FraMCoS 5 2004 Vail, Colorado, USA

Experimental and Numerical Analyses of FRC Slabs On Grade

An experimental and numerical study on the fracture behavior of fiber reinforced concrete slabs on grade for industrial pavements is presented. Four Fiber Reinforced Concrete (FRC) slabs with fibers having different aspect ratios and volume fractions are tested in laboratory.…

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Year 2004
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Abstract

An experimental and numerical study on the fracture behavior of fiber reinforced concrete slabs on grade for industrial pavements is presented. Four Fiber Reinforced Concrete (FRC) slabs with fibers having different aspect ratios and volume fractions are tested in laboratory. In order to reproduce a Winkler subgrade, the slabs were placed on several steel springs. Numerical simulations have been carried by using a commercial finite element code based on nonlinear fracture mechanics where user subroutines have been implemented. This extension concerns the use of a more realistic law for modeling the stiffness and strength of FRC after cracking of the concrete matrix. Moreover, a stiffness matrix for FRC with pri- mary and secondary cracks has been added to the model. The comparison between experimental and nu- merical results has shown a good agreement and supplies useful information for design provisions.