Analysis and Behavior of Ferrocement in Flexure

Although the ultimate flexural capacity of ferrocement beams has been successfully predicted, few attempts have been made to predict deflections and crack widths under loading. Experiments were carried out to determine the load-deflection curves, crack distribution, and crack widths for ferrocement beams up to ultimate. Concurrently, an analytical model was developed to generate the nonlinear moment-curvature and load-deflection curves of ferrocement beams from the measured stress-strain curves for mortar in compression (including the descending portion) and steel meshes in tension. The model is shown to satisfactorily predict the load-deflection curves of ferrocement as well as those of reinforced concrete beams. A simple upper bound relationship is proposed to predict the average crack width in ferrocement for a given strain or stress in the extreme layer of steel mesh.