Static and Dynamic Responses of a Reinforced Concrete Beam Strengthened with Steel and Polypropylene Fibers

Abstract

This paper describes an experimental investigation on mono steel and polypropylene (PP) fiber-reinforced concrete beams. The main aim of this present study is to evaluate undamaged and damaged reinforced concrete (RC) beams incorporated with mono fibers such as steel and PP fibers under free-free constraints. In this experimental work, a total of nine RC beams were cast and analyzed in order to study the dynamic behavior as well as the static load behavior of steel fiber-reinforced concrete (SFRCs) and polypropylene fiber-reinforced concrete (PPFRCs). Damage to the SFRC and PPFRC beams was obtained by cracking the concrete for one of the beams in each set under four-point bending tests with different percentage variations of the damage levels such as 50%, 70% and 90% of the maximum ultimate load. The fundamental natural frequency and damping values obtained through the dynamic tests for the SFRC and PPFRC beams were compared with a control RC beam at each level of damage that had been acquired through static tests. The static experimental test results emphasize that the SFRC beam has attained a higher ultimate load compared with the control RC beam.