Effect of Steel Fibers on Shear Behavior of Prestressed Concrete Beams

Eight full-scale Prestressed Concrete I-beams were tested to study the effects of steel fibers on shear strength and ductility of beams. Two beams were cast with regular transverse steel reinforcement. Four beams were cast using concrete reinforced with steel fibers and with no traditional transverse steel reinforcement and the remaining beams were cast with concrete having steel fibers and also with traditional transverse steel reinforcement. After the fabrication of the beams they were subjected to concentrated vertical loads up to their maximum shear or moment capacity using two actuators. During the load tests Linear Voltage Displacement Transducers were used to record displacements under the beams at the points of loading to measure the actual total and net displacements of the beams. From the load tests it was observed that the shear capacities of the beams significantly increased due to the addition of steel fibers in concrete. Replacement of traditional shear reinforcement with steel fibers also increased the ductility and energy dissipation capacity of the beams.