Behavior of Postcracked steel fiber-reinforced concrete in fatigue and development of a damage prediction model

Abstract

This paper reports the results of 27 tests on determinant round panels undertaken to determine the postcracking resistance to repeated cycling (fatigue) loading of steel fiber reinforced concrete (SFRC) of low fiber dosages. The experiments were conducted for both precracked and uncracked panels to examine the contribution of postcracking tensile strength, and the effectiveness of steel fibers in providing resistance to fatigue damage. The results quantify the improvements of fibers to fatigue life of SFRC and, particularly, to the important second stage of crack growth during cyclic loading. From the outcomes of the testing program, a damage prediction model is proposed for forecasting postcracking fatigue damage during repeated cyclic loading. The model is shown to accurately predict the overall load-stiffness response, capture the development crack openings with increasing cycles, as well as quantify the stiffness development and number of load cycles to failure.