ACI STRUCTURAL JOURNAL
Title No. 111-S98
Effect of Steel Fiber Content on Behavior of Concrete
Beams with and without Stirrups
by Dipti Ranjan Sahoo and Abhimanyu Sharma
An experimental study is conducted on a series of 12 reinforced
concrete (RC) and steel fiber-reinforced concrete (SFRC) beam
specimens to study their shear and flexural strengths, failure mech-
anisms, and ductility response under monotonic loadings. The
main parameters varied in this study are the concrete compres-
sive strength, percentage of longitudinal reinforcement, fiber
content, shear span-depth ratio, and amount of transverse stirrups.
End-hooked steel fibers of volume fraction ranging from 0.5 to
1.5% are used in the specimens. Test results showed that the addi-
tion of steel fibers enhanced the flexural and shear strengths and
the ductility of the flexural members. The addition of a minimum
of 0.5% fiber content in the beams with shear stirrups changed the
mode of failure from brittle to ductile, whereas a minimum fiber
content of 1.0% is required to achieve the ductile response of the
beams without shear stirrups. Using a curve-fitting method on the
available test data, simple expressions are also derived to predict
the shear strengths of medium- to large-scale flexural members
with varying fiber contents.
Keywords: beams; cracking; ductility; fiber-reinforced concrete; flexural
failure; shear failure; shear reinforcement; steel fiber-reinforced concrete.
INTRODUCTION
The addition of discontinuous and randomly oriented steel
fibers into the concrete matrix improves various mechanical
characteristics, such as tensile strength, flexural strength,
shear strength, ductility, and energy absorption capacity
of concrete members.1-6 These fibers help in reducing the
crack propagation in the concrete members by distributing
the tensile stresses across the diagonal cracks due to fiber-
bridging action. The effectiveness of fiber-bridging action
in steel fiber-reinforced concrete (SFRC) members largely
depends on the fiber-matrix interfacial bond, fiber fracture
and pullout, maximum size of aggregates, shear yielding of
fibers, fiber geometry, fiber content, and fiber aspect ratio.
For a given fiber content, the SFRC members with steel fibers
of the larger aspect ratio exhibit the higher ultimate flexural
strength, residual flexural strength, and energy absorbing
capacity.7,8 The increase in fiber content in a concrete matrix
enhances the fracture energy of the SFRC members. The
workability of concrete mixture, however, is reduced if either
a large amount of fibers is added or fibers of a high aspect
ratio are used. The fibers with high elastic modulus provide
higher resistance to the external loading effects, whereas the
low modulus fibers are more effective in resisting internal
forces arising from volume changes.5 Moreover, a sudden
loss in the post-peak strength of the SFRC members can be
expected if the low modulus fibers are used in the concrete
matrix. The incorporation of steel fibers also significantly
enhances the load-carrying capacity and the ductility of the
deep concrete beams with and without openings.9,10
ACI Structural Journal/September-October 2014
TECHNICAL PAPER
The contribution of steel fibers in enhancing the shear
strength of reinforced concrete (RC) members has been
recognized in ACI 318-08.11 The code recommends the
use of deformed steel fibers as a partial replacement to the
shear stirrups in the flexural members for the fiber amount
greater than or equal to 59 kg/m3 (100 lb/yd3) or 0.75% of
the volume. This recommendation is only applicable if the
value of factored shear force Vu does not exceed 1/6φbd√fc′
(fc′ in MPa) or 2φbd√fc′ (fc′ in psi), where φ is the strength
reduction factor (0.75), b is the web width, d is the member
effective depth, and fc′ is the concrete cylinder strength. The
contribution of steel fibers in estimating the shear strength,
however, is neglected for the flexural members subjected to
the high shear force because of the unavailability of simple
expressions applicable to this case.
A numerous experimental studies1,2,12-18 have been carried
out to investigate the shear behavior of SFRC beams in the
past several years. In these studies, the effect of several
parameters, such as shear span-effective depth ratio (a/d),
longitudinal reinforcement ratio ρ, fiber volume fraction Vf,
and concrete compressive strength fc′ on the shear strength
of SFRC members have been considered for the small-
er-sized specimens (that is, overall depth ≤ 300 mm [12 in.])
with the addition of either straight or crimped fibers. Exper-
imental research19-21 has been carried out on the large-scale
SFRC beams (of overall depth > 300 mm [12 in.]). Dinh
et al.22 conducted a series of large-scale tests on a total of
24 simply supported SFRC test specimens under monotoni-
cally increased load. The specimens had effective depths of
either 381 or 610 mm (15 or 24 in.) with the value of a/d
varied from 3.43 to 3.50. Test results showed that the fiber
content had a strong influence on the shear strength of SFRC
members as compared with the percentage of longitudinal
reinforcement and the effective depth. Further, the increase
in shear strength of the SFRC beams is reduced if the fiber
content exceeds 1.0%. Thus, further experimental investiga-
tion is required to study the effect of various combinations
of aforementioned parameters on the overall behavior of
SFRC members. Various procedures have been developed by
several researchers2,3,13-15,18,23,24 to estimate the shear strength
of SFRC flexural members. Because the shear failure mech-
anism of RC members is complicated, most of these proce-
dures use regression analysis based on the tensile strength at
cracking instead of the post-cracking tensile strength. Dinh
ACI Structural Journal, V. 111, No. 5, September-October 2014.
MS No. S-2013-100.R1, doi: 10.14359/51686821, was received August 8, 2013, and
reviewed under Institute publication policies. Copyright © 2014, American Concrete
Institute. All rights reserved, including the making of copies unless permission is
obtained from the copyright proprietors. Pertinent discussion including author’s
closure, if any, will be published ten months from this journal’s date if the discussion
is received within four months of the paper’s print publication.
1157
et al.25 proposed a semi-empirical model for estimating
the shear strength of SFRC beams without shear stirrups.
The model uses the value of average bending stress at a
target crack width in the standard ASTM beams tested as
per ASTM C160926 specifications. Shear force is assumed
to be resisted over the concrete compression zone only,
whereas the fiber-bridging action is responsible for resisting
the tensile force without considering any contribution from
the aggregate interlock and the dowel action. Although the
steel fibers have been recognized as a structural material
by ACI 318-08,11 the guidelines for computing the shear
resistance of SFRC flexural members using design equa-
tions are still missing. Hence, further research is required
to understand the shear and flexural behavior of the SFRC
members for a wider acceptance of steel fibers for struc-
tural use and to validate the design equations proposed by
various researchers.
RESEARCH SIGNIFICANCE
Past experimental investigations have highlighted that the
incorporation of an adequate amount of steel fibers into the
concrete matrix significantly improves the shear and flexural
strength, ductility, and energy-absorbing capacity of SFRC
flexural members. Several models have also been proposed
to predict shear strengths using several parameters. Further
study, however, is required to investigate the overall behavior
of the SFRC members for the various combinations of shear
span-depth ratio, fiber content, grade of concrete, percentage
of longitudinal reinforcement, and transverse stirrups. The
objectives of this study are: 1) to evaluate the effect of these
parameters on the shear and flexural behavior, failure mode,
crack propagation, and ductility of the SFRC beams with
and without shear stirrups; 2) to compare the observed shear
strength values with those predicted by the existing models;
and 3) to establish a correlation between the fiber content
and the shear strengths of SFRC flexural members.
EXPERIMENTAL PROGRAM
An experimental program was carried out to study the
improvement of the flexural and shear strength, ductility,
crack propagation, and failure mechanism of RC flexural
specimens due to the addition of steel fibers into the concrete
matrix. Twelve specimens were tested under monotonically
increased loads for various combinations of the grade of
concrete, shear span-depth ratio, percentage of longitudinal
and transverse reinforcement, and fiber content. The same
sizes of test specimens were used in this study to evaluate
the effect of fiber content. The details of specimens, test
setups, instrumentations, materials used, and results of mate-
rial testing are discussed in the following sections.
Details of test specimens
As shown in Fig. 1, two sets (namely, flexure and shear)
of test specimens of were used in this study. The width b
and depth h of all specimens were 150 and 300 mm (5.9 and
11.8 in.), respectively, and the overall length was 2100 mm
(82.7 in.). A clear concrete cover of 25 mm (1.0 in.) to the
transverse steel was used in the specimens. All specimens
in the flexure set had conventional shear stirrups throughout
1158
Fig. 1—Dimension and reinforcement detailing of: (a)
flexure; and (b) shear sets of specimens. (Note: All dimen-
sions in mm; 1 in. = 25.4 mm.)
their lengths. In contrast, except the RC specimen, all SFRC
specimens in the shear set had no shear stirrups. A total of
eight specimens were tested under the flexure set, in which
four specimens were designed for a 28-day concrete cube
compressive strength fck of 20 MPa (2.9 ksi) (designated as
M20 grade). The longitudinal reinforcement ratio ρ in these
specimens was 0.87%, and the spacing of shear stirrups was
150 mm (6 in.) center-to-center (c/c). The remaining four
specimens under this set were designed for an fck value of
25 MPa (3.6 ksi) (designated as M25 grade) and for a ρ value
of 1.15% with the stirrup spacing of 180 mm (7.09 in.) c/c.
Four different fiber contents (that is, 0, 0.5, 1.0, and 1.5%)
were used in the flexure set of specimens. The main objective
of testing of these specimens was to understand the enhance-
ment of flexural strength, ductility, and crack propagation
due to the addition of steel fibers in the presence of shear
stirrups. For the shear set, a total of four specimens was used
in this study for fiber contents of 0, 0.75, 1.0, and 1.25%.
These specimens were designed for an fck value of 20 MPa
(2.9 ksi) and for a ρ value of 1.95%. Table 1 summarizes the
geometric properties and steel reinforcement used in various
specimens. In this study, the test specimens are designated
as a-b-c, where a is grade of concrete (M20/M25); b is
specimen type (F for flexure and S for shear); and c is fiber
content, percent. The value of a/d was 2.30 for the flexure
sets of specimens, whereas this value was 3.45 for the shear
sets of specimens.
Materials used
The mixture proportion of cement concrete used in the
specimens was carried out as per Indian Standard IS:10262-
198227 code provisions to achieve the desired compressive
strengths. The procedure and specifications of concrete
mixture proportion as per IS:10262-198227 is similar to
those as per ACI 211.1-9128 provisions.29 Ordinary portland
cement, fine aggregates conforming to Zone-III,27 and coarse
aggregates of maximum size of 20 mm (0.79 in.) were used
in the concrete mixture. No admixtures were added into the
ACI Structural Journal/September-October 2014
Table 1—Geometric and material properties of test specimens
Specimen fck, MPa (ksi) fc′, MPa (ksi) Vf, % a/d ρ, % Lf/Df Longitudinal bars Stirrups
M20-F-0.00 26.6 (3.86) 21.3 (3.09) 0.00 2.30 0.87 80 3-12φ 8φ at 150 c/c
M20-F-0.50 23.9 (3.47) 19.1 (2.77) 0.50 2.30 0.87 80 3-12φ 8φ at 150 c/c
M20-F-1.00 27.4 (3.97) 21.9 (3.18) 1.00 2.30 0.87 80 3-12φ 8φ at 150 c/c
M20-F-1.50 27.2 (3.94) 21.8 (3.16) 1.50 2.30 0.87 80 3-12φ 8φ at 150 c/c
M25-F-0.00 36.2 (3.25) 29.0 (4.21) 0.00 2.30 1.15 80 4-12φ 8φ at 180 c/c
M25-F-0.50 35.9 (5.21) 28.7 (4.16) 0.50 2.30 1.15 80 4-12φ 8φ at 180 c/c
M25-F-1.00 34.9 (5.06) 27.9 (4.05) 1.00 2.30 1.15 80 4-12φ 8φ at 180 c/c
M25-F-1.50 34.1 (4.95) 27.3 (3.96) 1.50 2.30 1.15 80 4-12φ 8φ at 180 c/c
M20-S-0.00 35.5 (5.15) 28.4 (4.12) 0.00 3.45 1.95 80 3-18φ 8φ at 120 c/c
M20-S-0.75 41.9 (6.08) 32.9 (4.77) 0.75 3.45 1.95 80 3-18φ —
M20-S-1.00 32.3 (4.68) 23.8 (3.45) 1.00 3.45 1.95 80 3-18φ —
M20-S-1.25 28.2 (4.09) 24.1 (3.49) 1.25 3.45 1.95 80 3-18φ —

Notes: d is effective depth = 261 mm (10.3 in.); a is shear span; As is area of tension reinforcement; φ is diameter of reinforcement bar (mm); Lf and Df are length and diameter of
steel fiber, respectively; b is width of specimen = 150 mm (6 in.); 1 in. = 25.4 mm.

Fig. 2—Test setup and instrumentations used for: (a) flexure; and (b) shear sets of specimens.
mixture. The values of the water-cement ratio (w/c) used in
the concrete were 0.55 and 0.50 for the flexure and the shear
sets of specimens, respectively. Two different values of w/c
were used to get a variation in the fck values for the same
grade of concrete. Thermo-mechanically treated (TMT) steel
bars with a specified yield strength of 415 MPa (60.2 ksi)
were used as both longitudinal reinforcement and trans-
verse stirrups in the specimens (Table 1). Two numbers of
8 mm (0.31 in.) diameter bars were used at the compression
sides of all specimens to hold the shear stirrups at the proper
locations. The reinforcement detailing in the specimens
was carried out as per Indian Standard IS:456-200030 code
provisions. End-hooked steel fibers 60 mm (2.4 in.) long and
0.75 mm (0.03 in.) in diameter (that is, fiber aspect ratio =
80) were used in the SFRC specimens. The specified tensile
yield strength of steel fibers was 1100 MPa (159.4 ksi).
Standard cubes of size 150 x 150 x 150 mm (6 x 6 x 6
in.) and cylinders of size 100 x 200 mm (4 x 8 in.) were
prepared to measure the concrete compressive strengths as
per Indian Standard IS:516-195931 code provisions. At least
four cubes and cylinders representing all batches of concrete
mixtures used in a specimen were tested at 28 days of stan-
dard curing. Table 1 shows the average values of concrete
cube compressive strengths fck and the values of cylinder
compressive strength fc′. Wherever the cylinder compres-
sive strength data was not available, a multiplication factor
of 0.8 was used with the values of fck to compute the corre-
sponding values of fc′. As expected, no significant difference
was noted in the concrete compressive strength by adding
the steel fibers into the concrete mixture. In some cases, the
compressive strength of SFRC was slightly smaller than that
of the plain concrete.
Test setup and instrumentation
Two different test setups were used for the testing of the
flexure and the shear sets of specimens (Fig. 2). A four-point
bending test setup was used for the flexure sets of specimens
in which the equal magnitude loads were applied at two
points located at a distance of one-third of the span length
from either support. In the shear set of specimens, a three-
point bending test setup was used in which a point load was
applied at the midspan. This was carried out to simulate a
pure flexure action for the flexural sets of specimens and to
vary the value of a/d in the geometrically similar specimens.
A recent study8 concluded that there would be no signifi-
cant difference in the behavior of SFRC specimens tested
using three-point and four-point bending tests. A mono-
tonic-increased load was applied to the specimens at an
increment of approximately 10 kN until the ultimate resis-
tance of specimens was noticed, beyond which the crack
propagation was considered as the control parameter. A load
cell of 2000 kN (440 kip) capacity was used to monitor the

ACI Structural Journal/September-October 2014 1159

applied loading, and a displacement sensor was used at the
midspan to measure the central (midspan) displacements
of the test specimens. Several electrical-resistance uniaxial
strain gauges were attached to the reinforcement bars and to
the concrete surfaces of the specimens at the critical loca-
tions (Fig. 2). A real-time data acquisition system was used
to record and monitor the load-displacement and load-strain
response of the specimens.

TEST RESULTS
The main parameters investigated in this study are: 1) load
versus midspan displacement response; 2) ultimate resis-
tance; 3) ductility response; 4) crack propagation/failure
mechanism; and 5) state of strain in tension reinforcement
bars of the specimens. A detailed discussion on the observed
behavior of the flexure and shear sets of specimens is
provided in the following sections.

Load-displacement response
For the flexural set of specimens, the observed values
of flexural resistance Mu are normalized with respect to a
factor fckbd.2 As shown in Fig. 3(a), the normalized flex-
ural strengths (Mu/fckbd2) of the SFRC specimens with M20
grade concrete were higher than that of the corresponding
RC specimen. For the SFRC specimen (M20-F-0.50) with
a fiber content of 0.5%, the maximum value of Mu/fckbd2
was noted as 0.23. All the SFRC specimens with M20
grade concrete exhibited a more extended post-peak soft-
ening branch as compared with the RC specimen. Similar
load-displacement behavior was also noted for the flexural
set of specimens with M25 grade of concrete, as shown in
Fig. 3(b). The maximum value of Mu/fckbd2 was approxi-
mately 0.25 for the SFRC specimen (M25-F-1.00) with a
fiber content of 1.0%. Although a higher percentage of
longitudinal reinforcement was used in the flexural set of
specimens with M25 grade concrete, no significant increase
in the normalized flexural strength was noticed in the SFRC
specimens with the increased fiber contents. A more stable
post-peak behavior with the higher residual flexural strength,
however, was observed in both cases with the increase in the
fiber content due to the better fiber-bridging action.
For the shear set of specimens, the shear resistance Vu
values at different midspan displacements are normalized
with respect to a factor fck bd . As shown in Fig. 3(c), the
ultimate shear strength of SFRC specimens was increased Fig. 3—Normalized load-versus-midspan displacement
with the increase in the fiber content. The maximum value response of: (a) flexure set (M20); (b) flexure set (M25); and
of normalized shear strength (Vu / fck bd ) was noted as 1.00 (c) shear set of specimens. (Note: 1 in. = 25.4 mm.)
for the SFRC specimen (M20-S-1.25) with 1.25% fiber imen. This observation also justified the recommendations
content. The SFRC specimen (M20-S-0.75) with 0.75% of ACI 318-0811 which states that a minimum amount of
fiber content exhibited a very negligible post-peak response, 0.75% of end-hooked steel fibers should be used to replace
indicating its brittle behavior. With the increase in the fiber the shear stirrups to achieve the same shear strength as the
content, a better post-peak residual strength response was conventional RC flexural members. This study, however,
noted in the SFRC specimens. The RC specimen (M20-S- shows that a minimum of 1.0% fiber content should be used
0.0) showed a large post-yield ductile behavior due to the to achieve a ductile behavior before the shear failure of
presence of adequate shear stirrups at a spacing of 120 mm SFRC members without shear stirrups.
(4.7 in.) on centers throughout its length. Although the shear
stirrups were completely eliminated in the SFRC speci- Ultimate load-carrying capacity
mens, the normalized shear strength values were nearly Table 2 summarizes the observed values of peak load
equal to or higher than that of the corresponding RC spec- carried by the test specimens. In all cases, the addition of

1160 ACI Structural Journal/September-October 2014

Table 2—Ultimate resistance of test specimens
Specimen Fiber content Vf, % Ultimate load, kN (kip) Shear span ratio a/d vu/√fc′, MPa (ksi) Failure mode
M20-F-0.00 0.00 176.0 (38.8) 2.30 0.487 (0.071) Flexure
M20-F-0.50 0.50 188.3 (41.5) 2.30 0.545 (0.079) Flexure
M20-F-1.00 1.00 192.0 (42.3) 2.30 0.524 (0.076) Flexure
M20-F-1.50 1.50 188.7 (41.6) 2.30 0.517 (0.075) Flexure
M25-F-0.00 0.00 273.1 (60.2) 2.30 0.648 (0.094) Shear
M25-F-0.50 0.50 286.1 (63.1) 2.30 0.682 (0.099) Shear-flexure
M25-F-1.00 1.00 294.5 (64.9) 2.30 0.712 (0.103) Flexure
M25-F-1.50 1.50 286.4 (63.1) 2.30 0.700 (0.102) Flexure
M20-S-0.00 0.00 192.2 (42.4) 3.45 0.461 (0.067) Flexure
M20-S-0.75 0.75 218.0 (48.0) 3.45 0.483 (0.070) Shear
M20-S-1.00 1.00 191.8 (42.3) 3.45 0.488 (0.071) Shear
M20-S-1.25 1.25 207.7 (45.8) 3.45 0.591 (0.086) Shear

Note: vu = Vu/bd.

steel fibers increased the ultimate resistance of the specimens. Table 3—Displacement ductility response of test
The maximum value of the ultimate flexural load carried by specimens
the SFRC specimen with 1.0% fiber content and M20 grade
Specimen type Name of specimen Ductility
concrete was 192.0 kN (42.3 kip), which increased to a value
of 294.5 kN (64.9 kip) for the corresponding specimen with Flexure M20-F-0.00 3.4
M25 grade of concrete. In the shear sets of specimens, the Flexure M20-F-0.50 5.8
maximum value of ultimate resistance was noted as 218.0 kN Flexure M20-F-1.00 5.6
(48.1 kip) for the SFRC specimen (M20-S-0.75) with 0.75%
fiber content. For a constant value of the shear span-depth Flexure M20-F-1.50 4.6
ratio and fiber content, the normalized ultimate shear stress Flexure M25-F-0.00 4.3
(Vu / fc′bd ) was found to be higher for the specimens with Flexure M25-F-0.50 9.3
the high grade of concrete. An increase in the percentage
Flexure M25-F-1.00 9.1
of longitudinal reinforcement by 32% in the flexure sets of
specimens increased the normalized shear stress values by Flexure M25-F-1.50 7.8
approximately 35%, even if a larger spacing of shear stirrups Shear M20-S-0.00 5.1
was used. Table 2 also shows the failure modes of all test
Shear M20-S-0.75 1.0
specimens. Although the RC specimen (M25-F-0.00) with
M25 grade of concrete failed in shear indicating the inade- Shear M20-S-1.00 3.7
quacy of shear stirrups, the addition of a minimum of 0.5% Shear M20-S-1.25 1.9
fiber content changed the failure mode from (brittle) shear to
(ductile) flexure. All SFRC specimens without shear stirrups approximately 120% compared with the RC specimen. The
failed in shear, as expected. SFRC specimens with 1.5% fiber content showed a slightly
smaller value of ductility compared with the specimens with
Displacement ductility response the fiber content of 0.5 or 1.0%. This can be attributed to the
Displacement ductility is computed as the ratio of the uneven distribution of fibers in the concrete matrix because
displacement at which the load-displacement response devi- of the reduced workability in case of the higher dose of
ates from the approximately linear response to the displace- steel fibers. Thus, a fiber content of 0.5% might be suffi-
ment corresponding to the sudden loss of the load-carrying cient to enhance the displacement ductility of SFRC spec-
capacities of the test specimens. Table 3 summarizes the imens having the shear stirrups throughout their lengths.
computed values of displacement ductility of the speci- In the SFRC members without shear stirrups, however, a
mens. The ductility values were significantly increased for minimum fiber content of 1.0% is required to achieve the
the flexure set of specimens due to addition of steel fibers ductile behavior (Table 3).
in the presence of shear stirrups. For the specimens with
M20 grade of concrete, the ductility value was increased by Crack propagation and failure mechanism
70% for the SFRC specimens as compared with the corre- The first vertical (flexural) crack in the RC specimen
sponding RC specimen. For the specimens with the higher (M20-F-0.00) was noticed at the midspan at a load level
concrete compressive strength and the higher (approxi- of 40 kN (8.8 kip). As the load magnitude was increased,
mately 30%) longitudinal reinforcement ratio, the maximum several flexural and shear cracks were noted in the spec-
increase in the ductility values for the SFRC specimens was

ACI Structural Journal/September-October 2014 1161

Fig. 4—Crack propagation and failure mechanisms in flexure sets of specimens (fck = 20 MPa [2.9 ksi]; ρ = 0.87%).
Fig. 5—Crack propagation and failure mechanisms in flexure
sets of specimens (fck = 25 MPa [3.6 ksi]; ρ = 1.15%).
imen, as shown in Fig. 4. At a 140 kN (30.9 kip) load level,
the crushing of compression concrete was noted along with
a major flexural crack at the midspan. At a failure load of
176 kN (38.8 kip), severe concrete crushing along with
major flexural cracks were noted at the midspan of the RC
specimen. The number of vertical and inclined cracks was
significantly increased for the SFRC specimens, however,
due to the fiber-bridging action. The first flexural crack in
the SFRC specimens was also noted at an approximately 40
kN (8.8 kip) load level. The failure mechanism of the SFRC
was similar to the RC specimen, which consisted of the
crushing of concrete compression and major flexural cracks
at the midspan. Figure 5 shows the crack propagation and
final state of the flexure set of specimens with M25 grade of
concrete. In this case, the first flexural crack in all specimens
was noted in the midspan region at a load level of 70 kN
(15.4 kip). As the magnitude of the load increased, a few
minor shear cracks were noticed outside the midspan of the
RC specimen at a 120 kN (26.5 kip) load level. At the failure
load of 273.1 kN (60.2 kip), the RC specimen showed the
formation of major shear cracks emanating from the support
to the loading point in addition to the crushing of compres-
sion concrete below the loading points. In contrast, the
1162
failure of the SFRC specimens was due to the formation of
flexural cracks and the compression crushing of concrete at
the midspan region, indicating the flexural (ductile) failure.
Figure 6 shows the comparison of the cracks observed at
the failure state of the (flexural) SFRC specimens with 0.5
and 1.5% fiber content. The specimen (M25-F-0.50) with
0.5% fiber content showed major shear and flexural cracks
at the failure state. Because the corresponding RC specimen
failed in shear, the combination of shear and flexural cracks
at the failure stage confirmed that the failure of the SFRC
specimen (M25-F-0.50) was in a state of transition from
shear to flexure due to addition of fiber content of 0.5% in
the presence of shear stirrups. In the SFRC specimen (M25-
F-1.50) with 1.5% fiber content, the failure was due to devel-
opment of a single flexural crack at the midspan, indicating
the failure was primarily due to the flexure. The pullout and
the breaking of fibers observed at the crack section of the
SFRC specimen with 1.5% fiber content showed the contri-
bution of fiber resistance.
In the shear set, the first crack was noted at a load level of
40 kN (8.8 kip) for the RC specimen, and of 70 kN (15.4 kip)
for the SFRC specimens. The RC specimen failed in flexure
at a load of 192.2 kN (42.4 kip) due to the formation of
major flexural cracks and the crushing of the compres-
sion concrete just below the loading point (Fig. 7). It is
worth mentioning that this specimen had the shear stirrups
throughout its length. The depth of compression crushing
was approximately 100 mm (4 in.). All SFRC specimens
failed in shear due to the formation of a major diagonal
crack emanating from the loading point, as shown in Fig. 7.
As the fiber content in the SFRC specimens was increased,
the number of flexural and shear cracks was also increased.
Further, the reduced slope of the major shear cracks at the
failure state of the SFRC specimens with the increased fiber
content showed the contribution of flexural action before
their failure in shear.
State of strain in tension reinforcement bars
Figure 8(a) shows the state of strain in tensile reinforce-
ment bars at different load levels of the specimens under the
flexure set. As expected, the yielding of tension reinforce-
ment bars was noted at the midspan of all specimens. The
tension bars in the RC (M20-F-0.00) and the SFRC (M20-
F-1.50) specimens reached higher than 1.5% strain level
showing their significant ductile response. As expected, the
RC specimen (M25-F-0.00) specimen did not show much
post-yield behavior of tensile reinforcement because of its
ACI Structural Journal/September-October 2014
Fig. 6—Comparison of cracks at the failure stage of SFRC specimens with 0.5 and 1.5% fiber content.
shear failure. All SFRC specimens with M25 grade concrete
under the flexural set showed some ductile response. All
tension bars in these specimens showed nonlinear (yielding)
behavior at nearly a 0.2% strain level. As discussed previ-
ously, the load-carrying capacity of these specimens was
increased for the higher grade of concrete and the high
percentage of the longitudinal reinforcement ratio. Figure
8(b) shows the load versus state of strain in tension bars of
the shear set of specimens. Tensile yielding of reinforcement
bars was noted in all specimens, indicating flexural yielding
before their failure. The longitudinal bars at the midspan
in the RC specimen yielded a little earlier than those in the
SFRC specimens. As the fiber content was increased, the
yielding of tensile reinforcement bars was delayed in the
SFRC specimens. Except for Specimen M20-S-0.75, the
other two SFRC specimens with fiber contents of 1.0 and
1.25% exhibited significant yielding of the tensile reinforce-
ment bars at the midspan. Thus, the addition of steel fibers
into the concrete matrix might result in the enhanced flexural
yielding of longitudinal bars in the SFRC specimens without
shear stirrups.

ANALYTICAL PREDICTIONS
As discussed previously, several models and design
guidelines are available in the literature to estimate the shear
capacity of SFRC beams. Some models (Type 1) consider the
contribution of fiber resistance and the concrete contribution
independently, in a way similar to the stirrups improving the
shear capacity of conventional RC members, to predict the
shear strength of SFRC members. Other models (Type 2)
assume that the addition of steel fibers directly modifies
the concrete strength in flexure, shear, and tension. Both
these models include several parameters, such as concrete
compressive strength, shear span-depth ratio, percentage of
longitudinal reinforcement, type of fiber, amount of fiber
content, and fiber matrix bond strength. A model developed
by Dinh et al.25 considers the value of flexural strength of
standard ASTM beams at a target crack width to estimate
the shear strength of SFRC members. Both types of models
are used in this study to predict the shear strength of SFRC
specimens without stirrups.
Comparison of observed values with
predicted values
Seven different models proposed by various
researchers2,3,13,14,18,23,25 were used to predict the shear
Fig. 7—Crack propagation and failure mechanisms in shear
sets of specimens.
strengths of the shear sets of SFRC specimens. Table 4
summarizes various models and the related expressions used
to predict the shear strength. Most of these selected models
fall under the Type 1 category. Table 5 shows the ratio of the
shear strengths predicted using these models to the observed
values for the shear sets of specimens. The predicted values
of shear strength of the SFRC specimens were in the range
of 65 to 110% of the observed values. The model proposed
by Khuntia et al.18 provided a more conservative result,
whereas the shear strengths values predicted using the model
proposed by Kwak et al.3 were much closer to the experi-
mental values found in this study. A maximum difference
of 15% was noted between the predicted and the observed
values of shear strength for the SFRC specimen with 0.75%
fiber content. For the SFRC specimens with higher fiber
content, however, this difference was less than 5%. It should
be noted that the model proposed by Kwak et al.3 takes
several parameters into account, such as fiber-matrix bond
stress, fiber fraction, shear span-depth ratio, and percentage
of longitudinal reinforcement.

ACI Structural Journal/September-October 2014 1163

Table 4—Shear strength prediction models for SFRC members used in this study
No. Model type Expressions for shear strength Remarks
23
Sharma
1 Vu = kfct(d/a)1/4bd; k = 2/3; fct = 0.79√fc′ MPa fct = fiber-reinforced concrete split cylinder strength
(Type 2)

Mansur et al.13 Vu = 0.16 fc′ + 17.2ρ(Vd /M ) + σ tu  bd; M/V = a-d for a/d > 2.0; df = 1 for end-hooked fibers; σtu is FRC
2
(Type 1) post-cracking tensile strength; τ is fiber-matrix bond stress
σtu = 0.41τF; F = dfVfLf/Df; τ = 0.68√fc′ MPa

3
Narayan and
Darwish2
{ }
′ + 80ρ(d /a ) + vb  bd ;
Vu = e 0.24 fspfc
fcuf = fiber-reinforced concrete cube strength; e = 1 for a/d > 2.8
(Type 1) ′ = 0.7 + F + fcuf / (20 − F ) ; vb = 0.41τF; τ = 4.15 MPa
fspfc

1/ 3
Ashour et al.14  d
Vu = 2.11( fc′) + 7F   ρ 
1/ 3
4   a
bd —
(Type 1)

Khuntia et al.18
5 Vu = ( 0.167e + 0.25F ) fc′bd e = 1 for a/d > 2.5
(Type 1)

  d
1/ 3

Kwak et al.3 ′ 2 / 3  ρ  + 0.8vb  bd ; vb = 0.41τF; τ = 4.15 MPa;
Vu = 3.7efspfc
6   a   e = 1 for a/d > 3.4
(Type 1)
′ = 0.7 + F + fcuf / (20 − F )
fspfc

Dinh et al.25 Vu = 0.13Asfy + b(d – c)σt ; c = 2M/(0.85bh√fc′); As is area of tension reinforcement; fy is yield strength of rein-
7
(Type 1) σt = 2M/0.9bh2 forcement; M is maximum moment in ASTM beam testing

Fig. 8—State of strain in tension reinforcement bars at midspan of: (a) flexure; and (b) shear sets of specimens. (Note: 1 kN =
0.220 kip.)
Relationship between fiber content and shear
strengths of SFRC specimen
Considering the large variation in equations proposed
by several researchers, an effort was made in this study to
establish a correlation between the fiber content and the
shear strengths of the SFRC specimens using the test results
as reported in the literature.2,3,13,20,25,32-37 A total of 84 RC
and SFRC beams (including these research findings) without
shear stirrups were used in this evaluation. Various proper-
ties of these beams considered are as follows: 1) shear span-
depth ratio (a/d) ≥ 2.5; 2) longitudinal tension reinforcement
ratio ρ ranging between 1.2 and 4.5%; 3) concrete cylinder
strength fc′ varied from 20.0 to 60.0 MPa (2.9 to 8.7 ksi); 4)
hooked steel fibers in volume fractions Vf varied from 0 to
1.5%; 5) fiber tensile strength fu ≥ 1030 MPa (150 ksi); and
6) fiber length-diameter ratio (Lf/Df) varied from 55 to 100.
All these data points were divided into two categories of test
specimens based on their effective depth d, namely, medium
scale (d < 300 mm [12 in.]) and large scale (d ≥ 300 mm
[12 in.]) to eliminate the size effects, if at all exists. The
measured shear strengths Vu of test beams were normalized
with respect to their corresponding √f¯c′bd values. Figure 9
shows the relation between normalized shear stress (vu/√fc′)
and the fiber content for both the medium-scale and large-
scale beams. The increase in fiber content in the beams
leads to the increase in the normalized shear stress. For the
fiber content higher than 1.0%, however, the percentage of
increase in the normalized shear stress was little higher for
the medium-scale beams as compared with that for the large-
scale beams. Figure 9 also shows the mean μ and mean μ +
standard deviation σ values of the corresponding data set.
Using a curve-fitting procedure, a best-fit line was drawn
joining the mean values of each data set for fiber content.
The correlation factor R2 values were greater than 95% in
both cases. Thus, the relationship between the average
shear strength and the fiber content of SFRC beams can be
expressed as follows (in SI units)

1164 ACI Structural Journal/September-October 2014

Fig. 9—Relationship between fiber content and normalized shear strength of beams with: (a) d < 300 mm (12 in.); and (b) d ≥
300 mm (12 in.). (Note: 1 MPa = 0.145 ksi.)
Table 5—Comparison of observed shear strengths stirrups. The addition of a higher dose of fiber greater than
with predicted values 0.5% does not significantly improve the flexural strength.
A minimum fiber content of 0.5% is required to change the
Vpred/Vexpt
failure mode of the flexural members from shear to flexure;
Specimen (1)23 (2)13 (3)2 (4)14 (5)18 (6)3 (7)25 2. The addition of 0.75% fiber content in the flexural
M20-S-0.75 0.80 0.73 0.81 0.70 0.66 0.85 0.86 members without shear stirrups is sufficient to achieve the
M20-S-1.00 0.79 0.84 1.06 0.86 0.75 1.04 0.92
ultimate resistance that is the same as the conventional RC
flexural member with stirrups. To achieve an appreciable
M20-S-1.25 0.65 0.79 1.10 0.85 0.71 1.05 0.78 level of ductility before shear failure of the SFRC member,
however, a higher fiber dose (equal to or more than 1.0%)

(
Vu = 0.251 + 0.173V f + 0.069V f 2 ) fc′bd
(1)
(for d < 300 mm [12 in.]) to predict the shear strengths of SFRC members without
(
Vu = 0.202 + 0.377V f − 0.113V f 2 ) fc′bd
(2)
(for d ≥ 300 mm [12 in.]) 4. Two simple expressions relating the fiber content to the
The aforementioned equations use only a single vari-
able, that is, fiber volume fraction Vf to compute the shear
strengths of SFRC beams. Due to the limited test data avail-
able for the SFRC beams with 2% fiber content, the correla-
tions are established only up to a fiber content of 1.5%,
a value regarded as the upper limit in the practice. These
equations are valid for the beams with the normal-strength
concrete (that is, fc′ < 60 MPa [8.7 ksi]). It should be noted
that although the fiber geometry may control the overall
behavior of the SFRC beams due to the different fiber-
matrix bond characteristics, these equations provide an
approximate estimate of the average value of shear strength
to be used in the design process.
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
A series of 12 RC and SFRC beam specimens were tested
under monotonically increased loading. The effect of several
parameters, such as fiber content, percentage of longitudinal
reinforcement, amount of transverse stirrups, shear span-
depth ratio, and compressive strength of concrete on the
overall behavior of beams was studied. Based on this study,
the following conclusions can be drawn:
1. The addition of steel fibers enhances the flexural strength
and the ductility of the SFRC members with sufficient shear
is necessary;
3. Most of the existing models available in the literature
shear stirrups give a conservative or reasonable estimate of
the shear strengths. For the SFRC beams considered in this
study, the predicted values of shear strength are in the range
of 65 to 110% of the observed values; and
shear strengths of SFRC members are derived using a large
set of test results for both medium-scale and large-scale
beams. A good correlation (R2 > 95%) exists between the
shear strength and fiber content for members with normal-
strength concrete (that is, fc′ < 60 MPa [8.7 ksi]).
AUTHOR BIOS
ACI member Dipti Ranjan Sahoo is an Assistant Professor in Depart-
ment of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi,
India, and was formerly a postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Civil
Engineering at the University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX. He
received his PhD in civil engineering from IIT Kanpur, India. His research
interests include fiber-reinforced concrete, seismic behavior of structural
members, and seismic strengthening of structures using passive energy
dissipation devices.
Abhimanyu Sharma is a Researcher in the Department of Civil Engi-
neering, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi, India, where he
received his BTech in civil engineering. His research interests include
behavior of fiber-reinforced concrete structures.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors wish to express their gratitude to Bekaert Steel Wire Co.
for the donation of the steel fibers for this research. The help and support
received from the UG students (Abhishek, Pawan, and Sidhant) and the labo-
ratory staff of Structural Engineering Section, Civil Engineering Depart-
ment, IIT Delhi is greatly appreciated. The funding received from Ministry
of Human Resources Department (MHRD), India, is highly acknowledged.

ACI Structural Journal/September-October 2014 1165

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