Improving the accuracy of load-deformation behavior, failure mode, and ultimate load capacity for reinforced concrete members subjected to in-plane loadings such as corbels, wall to foundation connections and panels need shear strength behavior to be included. Shear design in reinforced concrete structures depends on crack width, crack slippage and roughness of the surface of cracks.
This paper illustrates results of an experimental investigation conducted to investigate the direct shear strength of fiber normal strength concrete (NSC) and reactive powder concrete (RPC). The tests were performed along a pre-selected shear plane in concrete members named push-off specimens. The effectiveness of concrete compressive strength, volume fraction of steel fiber, and shear reinforcement ratio on shear transfer capacity were considered in this study. Furthermore, failure modes, shear stress-slip behavior, and shear stress-crack width behavior were also presented in this study.
Tests’ results showed that volume fraction of steel fiber and compressive strength of concrete in NSC and RPC play a major role in improving the shear strength of concrete. As expectedly, due to dowel action, the shear reinforcement is the predominant factor in resisting the shear stress. The shear failure of NSC and RPC has the sudden mode of failure (brittle failure) with the approximately linear behavior of shear stress-slip relationship till failure. Using RPC instead of NSC with the same amount of steel fibers in constructing the push-off specimen result in high shear strength. In NSC, shear strength influenced by the three major factors; crack surface friction, aggregate interlock and steel fiber content if present. Whereas, RPC has only steel fiber and cracks surface friction influencing the shear strength. Due to cementitious nature of RPC in comparisons with NSC, the RPC specimen shows greater cracks width.
It is observed that the Mattock model gives very satisfactory predictions when applied to the present test results with a range of parametric variations; ranging from 0 % to 0.5 % in steel fibers content; from 0 % to 0.53 % in transverse reinforcement ratio; from 15 to 105 MPa in compressive strength of concrete. While it gives a poor prediction for a specimen with 1% steel fiber.
