Autor(es):
Pereira, E. N. B. 
; Barros, Joaquim A. O. ; Camões, Aires
Data: 2008
Identificador Persistente: http://hdl.handle.net/1822/13530
Origem: RepositóriUM - Universidade do Minho
Assunto(s): Self-compacting concrete; Steel fibers; Compression; Flexural; Punching; Finite element method
Descrição
Over the last few decades, the astonishing developments of super plasticizers technology allowed
great achievements on the conception of concrete mixes exhibiting self-compacting ability. Since the eighties,
some methodologies have been proposed to achieve self-compacting requirements in fresh concrete mixes, based
on the evaluation of the flowing properties of these mixes. There still persist, however, some doubts about the
most appropriate strategy to define the optimum composition of a self-compacting concrete (SCC) mix, based on
a required performance. The behavior of SCC as a structural material can be improved if adequate steel fiber
reinforcement is added to SCC mix composition. In fact, the fiber reinforcement mechanisms can convert the
brittle behavior of this cement based material into a pseudo-ductile behavior up to a crack width that is
acceptable under the structural design point-of-view. Fiber addition, however, increases the complexity of the
mix design process, due to the strong perturbation effect that steel fibers cause on fresh concrete flow. In the
present work, a mix design method is proposed to develop cost effective and high performance Steel Fiber
Reinforced Self-Compacting Concrete (SFRSCC). The material properties of the developed SFRSCC are
assessed as well as its potentiality as a structural material, carrying out punching and flexural tests on panel
prototypes. A material nonlinear analysis is carried out, aiming to address the possibility of calibrating the
constitutive model parameters by obtaining, with an inverse analysis, the fracture parameters using forcedeflection
relationships recorded in simpler laboratory tests, like the three point notched beam bending test. The
contribution of steel fibers for punching resistance is also, by this means, discussed.
