building
for connecting columns. To check the structural in Italy, characterized by three different SFRC slab
behaviour of SFRC slabs without any longitudinal types: a foundation slab on piles (1436 m2), two
reinforcement, an elevated flat slab with 9 bays built elevated solid slabs in R/FRC (540 m2) and a partially
on 16 circular columns with a 6 m span for each panel prefabricated R/FRC slab supported on prestressed
and a thickness of 200 mm, reinforced only with FRC beams (1171 m2) [33]. Together with the six
70 kg/m3 of steel fibres (60 mm long and with a 2000 9 2000 9 150 mm concrete slabs reinforced
diameter of 1 mm) was tested in Limelette (Belgium) with steel fibres and/or steel reinforcing bars tested
both in SLS and ULS conditions [31, 32]. A fully under a central point load, six cubes and fourteen
plastic behaviour was observed at the maximum load standard notched specimens were tested respectively
which occurred at a load higher than the prediction. in uniaxial compression and in a three-point bending
However, the results raised some doubts about the setup (according to EN 14651 [34]) for material
overall ductility of the structure. characterization. The test setup and a general
Despite all efforts devoted to better understand the scheme of the slab specimen is shown in Fig. 1.
structural behaviour of SFRC members, there is still a
lack of experimental evidence on the behaviour of this 2.1 Materials and specimen preparation
material in statically redundant structural configura-
tions. Therefore, an experimental programme is 2.1.1 Materials
designed to investigate structural benefits and limita-
tions of SFRC. In this paper, six concrete slabs The concrete used in the present investigation is self-
supported at the middle of each side are tested under a compacting with a mean compressive strength of
biaxial bending condition. Two of the specimens are 58 MPa determined on six cubes with a side of
only reinforced with 35 kg/m3 of steel fibres, two are 150 mm. Its composition consists of 380 kg/m3 of
reinforced with 35 kg/m3 of reinforcing bars in each CEM IV 42.5R and 100 kg/m3 of calcium carbonate
direction, and two are reinforced with the combination filler. The water/binder ratio is 0.36 and 1.2% by
of both the two reinforcing solutions. Specifically, this weight of cement of superplasticizer is added. The
work is aimed at investigating: mixture contains 0/4 sand, 0/8 sand and 8/14 gravel in
dosages of 450 kg/m3, 850 kg/m3, and 425 kg/m3
• the effectiveness of steel fibres versus reinforcing
respectively. The same mixture was used to produce
bars in terms of load bearing capacity;
both the plain concrete and the SFRC: in the latter
• the ductility of SFRC slabs, particularly with
35 kg/m3 of double hooked-end steel fibres were
reference to that required to activate the resistant
added. The steel fibres used were 60 mm long with a
mechanisms usually considered for R/C bi-dimen-
diameter of 0.9 mm. According to the manufacturer,
sional elements according to limit analysis;
the tensile strength is 1500 MPa and the Young’s
• to what extent the limited ductility of SFRC
modulus is 210 GPa.
material may affect the overall structural response
The properties of the steel rebars were assessed
of a R/FRC element in biaxial bending.
testing four specimens. The average yield and ulti-
To achieve these aims, measurements were carried mate strengths of the reinforcing steel were found to be
out on the deflection and cracking behaviour of the 527 MPa and 647 MPa, respectively. The average
slabs and comparisons were made based on test ultimate strain obtained from the four specimens was
results. Furthermore, a yield line approach was 18.75%. Figure 2 shows the nominal stress–strain
adopted to estimate the ultimate bearing capacity curves obtained for the specimens.
and the results are compared with the experimental
maximum loads.
1 Page 4 of 15 Materials and Structures (2019) 52:1

Fig. 1 a Sketch of the experimental setup; b an image of a loaded slab

2.1.2 Specimen preparation all specimens were covered with wet burlaps and kept
moist for a couple of days. Then, they were kept in
As stated in the introduction, two slabs were rein- atmospheric condition until the day of testing. The
forced only with steel fibres (SFRC1, SFRC2), two 600 9 150 9 150 mm prismatic beams were cast
were cast with plain concrete and reinforced with together with the slabs and were notched at the mid-
35 kg/m3 of rebars in each direction (12U 12 mm span to a depth of 25 mm. The six cubes were
rebars equally spaced in both directions) (R/C1, cured 35 days in the conditioning room in the lab at
R/C2), and in the last two ones steel fibres and rebars 20 C and RH 90% and then tested.
were combined (R/FRC1, R/FRC2). In the specimens
the rebars were placed at the bottom with a minimum 2.2 Bending test on notched beams
cover of 30 mm from each side. During casting, the
concrete was pumped from a truck mixer to the centre The tests were carried out according to
of the formworks to allow a radial flow of the fresh EN14651 [34] controlling the Crack Mouth Opening
concrete and no vibration was carried out. It has been Displacement (CMOD) that was measured by a clip
shown that fibres tend to align perpendicularly to the gauge introduced between two aluminium supports
flow direction in concrete slabs [35–38] which glued at the tip of the notch. According to the MC
increases the fibre effectiveness [39]. After casting, 2010, characterization of the post-peak residual
strength of FRC in a three-point bending test is
achieved by considering the residual flexural tensile
strength, fR,i i = 1:4, at CMODi = 0.5, 1.5, 2.5, and
3.5 mm. From the fourteen specimens, 5 were tested at
34 days of age, 5 were tested with the first SFRC slab
test at 167 days, and 4 specimens were tested at the
end of the complete experimental campaign at
220 days.

2.3 Slab tests

2.3.1 Loading and support conditions

The load was applied in the centre of the specimens by

means of an electro-mechanical jack with a maximum
Fig. 2 Uniaxial tension test on rebars
Materials and Structures (2019) 52:1 Page 5 of 15 1

capacity of 1000 kN by adopting a displacement

control procedure. A constant displacement rate equal
to 20 lm/s was imposed to the steel loading head
characterized by a cross section of 200 9 200 mm. A
neoprene sheet of 220 9 220 9 30 mm was placed
under the loading point. The slabs were supported at
the middle of each side. The supports consist of two
UNP 200 profiles that were placed 50 mm apart and
were welded on a top and bottom steel plate with
dimensions of 200 9 200 9 30 mm. A 5 mm thick
neoprene sheet was placed between the specimen and
the support. There was a hole on the support top plate
to facilitate the insertion of a M16 bolt that was
screwed in a threaded fixing anchor device embedded
in the specimens to create a bilateral support. The
length of the anchorage device was 100 mm, with a
threaded length of 62 mm, while the threaded length
of the bolt was 50 mm. Figure 3 shows the details of
the support and the reinforcement detailing. Fig. 4 Code and position of the ten instruments measuring
crack opening: four at the top (black) and six at the bottom
(grey)
2.3.2 Instrumentation
slab or ‘‘b’’ if placed at the bottom of the slab, and then
A total of 11 displacement transducers were used for followed by a letter ‘‘L’’ for the two instruments with a
each test: 1 for the slab deflection, measuring the longer gauge length. The last subscript shows the
vertical displacement from the bottom at the centre of position of the instrument in the plane of the specimen
the slab and 10 to detect crack openings. The location with N standing for North, and W, S, and E standing
of the 10 gauges aimed at measuring crack openings is for the other cardinal points. The nominal gauge
indicated in Fig. 4. For coding the instruments, COD length of each instrument is also given in Fig. 4. The
(crack opening displacement) is followed first, by a instruments on top face of the slab were placed over
subscript ‘‘t’’ if the instrument is placed on top of the the supports to capture possible negative cracking, and

Fig. 3 Details of the support: a dimensions of the steel support; b details of the anchorage and reinforcement spacing; c drawing of the
anchorage device
1 Page 6 of 15 Materials and Structures (2019) 52:1

at the bottom of the slab four transducers were placed Table 1 Statistical parameters of the strength values obtained
at 150 mm from the centre in a square configuration from the three-point bending test divided into two categories
based on the testing age, in (MPa)
and those with a longer gauge length were placed at
500 mm from the centre. To measure the vertical Group of specimens fct_fl fR,1 fR,2 fR,3 fR,4
deflection and the crack openings by instruments
34 (5 specimens)
CODbL-S and CODbL-E, potentiometer transducers
Mean 5.7 5.64 6.49 4.92 3.48
were used, and the rest of the measurements were
Stda 0.21 0.92 1.27 0.87 0.65
carried out by Linear Variable Deformation Trans- b
CV 0.04 0.16 0.2 0.18 0.19
ducers (LVDT).
Charac-Normalc 5.21 3.48 3.54 2.88 1.96
Charac-LogNd 5.22 3.82 3.99 3.1 2.24
167 ? 220 (9 specimens)
3 Experimental results
Mean 6.32 7.36 8.73 5.2 3.39

3.1 Bending tests on notched beams Std 0.53 1.05 1.22 0.96 0.88
CV 0.08 0.14 0.14 0.18 0.26
The nominal stress-CMOD curves for all fourteen Charac-Normal 5.28 5.3 6.34 3.32 1.67
specimens tested at different ages are shown in Fig. 5 Charac-LogN 5.34 5.39 6.48 3.5 1.97
and the statistical parameters obtained for flexural a
Standard deviation
tensile strength, fct,fl, and post-peak residual strength b
Coefficient of variation
values, fR,1, fR,2, fR,3, and fR,4 are reported in Table 1. c
Characteristic value considering a normal distribution
The results are treated separately for specimens tested c
Characteristic value considering a log-normal distribution
at 34 days and those tested at an older age. It is evident
that there is a shift in material properties going from 34
to 167 and 220 days. While classifying the SFRC (mainly related to SLS) experience a 30% increase of
according to provisions of MC 2010 at 34 days leads the average value. In case of larger CMOD values, less
to a ‘‘3c’’ material, taking into account the specimens significant effects are observed: a 6% increase of fR,3
tested at 167 and 220 days, a ‘‘5b’’ material is average value and a slight decrease of 2.3% for fR,4.
obtained. The use of a CEM IV cement may be a Clearly, for the specimens tested in this study, age of
reason for the considerable strength increase with the the specimens has the most significant effect on
curing time [40]. It is interesting to observe that even if strength values in the range of CMOD that corre-
the first cracking strength (fct,fl) increases for only sponds to the SLS. Comparable observations were
11%, the residual strength values of fR,1 and fR,2 reported by Buttignol et al. [41], where SFRC
specimens of 1 year and 10 years of age were tested
in a four-point bending test. The results reported by the
authors showed that there was a considerable increase
in the peak and post-peak residual stresses up to a
CMOD of 1 mm, while in the softening branch only a
marginal strength increase was observed. In the
present work, the coefficient of variation (CV) for
fR,1 and fR,2 reduced with age while, for other strength
values reported, the CV increased or did not change
over time. Nevertheless, the CV falls approximately in
the range of 15% to 20% for all the residual strength
parameters and for both the groups.
In the MC 2010 two limitation are proposed for
SFRC to be considered as a structural material, which
are fR1,k/fctk,fl [ 0.4, and fR3,k/fR1,k [ 0.5 to limit the
brittleness in uniaxial tension behaviour guaranteeing
Fig. 5 Stress-CMOD results obtained from the bending tests
Materials and Structures (2019) 52:1 Page 7 of 15 1

a minimum toughness in bending. Considering the reported in [19] where a four-point bending test was
results obtained here, over time the ratio of fR,1k/fctk,fl chosen to compare the behaviour of R/C and R/FRC
increased from 0.72 to 1 and the ratio fR,3k/fR,1k slabs. Unlike the results presented here, the deflection
reduced from 0.81 to 0.65. The latter indicates that of the R/FRC slabs, tested by Pujadas et al. was only
over time, the same material tends to exhibit a less slightly smaller than the R/C ones in the SLS range.
ductile behaviour in the post-peak range. This may be a clear indication of the superior
efficiency of the application of fibres in redundant
3.2 Slab test results structural schemes, where higher stress redistribution
coupled with multiple cracking may occur.
3.2.1 Load–deflection behaviour The structural response of the SFRC specimens is
characterized virtually by a bilinear behaviour. A first
The results obtained from the load–deflection beha- branch that goes up to around 190 kN for both of the
viour of the slabs are shown in Fig. 6. Due to problems specimens, and then a hardening behaviour controlled
with recording the deflection data of RC1 specimen, by the pull-out mechanism of the fibres. A 5% and
the results of this test are not reported in this figure. 10% increase in the load level is observed for the
A quick glance at the deflection curve of the SFRC1 and SFRC2 slabs during the hardening
specimens reveals the substantial effect of steel fibres behaviour, before softening phase associated to crack
on the overall structural response of the elements. A localization occurs. The maximum load attained by
major contribution of fibres is evident at approxi- the SFRC specimens is 232 kN and 243 kN at a
mately 120 kN, where R/C slabs undergo a sudden deflection of 10.6 mm and 15.5 mm respectively for
loss of stiffness. The stiffening effect brought by the the SFRC1 and SFRC2 elements. Afterwards, a
steel fibres in the R/FRC slabs, leads to a stark softening branch is observed and at a deflection of
difference between the deflection behaviour of the R/C 13.5 mm for SFRC1 and 17.4 mm for SFRC2 the tests
and R/FRC slabs. After 200 kN, the deflection of the were stopped.
R/FRC slabs is less than half of the deflection of the Steel fibres also largely affect the ultimate load
R/C specimens. Even the slabs that are reinforced only bearing capacity of slab elements for elevated deflec-
with steel fibres show less deflection in this range of tions if combined with conventional reinforcement. At
loading in comparison to the R/C slabs. It is worth a deflection of 35 mm the R/C specimens carry an
noticing the very different deflection response of the average load of 365 kN, while the R/FRC companions
R/C and R/FRC slabs reported in this study, and those sustain an average load of 494 kN which is 35%
higher. The presence of fibres in the R/FRC specimens
is responsible for an almost 130 kN of load difference
between the R/C and R/FRC slabs.

3.2.2 Crack patterns

The final crack patterns for SFRC2, RC2, and R/FRC2

slabs are shown in Fig. 7. The cracks which appeared
on the top of the slab elements are drawn with black
lines, while the bottom cracks are marked with grey
lines. The crack patterns show that there is a consid-
erable difference in the extent of cracking between the
SFRC slabs and those reinforced with rebars. Further-
more, the evolution of a circular crack on the top face
of the R/C and R/FRC specimens is visible, which is a
common mechanism for slab members under concen-
Fig. 6 Load-deflection results for the slabs tested and the
trated loading [42] if a boundary restraint is intro-
ultimate load bearing capacity prediction obtained from yield
line analysis based on average and characteristic material duced. SFRC slabs are not capable of reaching the
properties level of ductility required to activate the kinematic
1 Page 8 of 15 Materials and Structures (2019) 52:1

Fig. 7 Final crack patterns for a SFRC2, b RC2, and c R/FRC2 slabs. Bottom cracks are shown in grey and top cracks in black

mechanism of failure that comprises the cracking of the cracking behaviour of each slab in the two
the top surface of the slabs. directions, Fig. 9b exhibits the load-CODbL measure-
ments carried out for specimens SFRC2, RC2, and
3.2.3 Bottom cracking R/FRC2 separately for both CODbL-S and CODbL-E.
Inspecting the bottom cracking behaviour of the
The results obtained from the instruments installed at slabs and zooming into the curves obtained, it can be
the bottom of the specimens to capture the cracking noticed that the load-COD curves for RC1 and RC2
behaviour, are shown in Figs. 8 and 9. Figure 8 specimens diverge from those of the SFRC and R/FRC
illustrates the load-CODb measurements and Fig. 9 series at an earlier stage, as compared to the deflection
concerns the CODbL measurements. Due to technical response. The overall structural response of the slabs is
problems the load-CODbL curve for the RC1 specimen less sensitive to the very local propagation of cracks.
starts at a load of around 150 kN, which is marked by a However, similar to the deflection behaviour, in the
circle on the figure. The COD values reported in proximity of 120 kN, both CODb and CODbL mea-
Figs. 8 and 9a are the average values of the corre- surements show a noticeable increase in the crack
sponding instruments. However, in order to examine opening values. Looking at CODbL-S and CODbL-E
measurements separately for SFRC2, RC2 and
R/FRC2 slabs shown in Fig. 9b, it is observed that in
each specimen the COD recorded by one of the
instruments grows faster compared to the other one. In
the results displayed for the three specimens, the crack
opening measured by CODbL-E registers larger crack
openings compared to CODbL-S.
After 120 kN, in the SLS range, the effect of steel
fibres in controlling the crack opening is easily
recognized even without rebars. In the SFRC speci-
mens the presence of steel fibres alone, leads to COD
values that are half to one-third of the COD values
measured in the R/C slabs and this observation holds
until the point that the SFRC specimens go through an
almost plastic deformation. The same comparison
holds between the R/FRC and R/C elements.
Fig. 8 The average Load-CODb results measured by CODb-N,
CODb-W, CODb-S, and CODb-E instruments
Materials and Structures (2019) 52:1 Page 9 of 15 1

Fig. 9 SFRC2, RC2, and R/FRC2 specimens: a average Load-CODbL results measured by CODbL-N, CODbL-W, CODbL-S, and CODbL-
E instrument; b individual Load-CODbL results measured by CODbL-S and CODbL-E instruments

For the SFRC slabs, although the two specimens are other studies mention a crack width approximately
nominally identical, the COD values registered on between 0.05 and 0.1 mm as the threshold [6, 44, 45].
CODb and CODbL measurements at the onset of the At 0.05 mm of CODb, the load carried by the SFRC
softening phase are different while comparable peak and R/FRC slabs are 35% and 25% more than the load
loads are obtained for these specimens. It is indeed carried by the R/C slabs, and at 0.1 mm the difference
pointed out that Figs. 8 and 9a are based on the is increased to almost 40% and 30%. The CODs
average values of the measured CODs and they do not reported are measured along the length of the instru-
represent the measurement of a single instrument. ment gauge and indicate the cumulative COD along
Considering the recordings of each single CODb the gauge. Therefore, there are chances that for the
measurement, it could be seen that for SFRC1 at R/C and R/FRC slabs higher number of cracks with a
maximum load, the reading of the four instruments narrower width would be recorded when compared to
vary between 1.45 and 2.55 mm and, soon after the the SFRC slabs. Furthermore, the increased tortuosity
softening behaviour, the instruments that pass over the of the crack surfaces in FRC mixtures may play a role
localized crack start to register larger values, while in further reduction of cracked concrete permeability
other instruments register small variation in the COD. [46].
At the end of the test the CODb measurements fall in
the range of 1.66–4.22 mm for the SFRC1 slab. 3.2.4 Top cracking
Comparable results are obtained for the SFRC2 slab.
This is better shown in the Fig. 9b where for the The results related to the cracking at the top surface of
SFRC2 specimen, as the softening phase unfolds, the the slabs which are recorded at the position of the
CODbL-E records increasing COD values associated to supports are presented in Fig. 10. The CODt values are
the localized crack, while the opening of the crack averaged between the number of instruments that have
measured on CODbL-S remains constant. actually registered the propagation of a crack. The
The significance of limiting crack widths to number shown on each curve gives the number of
enhance durability of concrete structures cannot be instruments that have passed over a crack.
overrated. There seems to be a crack width threshold According to these results it is evident that negative
below which the permeability of concrete is not cracks develop only at late stages of loading. As
affected. While according to Otieno et al. [43] this mentioned earlier, the SFRC specimens do not expe-
threshold depends on concrete mixture and properties, rience negative cracking except for a short crack that
1 Page 10 of 15 Materials and Structures (2019) 52:1

consequently, a larger load bearing capacity when

juxtaposed with the R/C companions.
Despite the efficiency in load carrying capacity, the
shortcoming of the SFRC specimens is the lower
ductility. At 10 and 15 mm of deflection, the SFRC
slabs go through a softening phase, while the R/C ones
continue on a plateau even at 40 mm of deflection. The
limited ductility affects also the maximum load that is
carried by the SFRC slabs. At a CODb between 2 and
3 mm the softening phase is reached in these speci-
mens, which prevents the activation of negative cracks
thus also limiting the maximum load bearing capacity
of the SFRC solution.
In the R/FRC slabs, the presence of rebars allow steel
fibres to stay effective for a higher range of deforma-
Fig. 10 Average load-CODt results measured by CODt-N,
CODt-W, CODt-S, and CODt,E instruments. The number on each tion. In these slabs at CODb values of more than 8 mm,
curve shows the number of instruments that have actually the effect of fibres is still present, and no major load
recorded the propagation of a crack reduction is observed. Hence, in the R/FRC slabs, not
only the high ductility is assured, but the range of
propagates at the position of CODt-S for SFRC2 slab. deflection in which the fibres are effective is increased.
This crack opens up at 213 kN and reaches a COD of The effectiveness of fibres wears off at a certain crack
0.17 mm at the end of the test. However, in case of opening when reached on a single crack. The diffused
specimens reinforced with rebars a complete circular cracking due to presence of rebars, limits the COD on
negative crack pattern was developed. each single crack which in turn keeps the fibres active
The negative cracking for the R/C slabs starts to for larger deflection. Nevertheless, it is noticed that in
propagate at about 310 kN of load while for the terms of load carrying capacity, the interaction of steel
R/FRC1 and R/FRC2 specimens the initiation of the fibres and rebars can not be fully uncoupled and the
negative cracks is respectively at 400 and 450 kN. addition of the SFRC and R/C curves in the load
Before stopping the test, the average CODt measured direction does not yield the R/FRC curves.
for the R/C specimens are considerably larger than The positive interaction between steel fibres and
those measured for the R/FRC slabs. The effectiveness reinforcing rebars may be explained also considering
of steel fibres in controlling the opening of the the area below the load deflection curves. In Fig. 11,
negative moment cracks in the absence of top
reinforcement is easily appreciated.

4 Discussion of results

Comparing the SFRC and R/C solutions in which

35 kg/m3 and 70 kg/m3 of steel is available respec-
tivley, it is evident that twice the amount of steel
weight in the R/C slabs with respect to the SFRC
specimens, accounts for only a 55% increase in the
load bearing capacity. It should also be noticed that the
two layers of reinforcing steel are positioned exactly in
the tensile region of the slabs, while the steel fibres are
dispersed in the whole volume of the elements.
Seemingly, the 3D spatial distribution of steel fibres
leads to a more efficient stress distribution and Fig. 11 Fibre/rebar synergic effect
Materials and Structures (2019) 52:1 Page 11 of 15 1

the dark grey is the area under the load–deflection

curve for the average behaviour of the SFRC elements,
equal to 2.7 kNm, and the light grey depicts the same
area, however filling the space between the load–
deflection response of the R/FRC and R/C slabs,
namely, the effect of fibres in R/FRC slabs. The curves
are averaged up to the maximum deflection reached
for the specimen that is unloaded at a smaller
deflection. The hatched area, representing a 0.5 kNm
of energy, is however, the additional energy that fibres
provide in the R/FRC slabs as compared to the SFRC
slabs. Hence, the presence of steel fibres in the R/FRC
slabs is responsible for providing more energy com-
pared to the effect of fibres in the SFRC specimens.
While the topic of synergy between different types of
fibres has been extensively studied [47–50], there
seems to be also a synergetic effect in the fibre/rebar
interaction. While in the present study the R/C and Fig. 12 Yield line mechanism adopted for the prediction of the
ultimate load capacity
R/FRC specimens were unloaded just to avoid any
possible damage to the instruments, it could be
considered that the R/C and R/FRC slabs could have where m? and m- are respectively positive and
undergone higher levels of deflection, in which case negative ultimate resistant bending moment. The
the synergetic effect could have been better identified. computations are carried out once based on the mean
It is worth to note that the negative bending moment values of material properties and once with the
activated along the top crack in the R/FRC slabs characteristic values both for steel and concrete. For
contributes to this effect. the SFRC solution the material properties obtained
from the tests carried out on 167 and 220 days are
used, and a linear-elastic/linear-softening behaviour is
5 Ultimate load prediction adopted for the behaviour of fibre concrete in tension.
To compute the sectional resisting bending moment a
A yield line approach is adopted to predict the ultimate characteristic length equal to the thickness of the
load bearing capacity of the slab elements. Applica- elements is chosen. No sedimentation effects were
tion of yield line method to fibre reinforced concrete taken into account and therefore for the SFRC slabs a
slabs is a common practice which has been adopted symmetric isotropic resistant bending moment is
elsewhere with satisfactory predictions of the ultimate computed (m? = m-). For the reinforcing bars, a
load [51–53]. A yield line analysis considers an plastic behaviour without hardening is first consid-
ultimate plastic behaviour for the material which is not ered. The results obtained from the analysis for each
the case for a SFRC material showing a softening slab type and for both cases, by assuming both the
behaviour. However, an almost plastic behaviour in mean and the nominal characteristic material proper-
the moment–curvature response allows for the imple- ties, are shown by a line segment in Fig. 6 and are
mentation of this method to a softening material like respectively specified by a ‘‘m’’ and ‘‘k’’ letters. These
the one investigated. The minimum ultimate load values together with the experimental maximum loads
obtained according to a yield line configuration and the design resisting loads obtained after introduc-
corresponds to a circular failure mechanism which tion of proper partial safety factors are presented in
agrees with the experimental crack pattern. The yield Table 2. The predicted ultimate bearing capacity of
line pattern is shown in Fig. 12 and the ultimate load the SFRC specimens using the mean values of material
based on this failure mechanism is properties, almost exactly catches the ultimate exper-
imental load, however, for the R/C slabs, given that the
Pu ¼ 2pðmþ þ m Þ ð1Þ
hardening of the reinforcement is not introduced in the
1 Page 12 of 15 Materials and Structures (2019) 52:1

Table 2 Ultimate loads of investigated slabs: experimental, predicted and design values
Maximum load (kN) Design load (kN)
Exp. Predicted
Average Characteristic

SFRC 232/243 234 155 81

R/C 363/375 268 228 195
R/FRC 512/477 467 397 265
The redistribution factor considered for SFRC in Model Code 2010 (KRd) is set equal to 1

model, safe predictions are made for the maximum conventional reinforcing steel may well provide the
load. If the ultimate strength was taken into account, required ductility. Finally, using the average material
the ultimate load would increase for about 26%, properties for the R/FRC slabs and considering the
growing from 268 to 314 kN. yield strength of rebars instead of the ultimate strength
Due to the specific boundary conditions chosen in gives close prediction of the maximum experimental
the present study, negative moment cracks were not load. This indicates that the fibre contribution is
formed for the SFRC specimens. However, the reduced in this reinforcement solution.
ultimate limit state failure mechanism assumed com- In Table 2 also the design loads computed accord-
prises also cracks on the top surface of the slabs. ing to MC 2010, considering the redistribution coef-
Hence, while the ultimate load prediction for the ficient KRd equal to the unity and starting from the
SFRC slabs based on the complete circular fan gives a nominal characteristic strengths of the materials,
close prediction of the experimental maximum loads, highlight the need to consider a proper value for this
the removal of the negative resisting moment in the coefficient, mainly when no rebars are used, to balance
formulation could have led to a significantly conser- the ratio between the experimental load and the
vative prediction. This difference could be due to the predicted one.
lower CMOD in the slab test at the peak load when
compared to the 2.5 mm considered as ultimate crack
opening in the calculations. In fact the cumulative 6 Conclusions
average CODbL at the peak measured around 2–3 mm
over more than 8 cracks, without any localization. In the present study the effect of application of steel
Therefore, the actual stresses at the position of the fibres in a slab element with a statically redundant
cracks are closer to fR,1 and fR,2 values rather than the structural configuration under biaxial bending was
fR,3 value which is introduced in the computations. investigated. Six concrete 2000 9 2000 9 150 mm
The fact that no negative cracks appeared on the top solid slabs were tested under a concentrated load
face of the SFRC slabs deserves more attention. applied in the centre and measurements were carried
Despite the lack of the negative cracking on the out on deflection and cracking behaviour. Two slabs
specimens, the introduction of the negative resisting were reinforced with only steel fibres, two were
moment in the ultimate load prediction gave satisfac- reinforced with rebars and the last two slabs were
tory results for the present example, but it cannot be reinforced with both the rebars and the steel fibres. The
guaranteed as a rule. Therefore, the application of main conclusions derived from the present work are as
yield line kinematic approach according to limit follows.
analysis to compute the ultimate bearing capacity of
• Utilization of 35 kg/m3 of steel fibres for the SFRC
FRC elevated slabs which may not show enough
slabs, and 35 kg/m3 of reinforcing bars in each
ductility to activate the complete failure mechanism
direction for the R/C slabs, allowed to make a
may sacrifice safety of the overall structural beha-
comparison between the efficiency of the reinforc-
viour. In this respect, provision of a minimum level of
ing solutions. Half the weight of steel in the SFRC
Materials and Structures (2019) 52:1 Page 13 of 15 1

slabs as compared to the R/C ones, led to a peak • Following the approach suggested in fib MC 2010,
load that was 64% of that obtained in the R/C and with the choice of the characteristic length
specimens. The 3D distribution of fibres seems to equal to the depth of the slab, the ultimate load
be able to guarantee higher efficiency in terms of bearing capacity of the slabs is satisfactorily
load bearing capacity in comparison with conven- predicted by implementing a limit state analysis.
tional rebars. Given the very high margin of safety between the
• SFRC slabs show limited ductility with respect to design resisting load and the experimental maxi-
other reinforcing solutions. The lower ductility in mum loads, the need of a redundancy factor as
the SFRC slabs may also affect the maximum load suggested by the Model Code for SFRC material
that is reached in these elements considering that contribution is proved in case of SFRC slabs.
the softening phase occurs before the appearance • In order to apply a limit analysis to FRC elevated
of negative moment cracks when a flexible slabs characterized by a 3c class at 28 days, one
constraint is considered. Provision of rebars is should be assured about the possibility of the
suggested to increase the deformation capacity of formation of the expected failure mechanism.
slabs. Lower ductility of SFRC slabs without any rebars
• There is a positive interaction between steel fibres might not allow the complete formation of the
and reinforcing steel. In the R/FRC slabs, while the expected kinematic failure mechanism which
rebars guarantee the ductile behaviour of the slabs, could lead to unsafe prediction for the ultimate
the steel fibres remain active even under high load.
levels of deflection giving their contribution also
along the negative moment crack as assumed in the Acknowledgements The authors express their gratitude to the
limit analysis. In this case the choice of the financial support provided by Steriline, Magnetti Building, and
ultimate crack opening, set equal to 2.5 mm, Finazzi Company and the technical support provided by DSC-
allows to take into account the not contemporary Erba. The authors are also grateful to the assistance of Mr.
Andrea G. Stefanoni for his contribution in carrying out the
contribution of positive and negative bending experiments.
moment acting respectively on the radial and
circumferential cracks. Compliance with ethical standards

Other observations made from the experiments and Conflict of interest The authors declare that they have no
the prediction of the ultimate load based on the MC conflict of interest.
2010 approach are as comes in the following lines:
Open Access This article is distributed under the terms of the
• Stress-CMOD results obtained from the notched Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://
specimens show that while over time the residual creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits use,
duplication, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any
tensile strength values in a range of CMODs that medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the
correspond to SLS improve, the residual strength original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative
for wider CMODs almost remains unchanged. This Commons license and indicate if changes were made.
phenomenon may lead to a reduction of the
ductility of SFRC structural elements that needs
to be considered and further studied. References
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