Fibres are widely used to improve the flexural toughness and ductility of concrete, and they may even eliminate the need for conventional reinforcement. Steel fibres are more commonly used in structural applications while synthetic fibres are more often used to…
Fibres are widely used to improve the flexural toughness and ductility of concrete, and they may even eliminate the need for conventional reinforcement. Steel fibres are more commonly used in structural applications while synthetic fibres are more often used to reduce crack opening due to shrinkage. Macro-synthetic fibres have been developed with the aim of creating an alternative to steel fibres in structural applications but their use is still limited. The present paper describes the results of an experimental investigation on the per- formances of concrete specimens reinforced with either steel or macro-synthetic fibres under three point bending. Test results were used to calculate the parameters of stress-crack opening relations via inverse analysis.