Assessment of the behavior of steel-fiber reinforced concrete produced with different ratios of fine-to-coarse aggregate

Abstract

Aggregate is an important ingredient of concrete that affects both fresh and hardened properties of concrete. The properties of concrete can be enhanced or worsened by changing properties of aggregate, especially particle size distribution of aggregate. However, in the literature, the effects of particle size distribution of aggregate on the properties of concrete have been neglected for particularly Steel-Fiber Reinforced Concrete (SFRC) although packing is a very important aspect for SFRC quality. Thus, this study investigates the effects of changing particle size distribution and maximum size (Dmax) of aggregate on the workability and mechanical properties of SFRC. With this aim, three gradations and two Dmax were used to produce SFRC mixtures with constant cement dosages and water/cement ratios. Totally, nine different concrete series were tested. To observe the properties of fresh concrete, Slump and Ve-Be tests were performed. The compressive, splitting tensile and flexural strengths of concretes were also evaluated, and the toughness of the SFRC specimens was calculated. Based on the test results, it can be concluded that the ratio of fine-to-coarse aggregate, the void content between the aggregate particles and Dmax have remarkable effects on the properties of both fresh and hardened SFRC. In addition, the toughness of the SFRC specimens which has constant cement dosage, and water/cement ratios were influenced by those aspects of the aggregates.