FLEXURAL BEHAVIOUR OF HYBRID FIBRE REINFORCED

SELF COMPACTING CONCRETE

G. Jeenu*, College of Engineering, Trivandrum, India
U. R. Reji, College of Engineering, Trivandrum, India
V. Syam Prakash, College of Engineering, Trivandrum, India

32ndConference on OUR WORLD IN CONCRETE & STRUCTURES: 28 - 29 August 2007,
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32
nd
Conference on OUR WORLD IN CONCRETE & STRUCTURES: 28 29 August 2007, Singapore
FLEXURAL BEHAVIOUR OF HYBRID FIBRE REINFORCED
SELF COMPACTING CONCRETE
G. Jeenu*, College of Engineering, Trivandrum, India
U. R. Reji, College of Engineering, Trivandrum, India
V. Syam Prakash, College of Engineering, Trivandrum, India
Abstract
The paper presents an experimental investigation conducted to study the effect of
hybrid fibre addition to Self Compacting Concrete (SCC) and compare the flexural
behaviour of reinforced SCC beams without fibres, with macrofibres and with hybrid
fibres. Based on Okamuras method SCC mixes of compressive strength 32 MPa, 47
MPa and 56 MPa were designed. By conducting standard tests on control specimens,
the optimum percentage of macrofibre addition was obtained as 0.75% and specimens
with 50% replacement of these macrofibres by microfibres exhibited better mechanical
properties. To study the flexural behaviour in detail, prototype SCC beams without
fibres and with optimum percentage of macro and hybrid fibres were cast using the
designed SCC mixes and tested under two-point flexural loading. From the analysis it
was obvious that the first crack load, precracking and postcracking behaviour,
deflection pattern, crack development pattern and ultimate load carrying capacity of
SCC beams improved with fibre addition and this improvement is more pronounced in
hybrid fibre reinforced SCC beams. Also the fibre reinforced beams exhibited better
ductile behaviour than SCC beams without fibres.
Key words: SCC, Hybrid fibres, flexure
1. Introduction
Since the development of Self Compacting Concrete (SCC) in late 1980s and its wide spread use in
1990s, extensive research works have been done to assess its fresh and hardened properties. When
compared to ordinary concrete flexural members, SCC beams exhibited early initial cracking and higher
deflection at later stages. Since SCC consumes a considerable quantity of silica fume, it is also prone to
excessive plastic shrinkage cracking. Steel fibres as additional reinforcement in beams allows substantial
increase in flexural and shear strength and ductility. Also the onset of cracking is delayed and fibre
addition allows multiple cracking with lesser crack widths. Recently the idea of making simultaneous use
of different type of fibres with different geometry or material is gaining acceptance. In hybrid fibre
concretes, the short microfibres bridge the fine microcracks whereas after fracture localization both the
macrofibres and the long macrofibres will be effective in bridging the microcracks. This improves the
tensile strength and ductility of the material [1,2,6,7].
The aim of this experimental work is to investigate the possibility of improving the flexural response
of reinforced SCC through additional hybrid fibre reinforcement and to compare the behaviour with that
reinforced SCC beams without fibres and with single type of macrofibre. SCC mixes of compressive
strength 32 MPa, 47 MPa and 56 MPa were designed by conducting trials based on Okamuras method
and fresh and hardened properties of these mixes ascertained. Steel macrofibres of 0.9 mm diameter
and aspect ratio 30 were added to these SCC mixes in different percentages by volume and the
optimum percentage of fibre addition which gave maximum improvement in mechanical properties and
which satisfied all the flowability characteristics of SCC was identified. For this percentage, macro fibres
were replaced with steel microfibres of 0.34 mm diameter in different percentages and the optimum value
of macro fibre replacement ascertained. Flexural tests were conducted on prototype reinforced SCC
beams without fibres, with macro and hybrid fibre reinforcement for all the three designed mixes.
2. Experimental Investigation
2.1 Materials Used
Constituent materials used for the development of the SCC mixes were tested as per relevant
Indian Standards and the properties were obtained as:
Ordinary Portland Cement of 53 grade conforming to IS 8112
Crushed stone of size 12mm and 6mm with specific gravity 2.82
River sand conforming to Zone II with fineness modulus 3.06 and specific gravity 2.58
Fly ash with specific gravity 2.10
Silica fume with specific gravity 2.34
Conplast SP 430, a sulphonated naphthalene based superplasticiser
Structuro 485, a viscosity modifying agent
Potable water
Steel macrofibres of 0.90 mm diameter with aspect ratio 30
Steel microfibres of 0.34 mm diameter with aspect ratio 30
2.2 Details of the Designed Mixes
Okamuras method was used for developing the SCC mix. The flowability properties of different
trial mixes of SCC obtained were ascertained using slump flow test, U-tube test and V-funnel test
and three mixes that satisfied all these criteria and having 28 day cube compressive strength of
32 MPa, 47 MPa and 56 MPa were adopted for further study. The details of the selected SCC
mixes are given in Table 1. and the fresh and hardened properties of these concrete mixes are
tabulated in Table 4.
Table 1. Details of Mixes Used for the Study
Material used Mix 1 Mix 2 Mix 3
Cement (kg/m
3
) 486.70 489.00 502.00
12.5 mm 85.71 83.36 83.36 Coarse
aggregate
(kg/m
3
) 6 mm 485.86 472.35 472.35
Fine aggregate (kg/m
3
) 662.00 666.71 666.71
Fly ash (kg/m
3
) 152.57 153.00 157.37
Silica fume (kg/m
3
) 34.143 34.28 35.07
Conplast SP 430 (kg/m
3
) 13.47 13.55 13.55
Structuro 485 (l/m
3
) 4.00 3.00 3.00
Water (l/m
3
) 278.57 280.57 274.78
Cube compressive
Strength [N/mm
2
)
32.10 47.17 56.44
2.3 Preliminary Investigation
The effect of macro fibres on the properties of SCC was studied by adding 0.25%, 0.5%,
0.75% and 1% by volume of 0.9 mm diameter steel fibres with aspect ratio 30 to the designed
mixes [5]. The variations in fresh and hardened properties due to macrofibre addition on M32
mix were tabulated in Table 2. The flowability properties decreased and the hardened
properties such as cube compressive strength, cylinder compressive strength and modulus of
elasticity increased with addition of fibres. Since the primary objective of fibre addition was
improvement in tensile and flexural behaviour, optimum performance was observed for SCC
with 0.75% of macrofibre addition. Hence for further study the percentage of macro fibre
addition was fixed as 0.75%. The macro fibre addition showed similar improvement for M47
and M56 mix.
Table 2. The Fresh and Hardened Properties of Macrofibre Reinforced M32 SCC Mix
Average
Compressive (N/mm
2
)
Percentage
of fibres
Slump
flow
test
(mm)
V-funnel
test
(s)
U-box
test
(mm)
Cube
strength
Cylinder
strength
Split
tensile
strength
(N/mm
2
)
Flexural
strength
(N/mm
2
)
Modulus
of
elasticity
(N/mm
2
)
0.00 740 10 20
32.10 28.61 3.35 4.20 2.63 X10
3
0.25 730 11 22
32.89 28.86 4.13 5.42 2.66 X10
3
0.50
698 9 25
33.23 29.17 4.85 5.90 2.70 X10
3
0.75 690 12 27
34.10 29.33 4.92 6.18 2.83 X10
3
1.00 615 35 33
34.45 29.50 4.80 5.80 3.48 X10
3
The influence of hybrid fibres on SCC mix was studied by replacing macro fibres with micro
fibres of 0.34 mm diameter in different proportions for a total fibre content of 0.75%. From the
test results tabulated in Table 3, it was found that even though workability decreased with the
addition of microfibres, there was excellent improvement in hardened properties such as
flexural strength and tensile strength. The optimum percentage of macro fibre replacement
with micro fibres was found to be 50. The same behaviour was exhibited by M47 and M56
mixes also.
Table 3. The Fresh and Hardened Properties of Hybrid Fibre Reinforced M32 SCC Mix
Average
Compressive(N/mm
2
)
Macro:
micro
ratio
Slump
flow test
(mm)
V-funnel
Test
(s)
U-box
Test
(mm)
Cube
strength
Cylinder
Strength
Split
Tensile
Strength
(N/mm
2
)
Flexural
Strength
(N/mm
2
)
Modulus of
Elasticity
(N/mm
2
)
100:0 690 12 27
34.10 29.33 4.92 6.18 2.83 X10
3
75:25 655 10 27
34.21 29.85 4.99 6.41 2.95 X10
3
50:50 655 10 29
35.23 30.12 5.35 6.70 3.09 X10
3
25:75 652 II 29
34.91 30.02 5.20 6.61 3.02 X10
3
0:100 635 11 32
32.12 29.32 5.00 6.35 2.89 X10
3
3. Tests on Prototype Specimens
3.1 Details of the Specimen
To study and compare the flexural behaviour of reinforced SCC beams without fibres, with macro
fibres and with hybrid fibres, three beams each of 125 mm width, 200 mm depth and 1200 mm
length were cast for all the three designed mixes. These under reinforced beams were hypothetically
reinforced with three 10 mm diameter bars in the tension zone. Shear reinforcement in the form of 8
mm diameter stirrups were provided at a spacing of 130 mm centre to centre. In Macro Fibre
Reinforced SCC (MFRSCC) beams, 0.75% by volume of steel macro fibres were added as
additional reinforcement ande in Hybrid Fibre Reinforced SCC (HFRSCC) beams, 50% of 0.9 mm
Table 4. Nomenclature and Fresh and Hardened Properties of Mixes Used in Beams
diameter fibres were replaced with 0.34 mm diameter steel fibres having the same aspect ratio. The
beams were cast by pouring the mix into one side of the wooden mould. The mix flowed to the other end
through the congested reinforcement without the aid of any external mode of compaction. All the
specimens were demoulded after 24 hours and water cured for 28 days. The fresh and hardened
properties of the mixes used for the prototype beams are tabulated in Table 4. In the nomenclature, S
stands for plain SCC, M stands for MFRSCC and H for HFRSCC. 1 indicates M32 mix, 2 for M47 mix and
3 for M56 mix.
4. Test Results and Discussion
The beam specimens were subjected to two point bending test in 300 T UTM. The deflections
under load points and mid span and the strain variation along the depth at mid span cross section
are also measured at regular intervals. Load at first crack, the crack propagation characteristics,
width and spacing of cracks, ultimate load and mode of failure were noted for all series of beams.
4.1 Load at First Crack and Ultimate Load
Load at first crack, deflection corresponding to this load, ultimate load and maximum deflection
obtained from the flexural test are tabulated in Table 5.
Table 5. Load and Deflection at First Crack and Ultimate Load
Specimen
identification
Load at
first crack,
Pcr( kN)
Deflection at
first crack
load, c (mm)
Ultimate
load,
Pu (kN)
Deflection at
ultimate load,
u(mm)
Area under
load deflection
curve (kNmm)
S1 19.62 0.38 83.39 2.65 128.75
M1 29.43 0.50 112.82 2.70 156.25
H1 34.34 0.53 122.63 2.90 202.50
S2 29.43 0.48 98.10 2.80 167.50
M2 34.34 0.54 127.53 3.10 210.00
H2 39.24 0.60 142.25 3.00 230.00
S3 29.43 0.45 147.15 3.30 265.00
M3 39.24 0.64 176.58 3.75 360.00
H3 44.15 0.66 191.30 3.60 367.50
The first crack load of M1 and H1 series was 1.5 times and 1.75 times that of S1, M2 and H2 was
1.2 times and 1.3 times that of S2 and M3 and H3 is 1.3 times and 1.5 times that of S3 i.e. there was
delay in the initial crack formation with the addition of fibres. From Table.5, it was also observed that
for S1 series, first crack load occurred at a deflection of 0.38 mm, whereas in the case of M1 series,
first crack occurred only when the beam deflects to 0.5 mm. In H1 series, first crack formation was
further delayed and it appeared only when the deflection is 0.53mm. For all the beams, similar
behaviour was observed.
Mix
M32 M47 M56
Nomenclature S1 M1 H1 S2 M2 H2 S3 M3 H3
Slump flow (mm) 740 690 655 710 685 680 680 665 660
V-Funnel tube (s) 10 12 10 6 8 9 10 12 12
U Box Test (mm) 20 27 29 20 21 23 23 26 28
Average
compressive
strength (N/mm
2
)
32.10 34.10 35.23 47.17 49.15 50.10 56.44 57.14 57.88
The ultimate load carrying capacity of MFRSCC beams were greater than the SCC beam
and that of HFRSCC beams were greater than MFRSCC beam. The improvement in ultimate
load of M1 series and H1 series of beams was 35.29% and 47.06 % respectively when compared to
S1 series of beams and M2 and H2 series was 30% and 45% of S2 and that of M3 and H3 series
was 20% and 30% of that of S3 series. The improvement in ultimate load carrying capacity due to
fibre addition was more in beams with low strength mixes.
In H series, presence of microfibres delays the internal micro cracking in the cementitious matrix
and as micro cracks develop in the matrix, the microfibres in the vicinity of such cracks will try to
arrest these cracks and prevent further propagation. Hence the cracks appearing inside the matrix
have to divert the path, resulting in demand for more energy for future propagation, which in turn
increases the first crack load. As the load increases these cracks widens and the macro fibres
bridges across it and prevents further propagation thereby increasing the load carrying capacity. The
initiation of cracks at higher deflections establishes that presence of fibres improved the tensile
response of matrix. [6,7]
As the compressive strength of SCC in beams increased the value of first crack load also
increased and correspondingly there was reduction in deflection. Also the ultimate load carrying
capacity improved with enhanced strength of matrix for plain as well as fibre reinforced beams. This
emphasises the similarity in flexural behaviour of SCC and ordinary concrete.
4.2 Load Deflection Characteristics
The deflections of all the three sets of beams at load points and mid span of the beams were
measured using dial gauges for every 0.5 T increment of load and the mid span deflection
corresponding to every tonne load increment is tabulated in Table 6.
Table 6. Load and Corresponding Deflection for S, M and H Series of Beams
Deflection in mm
M32
M47 M56
Load
in kN
S1 M1 H1 S2 M2 H2 S3 M3 H3
0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
9.81 0.14 0.09 0.04 0.09 0.08 0.03 0.04 0.03 0.03
19.62 0.35 0.33 0.15 0.29 0.18 0.10 0.22 0.15 0.10
29.43 0.66 0.50 0.32 0.48 0.38 0.29 0.45 0.34 0.24
39.24 1.00 0.83 0.60 0.69 0.70 0.65 0.58 0.64 0.48
49.05 1.40 1.12 0.83 0.94 0.91 0.88 0.83 0.78 0.73
58.86 1.65 1.46 1.02 1.24 1.10 1.18 1.06 0.98 0.91
68.67 1.91 1.72 1.38 1.56 1.50 1.43 1.32 1.28 1.18
78.48 2.26 1.93 1.68 2.24 1.81 1.67 1.95 1.73 1.52
The deflection under load points and mid span decreased with the addition of fibres. With the
presence of hybrid fibres, deflection is further reduced. It shows that presence of fibres improved the
flexural stiffness of the elements thereby reducing the structural members deformability, increasing
strength and hence controlling deflection. The increase in modulus of elasticity of mix also resulted in
reduced deflection. From Table 5 it is evident that though the ultimate load carrying capacity of
HFRSCC beams was greater than MFRSCC beams, HFRSCC beams showed lesser deflections.
Thus fibre addition seems to be an effective solution for controlling deflections in SCC flexural
members. This improvement in service condition can be further enhanced by hybrid fibre addition.
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
180
200
0 1 2 3 4
Deflection (mm)
L
o
a
d
(
k
N
)
H2
M2
S2
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
180
200
0 1 2 3 4
Deflection (mm)
L
o
a
d
(
k
N
)S3
M3
H3
Fig 1. Load deflection plot of second series of beams Fig 2. Load deflection plot of third series of beams
From Fig 1. and Fig 2. it was evident that the deflection gets reduced with the addition of fibres.
At the ultimate loads of MFRSCC and HFRSCC beams, which are higher than that of plain SCC
beams, the deflections are much higher which is an indication of ductile behaviour. From the load
deflection graphs for beams, the area under load deflection curve are computed and tabulated in
Table 5. From this it is evident that the energy absorption capacity increased with the addition of
fibres and the values are maximum for HFRSCC beams. Since energy absorption is a measure of
ductility, it can be inferred that ductility of the beams with steel fibres is more than that of beams
without fibres and this increased ductility may be due to the bridging of localized macro cracks.
Hence MFRSCC and HFRSCC can be used effectively in earthquake resistant structures with highly
congested reinforcement where ductility plays an important role.
4.3 Cracking Behaviour
From the detailed observation of the crack initiation and propagation, it was evident that in plain
SCC beams the first crack appeared at a lower load and further crack initiation was also at an earlier
load. But in fibre reinforced beams the cracks started appearing at a higher load and further crack
initiation was slow. Later more number of cracks with lesser crack widths was observed in fibre
reinforced SCC beams. The propagation and widening of cracks also occurred at a slow rate
especially in hybrid fibre reinforced beams due to the bridging of micro cracks by microfibres.
4.4 Strain at Mid Span
The compressive strain at extreme compressive fibre and tensile strain at the level of
reinforcement were noted and tabulated in Table 7. It was observed that strain decreased with the
addition of fibres and this reduction in strain is more in HFRSCC beams. The decrease in strain was
due to increase in modulus of elasticity as well as the improved tensile response of steel fibres.
Table 7. Strains at Mid Span for First Series of Beams
S32 M32 H32
Load
(kN)
Top Fibre Bottom Fibre Top Fibre Bottom Fibre Top Fibre Bottom Fibre
19.62 3.2 x 10
-4
-3.4 x 10
-4
1.9 x 10
-4
-2.1 x 10
-4
1.4 x 10
-4
-1.8 x 10
-4
39.24 4.1x 10
-4
-4.5 x 10
-4
3.2 x 10
-4
-4.2 x 10
-4
2.1 x 10
-4
-3.3 x 10
-4
58.86 5.8 x 10
-4
-6.1 x 10
-4
4.6 x 10
-4
-5.8 x 10
-4
3.3 x 10
-4
-4.7 x 10
-4
78.48 6.5 x 10
-4
-10.1 x 10
-4
5.4 x 10
-4
-9.2 x 10
-4
4.5 x 10
-4
-8.3 x 10
-4
The strain distribution at mid span was almost linear for all the sets of beams. There is no
considerable increase in strain for the beams at the pre cracking zone. At the post-cracking stage
there is a sudden increase in strain at the level of steel bar, which results in an upward shift of neutral
axis. The depth of the neutral axis decreased with propagation of cracks in all SCC beams. But this
upward shift of neutral axis is less in macro and hybrid fibre reinforced SCC beams.
4.5 Mode of Failure
The beams were designed as under reinforced to ensure flexure failure. When load was applied,
flexural hair cracks appeared in the middle third region of uniform moment region as flexural hair
cracks. Further increase of load resulted in the formation of additional cracks and widening of some
of the earlier cracks. At ultimate stage, most of the cracks traversed up to the top of the beam. All the
beams exhibited similar trend of crack pattern and failed by yielding of tensile reinforcement and
subsequent crushing of concrete in the compression zone of uniform bending moment. In non-
fibrous beams, well distributed flexural cracks continued to develop as the deflection increases. The
presence of fibres in M and H series reduced the crack width, increased the ductility, and delayed
the final crushing of concrete. Even though the ultimate load was much higher than the expected
load in fibre reinforced beams, they did not fail in shear. This shows the improved shear carrying
capacity of fibre reinforced self compacting concrete beams.
4.6 Flexural Rigidity
The short term deflection of the beam depends on moment of inertia I, of the beam, which in
turn depends on the degree of cracking. For loads below the cracking load, computation of deflection
may be based on the I of the gross concrete section I
g
. As the load increased above the cracking
load, the member cracked at discrete intervals since the tensile strength of the concrete has
exceeded and the tensile stress is carried by the steel reinforcement. The experimental moment of
inertia of simply supported beam subjected to two point loads is determined and tabulated in Table
8.
Table 8. Flexural Rigidity of Cracked and Uncracked Beam
Mix E
c
I
exp
E
c
I
exp
Improve
ment
w.r.t
S series
I
cr exp
I
cr(exp)
E
c
Improve
ment
w.r.t
S series
S1 2.63x10
4
4.58 x10
7
12.05 x10
11
1.00 2.43 x10
7
6.39 x10
11
1.00
M1 2.83x10
4
6.63 x10
7
18.76 x10
11
1.60 2.62x10
7
7.41 x10
11
1.16
H1 3.09x10
4
10.93 x10
7
33.77 x10
11
2.80 2.70x10
7
8.35x10
11
1.31
S2 3.43x10
4
5.47 x10
7
18.76 x10
11
1.00 1.76 x10
7
6.03 x10
11
1.00
M2 3.51x10
4
6.02 x10
7
21.10 x10
11
1.40 2.03 x10
7
7.13 x10
11
1.18
H2 3.54x10
4
11.93 x10
7
42.23 x10
11
2.25 2.31 x10
7
8.18 x10
11
1.35
S3 3.76x10
4
11.23 x10
7
42.22 x10
11
1.00 2.0 x10
7
7.52 x10
11
1.00
M3 3.78x10
4
14.9 x10
7
56.32 x10
11
1.33 2.17 x10
7
8.20x10
11
1.09
H3 3.80x10
4
14.81 x10
7
56.28 x10
11
1.33 2.4x10
7
9.12 x10
11
1.43
From Table 8 it was clear that the moment of inertia of the uncracked section increased with the
addition of fibres which in turn improved the flexural rigidity of the section and this contributes to
higher first crack load and reduction in deflection in fibre reinforced SCC specimens. In the post
cracking stage also moment of inertia of beams containing steel fibres is more than corresponding
plain SCC beams. This also contributes to improvement in flexural rigidity of the sections thereby
increasing the load carrying capacity in the post cracking stage. Also with the increase of
compressive strength flexural rigidity of fibrous and non-fibrous beams increased.
4.7 Cracking Moment and Ultimate Moment of Resistance
The analytical evaluation of deflection depends greatly on the cracking moment of the beam. The
theoretical cracking moment was calculated and is compared with experimentally obtained cracking
moment and is tabulated in Table 9. The ultimate moment of resistance determined from the
experiments were also compared with theoretical moment capacity for all the three series of beams.
Table 9. Cracking Moment and Ultimate Moment of Resistance of Beams
Mix
M
cr,th
(kNm)
M
cr,exp
(kNm)
M
cr,expt
/
M
cr,th
M
u,th
(kNm)
M
u exp
(kNm)
M
uexp/
M
u,th
S1 3.12 3.24 1.04 12.80 14.52 1.12
M1 3.83 4.86 1.27 15.48 18.62 1.20
H1 3.84 5.67 1.50 15.48 20.23 1.30
S2 4.31 4.86 1.13 13.47 16.19 1.19
M2 4.36 5.67 1.30 16.06 21.26 1.32
H2 4.41 6.47 1.46 16.06 23.47 1.50
S3 4.41 6.47 1.47 13.70 24.28 1.77
M3 3.88 6.20 1.60 16.79 29.14 1.70
H3 4.67 7.28 1.56 16.79 31.56 1.90
The experimental values of cracking moment are higher than the corresponding theoretical
values for all sets of beams and the variation is more in the case of fibre-reinforced beams. This
variation is more pronounced in the case of higher strength beams. From Table.10 it is found that
the moment of resistance of the section increased with the addition of fibres. There is 12% to 30%
variation between the theoretical and experimental values for M32 grade, 19% to 50% for M 47 and
50% to 90% for M 56 grade SCC mixes.
5. Conclusions
Following conclusions are drawn from the experimental investigations conducted to assess the
influence of fibres on the flexural response of SCC beams.
Fresh concrete properties of SCC such as workability and flowability decreased and hardened
properties such as compressive strength, flexural strength and tensile strength improved by the
addition of fibres.
The optimum percentage of macrofibre addition is 0.75% by volume and 50% replacement of this
by micro fibre improved the performance.
The first crack load increased with addition of fibres and the first crack load of macrofibre series
was 1.3 to 1.5 times and that of hybrid fibre series is 1.5 to 1.75 times that of corresponding plain
SCC beams.
Crack width was considerably reduced by the addition of hybrid fibres.
Deflection was reduced by the presence of fibres and for HFRSCC the deflection was minimum.
The ultimate load carried by fibre reinforced SCC is more than that of plain SCC. In the case of
macrofibre reinforced SCC beams percentage improvement in ultimate load varied from 20% to
35% and that with hybrid fibre beams it varied from 30% to 47% when compared to
corresponding plain SCC series. But the percentage increase in ultimate load of macro fibre
series and Hybrid fibre series decreased with increase in compressive strength of the matrix.
The energy absorption capacity is more for hybrid fibre reinforced SCC beams and hence it is
more ductile.
By the addition of fibres strain in concrete was reduced and hybrid fibre addition reduced the
strain further. At the post cracking stage the neutral axis shifted upwards due to the propagation
of cracks.
All the beams exhibited similar trend of crack propagation and failed by yielding of tensile
reinforcement and subsequent crushing of concrete in the compression zone.
From the analysis it was obvious that the first crack load, precracking and postcracking behaviour,
deflection pattern, crack development pattern and ultimate load carrying capacity of SCC beams
improved with fibre addition and this improvement is more pronounced in hybrid fibre reinforced SCC
beams. Also the fibre reinforced beams exhibited better ductile behaviour than SCC beams without
fibres.
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o
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