Comparative evaluation of test methods for determining the toughness of fiber reinforced concrete

• Grant number: 12/07447-8
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: July 01, 2012
• End date: June 30, 2013
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Civil Engineering - Construction Industry
• Principal Investigator: Antonio Domingues de Figueiredo
• Grantee: Guilherme Stoll Toaldo
• Host Institution: Escola Politécnica (EP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

This project aims to conduct a study to evaluate the control test procedures of the fiber reinforced concrete (FRC). These control test procedures are focused primarily on the determination of the toughness of FRC with different types of fibers. Thus, to ensure the quality of structures produced with FRC, it is essential to have test methods for toughness or residual strength after cracking determination compatible with design models. So, it is necessary to determine the design parameters of the FRC required for structural purposes in order to consider this technology a reliable instrument for this purpose. The determination of these parameters should be done through reliable test methods and have the possibility of their being normalized by ABNT, which has not been possible in Brazil up to now. All methods will be run with two types of test: punctioning cylindrical specimens (Barcelona simplified test) and flexural beam test with controlled displacement ratio to determine the toughness of FRC. Synthetic macrofibers and steel fibers will be used in the experiment, varying the content of fibers to obtain different levels of residual strength. It is expected to produce a correlation between the responses of these different tests for different levels of residual resistant capacity at the end of the research Project. (AU)