See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

net/publication/318027706

Investigation on Concrete Reinforced with Two Types of Hooked Fibers under

Flexure

Article in Procedia Engineering · December 2017

DOI: 10.1016/j.proeng.2017.06.195

CITATIONS READS

15 483

2 authors:

Małgorzata Pająk Tomasz Ponikiewski

Silesian University of Technology Silesian University of Technology
30 PUBLICATIONS 683 CITATIONS 148 PUBLICATIONS 1,558 CITATIONS

SEE PROFILE SEE PROFILE

All content following this page was uploaded by Małgorzata Pająk on 30 June 2017.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

 Available online at www.sciencedirect.com

ScienceDirect
Procedia Engineering 193 (2017) 128 – 135

International Conference on Analytical Models and New Concepts in Concrete and Masonry
Structures AMCM’2017

Investigation on concrete reinforced with two types of hooked fibers

under flexure
Maágorzata Pająka*, Tomasz Ponikiewskib
a
Silesian University of Technology, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Department of Structural Engineering, Akademicka 5, 44-100 Gliwice, Poland
b
Silesian University of Technology, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Department of Building Materials and Processes Engineering, Akademicka 5,
44-100 Gliwice, Poland

Abstract

Steel fiber reinforced concrete (SFRC) is a material widely used for structural applications. The effectiveness of the steel fibers in
the concrete matrix is strongly affected by the shape of the fibers. Because the steel fibers with various geometrical parameters
are currently available, the knowledge about their influence on concrete response is needed. The paper presents the investigation
on concrete reinforced with new type of fibers which are crimped along the length with additional hooks at the ends. To estimate
the effect of this kind of fibers on the mechanical parameters of SFRC the typical hooked fibers were also investigated. The
compressive and three-point flexural tensile tests were performed on specimens where three fiber contents were applied: 0.32 %,
0.45 % and 0.57 %. The results indicate that the fracture energy did not differ apparently, whereas in the equivalent tensile
strengths some differences were noted due to the change of fiber shape. The difference was only observed in the shape of the
load-deflection curves obtained from the tests with a use of two fiber types. However, the compressive strength and flexural
tensile strength at the limit of proportionality were more affected by crimped and hooked fibers than typical hooked ones.
It shows that the new type of fiber may delay the formation of the cracks in the SFRC.
© 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license
© 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Peer-reviewunder
Peer-review under responsibility
responsibility ofscientific
of the the scientific committee
committee of the International
of the International Conference
Conference on Models
on Analytical Analytical
and Models and New
New Concepts in
Conceptsand
Concrete in Masonry
ConcreteStructures
and Masonry Structures.

Keywords: steel fiber reinforced concrete, flexural parameters, hooked fibers

* Corresponding author. Tel.: +48-32-237-15-98; fax: +48-32-237-22-88.

E-mail address: malgorzata.pajak@polsl.pl

1877-7058 © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the International Conference on Analytical Models and New Concepts in Concrete and
Masonry Structures
doi:10.1016/j.proeng.2017.06.195
 Małgorzata Pająk and Tomasz Ponikiewski / Procedia Engineering 193 (2017) 128 – 135 129

1. Introduction

Fiber reinforced concrete is a material that found wield field of applications in structural engineering as
a material with improved brittleness and ductility comparing to plain concrete. Application of randomly distributed
short fibers significantly improves the tensile strength, post-peak behavior under tension and compression as well as
the response to dynamic loading of concrete [1-3]. The effectiveness of the fibers in the concrete matrix is affected
by many factors like: fiber material, volume ratio and geometrical parameters of fibers, their orientation in the
matrix and strength of the matrix. Considering the material used for fibers, besides synthetic, organic, glass etc.,
steel is the most commonly used, because the biggest enhancement in mechanical parameters can be obtained by
incorporation of this kind of fibers into brittle matrix [1-8]. The greatest variety of the types of fibers can be found
among the steel ones [4]. One of the most important geometrical parameters of the fibers is their length and aspect
ratio (length/diameter). However, keeping these parameters constant, the longitudinal and cross-sectional shape of
the fibers plays the most important role in affecting the mechanical parameters of the matrix [2]. Any deformation of
straight fiber improves the bond between the fiber and the concrete matrix, and as an effect enhances the mechanical
parameters of steel fiber reinforced concrete (SFRC). Currently produced fibers can be hooked, crimped, twisted,
flattened and many others. The cross-section of the fiber may be circular, rectangular, part of a circle or other
irregular [1,2,4]. The length of the fibers is crucial as fibers attract the cracks according to their length. Thus, the
best improvements are noted in the hybrid composites, where fibers made from different materials or with different
geometrical parameters are mixed [1,9]. However, the producers started to supply the fibers with mixed longitudinal
shapes. The combination of different shapes may bring some additional benefits in mechanical parameters of
concrete. This kind of fibers were not widely investigated, thus, the knowledge about the response of concrete
reinforced with these fibers would be interesting and needed.
The present paper deals with a new fiber type which joints two kinds of the longitudinal shapes of fibers: hooked
and crimped. The straight part of a traditionally hooked fiber is additionally crimped along its length. In order to
evaluate the influence of this kind of fibers on the mechanical parameters of SFRC the results were compared to the
typical hooked fibers of similar length and aspect ratio. The flexural parameters of SFRC were analyzed,
as commonly done to evaluate the effect of fibers on concrete matrix [3,5-8].

2. Experimental study

The composition of concrete matrix is presented in Table 1. The plasticizer used was Pantarhit 50 (BV). In the
investigation three different volume fractions of 0.32 %, 0.45 % and 0.57 % were adopted, using two types of fibers
described in Table 2. Both types of fibers had hooks at the ends, however, one type was additionally crimped along
its length. The diameters of the fibers were the same (0.5mm), while lengths of the fibers were equal to 50 mm and
55 mm for hooked (H) and crimped and hooked (CH) fibers, respectively. Thus, the aspect ratios of the fibers were
comparable.

Table 1. Composition of SFRC mix.

Cement Natural sand Fine aggregate Coarse aggregate
Water Steel fibers Plasticizer
CEM I 42.5R (0–2 mm) (2–8 mm) (8–16 mm) W/C
3
(kg/m ) (%) (kg/m3)
(kg/m3) (kg/m3) (kg/m3) (kg/m3)
350 635 830 488 168 0.32; 0.45; 0.57 7 0.44

The analysis was focused on determination of the compressive strength and flexural parameters of SFRC mixes
at the age of 28 - days. For each mixture, four cubes with the dimensions of 150 × 150 × 150 mm3 were tested in
compression. Tests were performed with a constant strain rate using servo-hydraulic testing machine. The flexural
behavior was investigated in three-point bending tests on four notched beams for each mix with the dimensions of
150 × 150 × 600 mm3 (Fig. 1). The span of the beam was equal to 500 mm. During the tests the mid-span deflection
increased constantly with the rate of deflection equal to 0.2 mm/min until the deflection reached 5 mm. The crack
130 Małgorzata Pająk and Tomasz Ponikiewski / Procedia Engineering 193 (2017) 128 – 135

mouth opening displacement (CMOD) was measured using the clip gage at the notch (Fig. 1). The experimental
investigations were preliminary presented in [10].

Table 2. Properties of hooked steel fibers.

Length (L) Diameter (d) Aspect ratio Tensile strength
Designation Fiber shape E (GPa)
[mm] [mm] (L/d) [MPa]

H 50 ± 10% 0.65 ± 5% 77 hooked 1100 210

crimped and
CH 55 ± 10% 0.65 ± 5% 85 1100 210
hooked

Fig. 1. Testing setup for flexural tests according to RILEM TC 162-TDF.

3. Test results and discussion

3.1. Results of the compression tests

The variation of the compressive strength according to the applied amount and type of the fiber was summarized
in Table 3 and depicted in Fig. 2.
The compressive strength of concrete matrix was equal to 56.55 MPa. The addition of fibers caused improvement
of the compressive strength in case of both investigated fiber types. The crimped and hooked fibers (CH) were more
effective in enhancing the compressive parameters than the typical hooked ones. In case of 0.57 % volume fraction
of “CH” fibers the compressive strength reached the value of 73.58 MPa, which is 30 % higher than the compressive
strength of the reference mix.
The fibers are mainly responsible for carrying the loads after cracking, thus their influence on the compressive
strength itself is usually negligible. It was noted by other researchers dealing with hooked fibers of similar
parameters [3,5,6,8]. The compressive behavior observed in the paper can be also explained by the fact that the
fibers delay the micro-crack formation. In case of “CH” fibers this effect could be more pronounced.
 Małgorzata Pająk and Tomasz Ponikiewski / Procedia Engineering 193 (2017) 128 – 135 131

75
C - plain concrete
Compressive strength [MPa]
SFRC - with hooked fibers (H)
70
SFRC - with crimped and hooked fibers (CH)

65

60

55

50
0 0.2 0.4 0.6
Vf of steel fibers [%]

Fig. 2. Compressive strength of SFRC according to the type of fibers. Fig. 3. The typical load-deflection curves from the flexural tests
obtained on four specimens and the average.

3.2. Results of the flexural tests

In the presented investigation the three-point bending tests were performed on notched beams according to
RILEM TC 162-TDF [11]. In Table 3 detailed mechanical parameters obtained in flexural tests are summarized,
where in parentheses the standard deviation is presented. The results given in Table 3 are the average from the
results obtained on each specimen (four for one mix). The one exception is the fracture energy which was calculated
from the average load-deflection curve based on recommendation RILEM 50-FMC [12] using the following
formula:
W0 + mgδ
GF = (1)
B( D − a)
where: W0 - area under the load-deflection curve up to deflection of 4mm; m - mass of the specimen; g - specific
gravity; į - deflection as the final fracture; B,D - width and depth of the specimen; a - notch depth.
The flexural strengths were determined according to the procedure presented in [11]. The evaluation of
equivalent flexural tensile strengths is depicted in Fig. 4, while the flexural tensile strength at the limit of
proportionality was calculated according to the equation (2):

2 FL L
f ts , L = (2)
3B ( D − a ) 2
where: FL – load at the limit of proportionality equal to the highest value of the load in the interval of 0.05 mm.
a) b)

Fig. 4. Determination of equivalent flexural tensile strengths according to RILEM TC162 TDF [11]: a) feq,2, b) feq,3.
132 Małgorzata Pająk and Tomasz Ponikiewski / Procedia Engineering 193 (2017) 128 – 135

The typical load-deflection curves of four SFRC specimens and the average curve from flexural test are presented
in Fig. 3. All the diagrams shown further in the paper are the average of four specimens. The load-deflection and
load-CMOD curves up to deflection or crack mouth opening displacement (CMOD) equal to 4 mm are graphically
presented in Figs. 5-7. The results of the tests performed on SFRC reinforced with various amounts of hooked (H)
and crimped and hooked (CH) fibers are shown in Fig. 5 and Fig. 6, respectively. The comparison of flexural
behavior of the mixes containing different types of fibers according to their amount were depicted in Fig. 7. The
variation of the flexural tensile strength at the limit of proportionality (fts,L), equivalent flexural tensile strengths
(feq,2, feq,3) and the fracture energy (GF) were additionally depicted in Fig. 8.

a) b)

Fig. 5. The results of flexural tests performed on concrete reinforced with hooked fibers (H): a) average load–deflection curves;
b) average load-CMOD curves.

a) b)

Fig. 6. The results of flexural tests performed on concrete reinforced with crimped and hooked fibers (CH) fibers: a) average load–deflection
curves; b) average load-CMOD curves.
 Małgorzata Pająk and Tomasz Ponikiewski / Procedia Engineering 193 (2017) 128 – 135 133

a) b) c)

Fig. 7. Comparison of average load–deflection curves from flexural tests of concrete reinforced with hooked (H) and crimped and hooked
(CH) fibers at the amounts of fibers equal of: (a) 0.32 %; (b) 0.45 %; (c) 0.57 %.

The obvious influence of the applied amount of fibers on the flexural behavior of tested material can be observed
in Fig. 5 and Fig. 6. With the increase of fiber content the improvement of the maximum load and the post-peak
parameters of SFRC was noted, regardless of the fiber type, which can be also seen in Table 3. This increase can be
explained by the fiber bridging effect, which increases with the fiber content [3]. However, the shape of the load-
deflection and load-CMOD curves is different in case of both types of fibers. Application of hooked fibers (H)
caused a smooth increase of load according to deflection or CMOD. The strengthening phase of the load–deflection
curve after achieving the first crack was noted only for SFRC containing 0.57 % by volume of hooked fibers (Fig.
6a). The similar diagrams from the studies on concrete reinforced with typical hooked fibers can be also found in
[3,5-8]. Meanwhile for “CH” fibers some drop after the first peak and further strengthening was noted. These results
indicate a need for investigation of SFRC with crimped and hooked fibers (CH) at the higher content of fiber.

Table 3. Properties of SFRC in a fresh and hardened state.

Load at the Flexural Deflection
Vf of steel Equivalent flexural Fracture
Compressive limit of strength at the Maximum corresponding
fibers tensile strength [MPa] energy*
Mix strength proportionality limit of load Fmax to maximum
GF
[MPa] (LOP) proportionality [kN] load įFmax
[%] [kg/m3] feq,2 feq,3 [N/m]
FL [kN] fst,L [MPa] [mm]
C - - 56.55 (1.8) 12.16 (2) 3.89 0 0 12.98 (0.6) 0.037 87
0.32H 0.32 25 60.10 (2.1) 13.74 (1.4) 4.40 1.36 (0.6) 1.08 (0.5) 13.74 (1.4) 0.036 818
0.45H 0.45 35 62.78 (2.1) 13.26 (2.3) 4.24 3.11 (1.1) 2.16 (0.7) 14.12 (1.5) 0.064 1341
0.57H 0.57 45 73.58 (1.5) 13.65 (1.3) 4.37 4.82 (0.8) 3.58 (0.7) 16.29 (1.7) 0.271 2194
0.32CH 0.32 25 61.55 (1.3) 12.35 (3.5) 3.95 2.60 (0.1) 1.59 (0.4) 14.57 (1.5) 0.110 779
0.45CH 0.45 35 61.48 (1.1) 12.17 (1.9) 3.89 3.86 (1.4) 2.65 (0.7) 14.68 (1.5) 0.109 1480
0.57CH 0.57 45 66.03 (1.2) 14.69 (2.6) 4.70 4.93 (0.2) 3.44 (0.4) 16.49 (0.8) 0.265 1871

*-results from the average diagrams

Analyzing the flexural tensile strength at the limit of proportionality (fts,L), it can be concluded that the fibers
slightly influence this parameter (Fig. 8a). It can be attributed to the fact that the fibers start to act intensely in the
concrete matrix due to the fiber bridging effect after appearance of the first crack. In this range mainly the matrix is
responsible for carrying the loads [3,6]. This fact was reaffirmed in case of hooked fibers (H), where the values of
fts,L were almost the same for all the investigated amounts of fibers. The similar results were also noted by other
researchers for much higher dosages of hooked fibers [3]. In case of volume fraction of 0.57 % of crimped and
hooked fibers (CH) the pronounced increase in flexural strength at the limit of proportionality was observed
134 Małgorzata Pająk and Tomasz Ponikiewski / Procedia Engineering 193 (2017) 128 – 135

(Fig. 8a). It indicates that this kind of fibers can be more effective in delaying the crack formation. The results can
be compared to compression behavior where similar trend was observed.
Referring to Fig. 8c,d, where the values of the equivalent strengths calculated from the load-deflection curves are
depicted (feq,2, feq,3), the enhancement of the post-peak parameters was proportional to the increase of the fiber
volume fraction. In case of application of 0.32 % and 0.45 % of steel fibers the influence on post-peak parameters
was more pronounced when “CH” fibers were applied than “H” fibers.
To distinguish the difference between the influence on the flexural behavior of the fibers which were only hooked
and the one which were additionally crimped, further comparison was made. In Fig. 7 a comparison of the results of
flexural tests on SFRC reinforced with “H” and “CH” fibers was presented according to the amount of fibers.
Referring to these diagrams, the application of hooked (H) and crimped and hooked (CH) fibers had almost the same
effect on the bending response regardless of fiber volume fraction. This conclusion has its reflection in one of the
most important post-peak parameters, the fracture energy (GF) [6]. The increase of GF was proportional to the
increase of the amount of fibers in case of both fiber types (Fig. 8b). Even though some differences in the maximum
load and the shape of the load-deflection curves were noted, the fracture energy obtained in case of both fibers types
was comparable for all the investigated fiber contents.
a) b)
7 21.8 2 500
C - plain concrete
Load at the limit of proportionality [kN]

C - plain concrete
Flexural tensile strength at limit of

SFRC - with hooked fibers (H) SFRC - with hooked fibers (H)
2 000
Fracture energy GF [N/m]
SFRC - with crimped and hooked fibers (CH) 18.7
6 SFRC - with crimped and hooked fibers (CH)
proportionality [MPa]

15.6 1 500
5

1 000
12.5
4
500
9.4

3 0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6
Vf of steel fibers [%] Vf of steel fibers [%]
c) d)
6 6
SFRC - with hooked fibers (H) SFRC - with hooked fibers (H)
Equivalent flexural tensile strength
Equivalent flexural tensile strength

SFRC - with crimped and hooked fibers (CH) SFRC - with crimped and hooked fibers (CH)
5 5

4 4
feq,2 [MPa]

feq,3 [MPa]

3 3

2 2

1 1

0 0
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6
Vf of steel fibers [%] Vf of steel fibers [%]

Fig. 8. Variation of parameters obtained in flexural tests of SFRC: a) flexural tensile strength at limit of proportionality; b) fracture energy;
c) equivalent flexural tensile strength feq,2; d) equivalent flexural tensile strength feq,3.

The conclusions reaffirm the findings from the previous investigation presented in [7]. It was noted that for small
amounts of fibers (0.5 %) the type of fiber deformation which improves its anchorage in the matrix is not as
important as the aspect ratio in enhancing the mechanical parameters of concrete. The main difference can be noted
between the straight fibers and all other somehow deformed types of fibers with the same aspect ratio of the fibers.
 Małgorzata Pająk and Tomasz Ponikiewski / Procedia Engineering 193 (2017) 128 – 135 135

Thus, making hooks in already crimped fibers seems to be ineffective in case of application of such small amounts
of fibers. However, the difference in the shape of the load-deflection and load-CMOD curves of both fiber types
indicates that addition of higher amounts of “CH” fibers may contribute to an increase in flexural parameters
comparing to typical hooked fibers.

4. Concluding remarks

Based on the compressive and flexural tests conducted on the concrete reinforced with two types of hooked steel
fibers it can be concluded that:
• The typical hooked fibers (H) had rather slight influence on the compressive strength of the matrix;
• In case of application of crimped and hooked fibers (CH) the increase of fc equal to 30 % of compressive strength
of plain concrete was noted. The flexural tensile strength at the limit of proportionality was also increased in case
of this mix. It indicates that the “CH” fibers delay the formation of cracks in higher degree than the traditional
hooked fibers;
• In case of investigated amounts of fibers (0.32 %, 0.45 %, 0.57 %) the additional hooks made at the end of
already crimped fibers seem to be ineffective in improving the flexural parameters of SFRC. Both types of fibers:
hooked (H) and crimped and hooked (CH) had similar effect on equivalent flexural tensile strengths and fracture
energy;
• The main difference between the flexural behavior of concrete reinforced with two fiber types was noted in the
shape of the load-deflection (or CMDO) curve. This fact indicates that crimped and hooked fibers (CH) behave
notably differently in the concrete matrix than hooked ones (H). However, this effect would be probably more
pronounced for higher dosages of fibers.

References

[1] A.A. Shah, Y. Ribakov, Recent trends in steel fibered high-strength concrete, Materials and Design 32 (2011) 4122-4151.
[2] A.E. Namman, Tensile strain-hardening FRC composites: Historical evolution since the 1960. Adv. in Constr. Mat. (2007) 181-202.
[3] D.Y. Yoo, Y.S. Yoon, N. Banthia, Predicting the post-cracking behavior of normal- and high-strength steel-fiber-reinforced concrete beams.
Construction and Building Materials. 93 (2015) 477–485.
[4] J. Katzer, J. Domski, Quality and mechanical properties of engineered steel fibres used as reinforcement for concrete. Construction and
Building Materials. 34 (2012) 243–248.
[5] F. Benacardinio, L. Rizzuti, G. Spadea, R.N. Swamy, Experimental evaluation of fiber reinforced concrete fracture properties. Composites:
Part B. 41 (2010) 17–24.
[6] Y. ùahin, F. Köksal, The influence of matrix and steel fiber tensile strengths on the fracture energy of high-strength concrete. Construction
and Building Materials. 25 (2011) 1801-1806.
[7] M. Pająk, T. Ponikiewski, Effect of the shape of steel fibres on the mechanical properties of reinforced self-compacting concrete. Cement
Wapno Beton. 18 (2013) 335-342.
[8] S. Abdallah, M. Fan, X. Zhou, S. Geyt, Anchorage effects of various steel fibre architectures for concrete reinforcement. International
Journal of Concrete Structures and Materials. 10(3) (2016) 325-335.
[9] M. Pająk, The investigation on flexural properties of hybrid fiber reinforced self-compacting concrete. Procedia Engineering. 161 (2016)
121-126.
[10] T. Ponikiewski, M. Zagaáa, The influence of wavy-hooked steel fibres on the selected characteristic of SCC, in: Monografie technologii
betonu (in polish). IX Konferencja Dni betonu. Tradycja i nowoczesnoĞü, Stowarzyszenie Producentów Cementu, Kraków, 2016, pp.427-
442
[11] RILEM TC 162-TDF. Test and design methods for steel fibre reinforced concrete, Final recommendations. Materials and Structures. 35
(2002) 579-82.
[12] RILEM FMC-50. Determination of the fracture energy of mortar and concrete by means of three point bend tests on notched beams.
Materials Structures. 18(4) (1985) 287–90.

View publication stats