17517648, 2022, 5, Downloaded from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/suco.202100416 by Universidad Politecnica De Cataluny, Wiley Online Library on [26/10/2022].

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Received: 23 June 2021 Revised: 3 January 2022 Accepted: 6 March 2022
DOI: 10.1002/suco.202100416

ARTICLE

Statistical analysis of an experimental database on

residual flexural strengths of fiber reinforced concretes:
Performance-based equations

Eduardo Galeote1

| Alvaro Picazo2 | Marcos G. Alberti3 |
Albert de la Fuente1
| Alejandro Enfedaque3
| Jaime C. Ga
lvez3 |
Antonio Aguado1

1
Departament d'Enginyeria Civil i
Ambiental, Universitat Politècnica de Abstract
Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain The postcracking capacity of fiber reinforced concrete (FRC) mainly depends
2
Departamento de Tecnología de la on the content, material, and geometry of the fibers considered. Even though
Edificaci

on, E.T.S de Edificaci

on,
the general influence of these factors on FRC behavior has been extensively
Universidad Politécnica de Madrid,
Madrid, Spain addressed, the uncertainty of the FRC performance prediction along with the
3
Departamento de Ingeniería Civil: variability of the results still poses a challenging issue that needs to be solved
Construcci
on, E.T.S de Ingenieros de to encourage the use of FRC for design and construction purposes. In this line,
Caminos, Canales y Puertos, Universidad
Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain a database including the results of the flexural residual strength obtained from
different experimental programs combined with the results of previous studies
Correspondence has been gathered and analyzed herein to obtain general correlations and
Albert de la Fuente, Departament
d'Enginyeria Civil i Ambiental, trends providing additional information about the influence of the fibers in
Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, FRC behavior, these meant to serve for initial design stages (e.g., make deci-
Jordi Girona 1-3, 08034 Barcelona, Spain.
sions on the type and amount of fibers based on technical and economical
Email: [email protected]
requirements). The results are analyzed distinguishing between the fiber mate-
Funding information rial, the fiber shape, the aspect ratio and tensile strength. The results presented
Ministerio de Economía, Industria y
Competitividad, Gobierno de España,
herein may provide valuable information on the initial prediction of the resid-
Grant/Award Numbers: ual strength of FRC to fully take advantage of the mechanical properties of the
BIA2016-78742-C2-1-R, material.
BIA2016-78742-C2-2-R,
PID2019-108978RB-C31,
KEYWORDS
PID2019-108978RB-C32; Ministry of
Economy, Industry and Competitiveness experimental analysis, fiber reinforced concrete, flexural residual strength, steel fiber,
synthetic fiber

1 | INTRODUCTION
Discussion on this paper must be submitted within two months of the
print publication. The discussion will then be published in print, along
Fiber reinforced concrete (FRC) is gaining ground in a
with the authors’ closure, if any, approximately nine months after the wide range of structural applications in which traditional
print publication. reinforcement has been commonly used. The new

This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution‐NonCommercial‐NoDerivs License, which permits use and distribution in any
medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non‐commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made.
© 2022 The Authors. Structural Concrete published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of International Federation for Structural Concrete

3140 wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/suco Structural Concrete. 2022;23:3140–3153.

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GALEOTE ET AL. 3141

developments in concrete technology have led FRC to performance of both fibers. Additionally, the use of dif-
experience an increasing use in recent years mainly due ferent fibers has a direct influence on the scatter of the
to the appearance of codes and guidelines providing pro- results. These correlations provide useful information to
visions for FRC design. Proof of this is the development designers and decision-makers to enable the selection
of different types of concrete such as self-compacting of the most appropriate fiber type and the range of
FRC or high-performance fiber reinforced concrete1 cur- quantities of that to meet the mechanical requirements
rently being applied in practice. In this regard, specific established (e.g., fR1k and fR3k/fR1k according to the fib
design rules for FRC have been included in European MC2010) at predesign stages.
codes,2 along with reference recommendations and
guidelines such as those of RILEM TC 162-TDF3 and the
fib Model Code 2010 (MC2010).4 The fib Model Code 2 | DATA COLLECTION
2020 (MC2020), now in preparation, aims to go beyond
the MC2010, integrating innovative guidelines for the 2.1 | Materials and mixes
design of new and traditional reinforced concrete and
FRC structures.5 A comprehensive database of the flexural and residual
The large amount of fibers that are commercially strength of FRC blended with 27 types of fibers was gen-
available opens a wide range of possibilities to design and erated for the analysis and correlation of the postcracking
manufacture FRC mixes that allow reaching the required properties. These data are based on the results of flexural
mechanical performance. Different materials of fibers— tests conducted at the UPC and the UPM which were
primarily steel and synthetic—may be used as reinforce- characterized within the context of structural applica-
ment for structural purposes, with properties such as the tions of FRC and/or research projects. Additional results
aspect ratio, shape, bond strength, content, orientation, of flexural tests published by Venkateshwaran et al.7 and
and distribution focusing most of the research attention Tiberti et al.11 have been included in the analyses to
on their remarkable influence on the mechanical perfor- increase the amount of data and improve the representa-
mance of FRC.6,7 For this reason, as almost every param- bility of the results. The database includes a large variety
eter cited influences each other, finding a relation of such of concretes mixes, covering various ranges of compres-
factor with the residual strength is a complex task, need- sive strength (fc) of the mixes, volume fraction of fibers
less to mention the high variability associated with the (Vf), fiber aspect ratio (λ), fiber tensile strength (fct), and
postcracking strength,8 which still presents one of the fiber modulus of elasticity (E):
main issues in terms of design and quality control
for FRC.9 • Mean compressive strength, ranging between 15 and
Taking that into account, an analysis of the main fac- 80 MPa.
tors influencing the postcracking behavior of FRC has • Volume fraction of fibers, from 0.33% to 2.52%.
been performed. To conduct such study, a database of the • Fiber length, ranging from 13 to 60 mm.
postcracking strength of FRC determined through three- • Fiber aspect ratio, ranging from 35 to 110.
point bending tests of 371 specimens of steel fiber • Fiber tensile strength, ranging from 300 to 3000 MPa.
reinforced concrete and 315 specimens of synthetic fiber • Modulus of elasticity, ranging from 2.0 to 21.0 GPa in
reinforced concrete conducted at the Universitat synthetic fibers and from 200 to 210 GPa in steel fibers.
Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC) and the Universidad
Politècnica de Madrid (UPM) has been collected. Based Almost 70% of the concrete mixes presented an average
on the results of this database, the influence among the compressive strength (fcm) between 25 and 55 MPa,
compressive strength, volume fraction of fibers, tensile whereas only 8% of the concrete presented a compressive
strength, aspect ratio, type of fiber and its geometry have behavior below 25 MPa and 22% reached strengths from
been analyzed given their major influence on the residual 55 to 80 MPa. Among the fibers used, 88% presented a
strength of FRC.10 Additionally, a study based on the tensile strength up to 2000 MPa and 12% were high-
relation of residual strengths fR1 and fR3 and the charac- tensile strength fibers ranging from 2000 to 3000 MPa,
teristic residual strengths (fR1k and fR3k, respectively) has the latter mainly addressed to be used as reinforcement
been conducted to identify the potential correlations of FRC with the highest performances.
between both parameters. The ranges of the properties of the fibers used as rein-
In general terms, the analysis of the database and forcement are detailed in Table 1, showing the tensile
the subsequent relations between residual strengths fR1 strength (fuf), modulus of elasticity (E), length (l), equiva-
and fR3 has been conducted by considering steel and lent diameter (ɸeq) and aspect ratio (λ = l/ɸeq). Synthetic
synthetic fibers separately due to the different (polyolefin and polypropylene) fibers were straight
 17517648, 2022, 5, Downloaded from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/suco.202100416 by Universidad Politecnica De Cataluny, Wiley Online Library on [26/10/2022]. See the Terms and Conditions (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/terms-and-conditions) on Wiley Online Library for rules of use; OA articles are governed by the applicable Creative Commons License
3142 GALEOTE ET AL.

T A B L E 1 Properties of the fibers

Material fuf (MPa) E (GPa) l (mm) ɸeq (mm) λ (l/ɸeq)
(provided by the manufacturers)
Polyolefin [400–650] [6–21] [45–60] [0.40–1.40] [35–110]
Polypropylene [300–600] [2–21] [35–55] [0.65–1.00] [50–75]
Steel [1000–3000] [200–210] [10–60] [0.20–1.00] [50–90]

although presented different superficial geometries, while bending configuration following the EN 14651.13 Cylin-
steel fibers presented straight, simple hooked-end (1HE) drical specimens of ɸ150 mm  300 mm were used for
or double and triple hooked-end (2HE and 3HE) shapes. assessing the compressive strength, whereas beams of
Different dosages were designed orienting the compo- dimensions 150 mm  150 mm  600 mm were used for
sition of the granular skeleton to achieve a proper com- conducting the bending tests. In some cases, the data col-
patibility between the concrete matrix and the fibers and lected also included beams with dimensions
to achieve desired performances. In terms of compressive 100 mm  100 mm  400 mm.
strength, the concretes used can be classified from con- Bending tests for determining the postcracking
ventional to high-performance concrete, although spe- strength were conducted under a closed-loop system
cific values of compressive strength or further details through crack mouth opening displacement (CMOD) rate
concerning the concrete mixture proportions, casting pro- control. Based on the specifications of the standard EN
cedure or time of curing could not be collected in all 14651, the test was conducted using a CMOD rate of
cases. Further details about the distribution of the com- 0.05 mm/min up to a crack opening of 0.1 mm, which
pressive strengths and the fibers from the database are was subsequently increased to 0.2 mm/min up to a
shown in Figure 1. CMOD of 4 mm.

2.2 | Test setup and specimens 3 | RESULTS A ND DISCUSSION

Compressive strengths were determined according with The analyses focus on the residual strengths at crack
the specifications of the standard EN 12390-3,12 while openings of 0.5 and 2.5 mm (fR1 and fR3, respectively)
flexural tests were conducted under a three-point given their major relevance in design, determination of

FIGURE 1 Distribution of properties of concrete and fibers

 17517648, 2022, 5, Downloaded from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/suco.202100416 by Universidad Politecnica De Cataluny, Wiley Online Library on [26/10/2022]. See the Terms and Conditions (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/terms-and-conditions) on Wiley Online Library for rules of use; OA articles are governed by the applicable Creative Commons License
GALEOTE ET AL. 3143

constitutive laws, and quality control for FRC. These according with the Mahalanobis distance method
parameters are associated with the design criteria at Ser- (MD) and considering a Chi-square distribution with two
vice Limit State and Ultimate Limit State. degrees of freedom to define the critical distance with a
A different variety of parameters of the fibers have statistical significance of p >0.001. The MD is based on
been analyzed to determine their influence on the post- the measure between two data points in the space to
cracking strength of FRC. Despite the great amount of detect multivariate outliers that may affect fit indices.
data gathered, the analyses of the different parameters The relation between individual values of fR1 and fR3
have been conducted by selecting specific mixes given for steel and synthetic fibers after the multivariate out-
that some analyses could only be performed between liers analysis is shown in Figure 2, exhibiting a clear
mixes presenting the same characteristics and only one increasing trend following a linear correlation with deter-
different variable. This selection of mixes for comparison mination coefficients R2 = 0.84 for steel fibers and R2
purposes was performed to ensure a rigorous analysis, close to 0.80 for synthetic fibers. It should be remarked
although considerably reduced the number of specimens that the goodness of the correlation bearing in mind the
and data to analyze specific parameters despite the great wide range of geometrical and mechanical properties for
amount of mixes. the whole set of both steel and synthetic fibers is consid-
Given the low values of the correlations for some of the ered. The analysis for steel fibers includes the results of
cases studied, it is necessary to conduct an analysis focusing 371 specimens reinforced with straight (28%), 1HE (42%),
on different parameters of the fibers separately. Parameters 2HE (21%), and 3HE (9%) fibers. The analysis of synthetic
such as the aspect ratio, the tensile strength, or even the fibers includes 308 results with polyolefin (75%) and poly-
modulus elasticity should be analyzed since establishing propylene (25%) fibers. These are based on the results of
ranges may lead to improved correlations that could pro- different mix compositions, for which at least three speci-
vide additional information of the residual strength mens of each mixture were tested and analyzed.
according with specific properties of the synthetic fibers. According to the correlations presented in Figure 2a,
the results of steel fibers show that fR3 values are smaller
than fR1, this revealing that the residual strengths at crack
3.1 | Relation between fR1 and fR3 openings of 2.5 mm are systematically smaller than those
at crack openings of 0.5 mm. Contrarily (see Figure 2b),
Previous studies have identified relations between the resid- the analysis considering all synthetic fibers shows a rela-
ual strength parameters of steel fiber reinforced concrete.14 tion fR3/fR1 around 1.30, this indicating that the residual
However, further analyses including additional types of strength increases after initial crack openings.10,15–19 In
fibers are required, for which it is important to conduct an this line, the results revealed there is no significant differ-
exploratory analysis to identify the relation between data ence between polyolefin and polypropylene fibers in
and detect whether these relations might be structured or terms of fR3/fR1, with both fibers presenting similar corre-
clustered. A preliminary analysis of the data gathered rev- lations between residual strengths.
ealed the differences between steel and synthetic fibers in Depending on Vf, the postcracking strength of FRC
terms of correlations between fR1 and fR3. Consequently, can present a softening or a hardening behavior, with
both types of fibers have been analyzed separately. fR3/fR1 ratios smaller o greater than 1, respectively.7 The
Given the large amount of data, an analysis to iden- results show that, with the Vf of the FRCs of the database,
tify the outliers was conducted. In this case, some data the use of steel fibers leads to results of fR3 that are gener-
might be outliers for fR1 or fR3 and, therefore, can be out- ally lower than the results of fR1, this indicating that the
lying in two different directions. Outliers were detected residual strength gradually decreases for larger crack

F I G U R E 2 Relation
between fR1 and fR3 for (a) steel
and (b) synthetic fibers
 17517648, 2022, 5, Downloaded from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/suco.202100416 by Universidad Politecnica De Cataluny, Wiley Online Library on [26/10/2022]. See the Terms and Conditions (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/terms-and-conditions) on Wiley Online Library for rules of use; OA articles are governed by the applicable Creative Commons License
3144 GALEOTE ET AL.

F I G U R E 3 Relation
between fR1 and fR3 for
(a) hooked-end and (b) straight
fibers

widths (flexural deflection-softening for the range of fiber

volume fractions considered between cracks widths
between 0.5 and 2.5 mm). Conversely, there is an
enhancement of fR3 with respect to fR1 in the presence of
synthetic fibers. This reveals the presence of a load drop
after cracking followed by a change of the loading ten-
dency that makes the residual strength increase after the
activation of the synthetic fibers bridging capacity.17
A separate analysis between HE and straight steel
fibers based on the data of Figure 2a is displayed in
Figure 3, showing the relation between fR1 and fR3. On
the one hand, Figure 3a includes the results for different
numbers of anchoring hooks (1, 2, or 3), this revealing
that end-hooks can lead to a mechanical stable bridging
effect throughout a crack width range between 0.5 and
F I G U R E 4 Relation between fR1 and fR3 for indented and
2.5 mm (from service to failure) since fR3 = 0.96fR1, with crimped synthetic fibers
R2 = 0.86. On the other hand, Figure 3b, allows con-
firming that straight fibers tend to lose anchoring capac-
ity as the crack width increases, this evidenced by the strength as higher presence of fibers at the crack surface
relationship fR3 = 0.75fR1 (R2 = 0.80). It should be men- increases the homogeneity of the results. Consequently,
tioned that the straight steel fibers considered herein the number of fibers at the crack section has a great
were in all case microfibres meant for high-performance influence on the variability of the performance results of
fiber-reinforced concrete, as the high values of fRi FRC,20 this playing a significant role given that scatter
confirm. leads to a reduction of the characteristic strength values.
Additional analyses regarding the surface geometry of In this sense, the relationships between the mean
synthetic fibers considering the influence of the indented or residual strengths and the characteristic values (fR1m-fR1k
crimped geometry is displayed in Figure 4. Even though the and fR3m-fR3k) of the FRC mixes reinforced with steel and
results present similar trends, it can be seen that indented synthetic fibers are shown in Figure 5 and Figure 6,
geometries generally presented a slightly greater perfor- respectively. Characteristic strengths were calculated
mance than crimped fibers. However, such differences could using the standard deviation of the mean values consider-
be considered negligible (or rather of statistical nature) and ing a normal distribution.
no significant influence on the fR3/fR1 ratio could be As for the steel fibers (see Figure 5), fR1k and fR3k
observed based on the surface roughness of the fibers. values represent in average around 78% and 76% of fR1m
and fR3m, respectively, determined through the mechani-
cal characterization, with determination coefficients of
3.2 | Variability and characteristic 0.92 and 0.90, respectively. These results allow stating
flexural residual strength that sources of scatter (e.g., production process, test error,
distribution, and orientation of the fibers) have the same
According to previous authors,8 the content of fibers has influence on the flexural residual strength independently
a great influence on the variability of the residual of the crack width (for the range analyzed, ≤2.5 mm).
 17517648, 2022, 5, Downloaded from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/suco.202100416 by Universidad Politecnica De Cataluny, Wiley Online Library on [26/10/2022]. See the Terms and Conditions (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/terms-and-conditions) on Wiley Online Library for rules of use; OA articles are governed by the applicable Creative Commons License
GALEOTE ET AL. 3145

F I G U R E 5 (a) fR1k and

(b) fR3k for steel fibers

F I G U R E 6 (a) fR1k and

(b) fR3k for synthetic fibers

F I G U R E 7 fR1k-fR3k relation
for (a) steel and (b) synthetic
fibers

Regarding the synthetic fibers (see Figure 6), the The relation fR1k-fR3k for FRC with steel fibers reveals a
larger diversity on both the fiber material properties and good correlation between characteristic residual strengths.
geometry is reflected on the variability of the fR and, This effect can be attributed to the homogeneity of steel fibers
therefore, on the characteristic values. The variability of in terms of elastic modulus and tensile strength, regardless of
the results is shown with the goodness of fit of the corre- the amount of fibers blended in the mix. In line with the
lation between fRi and fRik for synthetic fibers, with deter- results of Figure 5, the results of the joint analysis of different
mination coefficients of 0.84 and 0.78. synthetic fibers shown in Figure 7b reveal the variety of elas-
Figure 7 shows the relation between characteristic tic modulus and tensile strengths of synthetic fibers given the
strengths using both steel and synthetic fibers with dif- greater heterogeneity of their properties as a result of the dif-
ferent geometries and mechanical properties. In gen- ferent types of fibers available. The fR1k-fR3k relation of a spe-
eral terms, the results present a trend in line with the cific synthetic fiber blended in four volumes of fibers (0.33%,
results reported in Figure 2, where fR3k values generally 0.49%, 0.65%, and 1.09%) is shown in Figure 8.
exhibit lower results than fR1k in the case of steel FRC The variability of the fR1k-fR3k analysis of a single syn-
and fR3k values greater than fR1k values in synthetic thetic fiber presents a lower value with respect to the one
fibers. obtained for the combined analysis of several fibers.
 17517648, 2022, 5, Downloaded from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/suco.202100416 by Universidad Politecnica De Cataluny, Wiley Online Library on [26/10/2022]. See the Terms and Conditions (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/terms-and-conditions) on Wiley Online Library for rules of use; OA articles are governed by the applicable Creative Commons License
3146 GALEOTE ET AL.

These results indicate that when considering a specific population (SDFP). Based on the Annex 1 of the recom-
fiber, a good control and prediction of the FRC behavior mendations for Ultra High Performance Fiber-Reinforced
can be achieved. In line with the results displayed in Concretes of the AFGC,22 the characteristic value of the
Figure 3, the results indicate that a specific fiber can lead residual strength of a sample population can be calcu-
to a good prediction of the FRC behavior. lated by means of a multiplying factor using the Student–
Fisher law with a probability of nonoccurrence of less
than 5% (SF5%) considering the number of samples from
3.3 | Number of specimens which the characteristic strength is obtained.
An additional approach considering a multiplying
The characteristic residual strength can be calculated factor (k) accounting for a 75% confidence interval
considering a normal distribution that is based on fRm, a (MF75%) has been also specified in previous research to
constant Z that accounts for the confidence interval used determine the characteristic strength depending on the
(Z = 1.64 for 95% probability) and the standard deviation number of specimens tested.8,23 Such multiplying factor
of the population. However, in statistical terms, the num- approaches 1 when the number of tested samples
ber of specimens tested has a direct influence on the esti- increases, given that so does the certainty related with
mation of the characteristic strength21 and the standard the estimation of the standard deviation. Conversely, a
deviation to obtain the characteristic strength is usually smaller number of samples is associated with a greater
determined for a specific number of samples, which does factor k to compensate for the increased uncertainty of
not coincide with the standard deviation of the full the standard deviation.
The results of the characteristic strengths for steel
fibers calculated according to the three different assump-
tions considered (SDFP, SF5% and MF75%) are shown in
Figure 9. The characteristic strengths according to the
SDFP approach were determined considering the classi-
cal assumption that the SDFP coincides with the stan-
dard deviation of a specific number of specimens
(fck = fcm 1.64σ). Results for SF5% and MF75% were
determined considering the number of specimens of each
result (between three and nine specimens).
The greatest correlation for both fR1-fR1k and fR3-fR3k
corresponds to the relation between the average and the
characteristic residual strength considering that the stan-
dard deviation of the sample coincides with the standard
deviation of the population. The results reveal that when
the number of samples analyzed are not considered to
determine the characteristic strength, fRk values become
FIGURE 8 fR1k-fR3k relation for a single type of synthetic fiber closer to fcm. Conversely, when considering the number

FIGURE 9 Relation between average and characteristic residual strength (a) fR1-fR1k and (b) fR3-fR3k
 17517648, 2022, 5, Downloaded from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/suco.202100416 by Universidad Politecnica De Cataluny, Wiley Online Library on [26/10/2022]. See the Terms and Conditions (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/terms-and-conditions) on Wiley Online Library for rules of use; OA articles are governed by the applicable Creative Commons License
GALEOTE ET AL. 3147

F I G U R E 1 0 Influence of
Vf
(Lf/ɸf)
fuf
E0.5 on the residual
strength of (a) multiple-hooked
end steel and (b) simple hooked-
end steel fiber reinforced
concrete

of specimens, the characteristic strength decreases given and properties of fibers (Vf
(Lf/ɸf)
fuf
E0.5) have been used
that a fewer number of specimens increases the uncer- to evaluate the relationship with residual strengths fR1 and
tainty of the standard deviation, making the ratio fRik/fRim fR3. The results for steel fibers are shown in Figure 10, these
decrease. including fibers with multiple HEs. Given the shape of
steel fibers, previous research7,26,30 has attributed the differ-
ent response of FRC blended with these type of fibers to
3.4 | Relation of parameters the anchorage mechanism and the debonding procedure of
the fibers. A separate analysis only considering 1HE fibers
As pointed out in several investigations,24 there is a con- has been conducted (Figure 10b) given that this type of
nection between compressive strength and residual fibers are the vast majority of the steel fiber reinforcement
strength of FRC which can be attributed to two main fac- of the FRC data collected.
tors: the fiber–matrix interface and the concrete shrink- The results for steel fibers are in line with the correla-
age. Higher compressive strengths are the result of tions presented by previous authors,11 showing a similar
greater matrix densities, which improve the adherence correlation between fR1 and fR3 and the parameter for the
and the interface between the matrix and the fiber due to properties of the fibers in terms of both the coefficient of
the reduction of voids25 while enhancing the pull-out correlation and the correlation equation. A comparison
resistance.26 Additionally, low water-to-cement ratios of the steel FRC results between Figure 10a,b reveals that
(w/c) present an enhanced compressive strength and if considering only 1HE fibers there is an improved corre-
greater shrinkage magnitudes27,28 that increase the con- lation in the residual strength fR3, even though no signifi-
finement pressure of the fiber and improve the bond cant differences can be appreciated in the correlation for
properties at the fiber–matrix interface. As a result, the fR1. Such results reveal that fibers with multiple hooks
stronger the bond between the matrix and the fiber inter- may produce a greater impact in fR3 than in fR1 as the
face, the greater the likelihood of the fibers to break than presence of multiple hooks leads to an improved anchor-
being pulled-out.29 Accordingly, and in line with the ana- age and bonding resistance resulting in a greater residual
11
lyses reported by previousp authors,
ffiffiffiffiffiffiffi the square root of strength at larger crack widths.
the compressive strength f cm can be related to the
residual strength of FRC (fRi).
A correlation for the residual strength of FRC can 3.5 | Influence of the volume fraction of
be generalized through a combination of parameters fibers
involving the properties of the fibers.11 As identified
in such research, the correlation of the results In line with analyses reported by other researchers,10,31
depends on the volume, the material, and the type of the influence of fibers is barely noticeable on the com-
the fibers. The aspect ratio has also a great influence pressive strength. However, other studies state that
on the residual strength of fiber reinforced concrete, increasing the amount of fibers leads to improving the
while the geometry of the fibers directly affects the compressive strength of concrete32,33 given that fibers
fiber–matrix interface and, consequently, the adher- tend to extend the microcracking stage and, hence, delay
ence, debonding performance and the pull-out behav- macrocracking producing failure at higher compressive
ior under tension. pffiffiffiffiffiffiffi strengths. Such analyses may provide additional informa-
Accordingly, both the compressive strength f cm tion about the general behavior of FRC under compres-
and the combination of the parameters for the volume sion, although compressive strength is known to be
 17517648, 2022, 5, Downloaded from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/suco.202100416 by Universidad Politecnica De Cataluny, Wiley Online Library on [26/10/2022]. See the Terms and Conditions (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/terms-and-conditions) on Wiley Online Library for rules of use; OA articles are governed by the applicable Creative Commons License
3148 GALEOTE ET AL.

F I G U R E 1 1 Influence of Vf
on the deflection-softening or
deflection-hardening behavior

mainly governed by the properties of the concrete matrix from 0.76% to 1.53%. All fibers present 1HEs with a
rather than the fibers. Accordingly, and based on the length l = 50 mm and aspect ratio lf/df = 50 mm/mm.
results of the analyses performed, a relation between the The results reveal how Vf is the main responsible of
content of fibers and the compressive strength of concrete the deflection-softening or deflection-hardening post-
could not be identified. cracking behavior of FRC. This effect is generally attrib-
A similar dilemma regarding the influence of the vol- uted to the fact that the number of fibers at the crack
ume of fibers on the strength at the limit of proportional- surface increases with the volume of fibers introduced in
ity (fLOP) has been reported in previous research.32,34,35 the FRC mix.41 In both mixes, the volume of fibers of
An analysis on straight and hooked fibers in volume frac- 0.76% presents a slight deflection-hardening behavior. In
tions of 0.5%, 1.0%, 1.5%, and 2.0% concluded that Vf did the light of these results and given that the volume frac-
not have a significant relevance on fLOP given that at this tion of 0.57% presents a small deflection-softening perfor-
stage, as in the case of the compressive performance, the mance, a volume of fibers of approximately 0.64% could
strength mainly depends on the properties of the concrete be considered for this type of fibers (and concrete
matrix. However, other studies conducted on straight and strength class) as the boundary between deflection-
hooked fibers in similar fiber volume proportions36,37 softening and deflection-hardening.
indicate that increasing the content of fibers tends to Each type of fiber may present a different boundary
enhance the cracking strength since the greater presence between the hardening and the softening behavior of FRC
of fibers contributes to sustain the load at the cracks. In given that additional factors such as the geometry, tensile
this line, some authors38,39 analyze and propose empirical strength, density and material of the fiber need to be con-
equations to determine the cracking strength using the sidered. These factors have a direct effect on both the con-
volume fraction of fibers, among other parameters. tribution of the fibers to the tensile strength of concrete
It is at the cracked stage where the effect of fibers and the number of fibers crossing the crack surface bridg-
takes great relevance. At the cracked stage, the improve- ing the crack. In this line, the density of the material of
ment of the residual strength as a result of increasing the the fiber also affects the variability of the results since the
fiber content in FRC has been extensively described in lower density of synthetic fibers with regard to those made
the literature,14,40 with residual strength increasing with of steel turns the number of fibers to increase, this leading
greater fiber volumes. The results shown in Figure 11 to a higher number of fibers at the cracked surface that
present the influence of several volumes of fibers on the reduces the scatter of the residual strength results.20
residual strength of different FRC in terms of CMOD The amount of fibers blended into a concrete mix and
obtained through the bending test. Residual strengths are its consequent softening or hardening behavior has a
shown in relative terms (fRi,rel) with respect to the crack- direct effect on the characteristic residual strengths and
ing strength fLOP. Accordingly, the first point at a crack the relation fR3k/fR1k. According to the MC2010, the post-
opening of 0.05 mm represents the relative cracking cracking strength of FRC can be classified by considering
strength fLOP/fLOP whereas the subsequent points at the characteristic flexural residual strength values in ser-
increasing crack widths state for residual strengths fRi/ viceability (fR1k) and ultimate (fR3k) conditions. In this
fLOP. The results are presented in two separate groups line, the MC2010 also states that it is possible to replace
given that the concrete admixtures and proportioning are concrete traditional reinforcement by fibers as long as
slightly different. One of these differences is the volume FRC verifies several material ductility requirements (fR1k/
fraction of fibers; while one group is reinforced with fLOP >0.4 and fR3k/fR1k >0.5) to guarantee ductility in case
fibers in volumes ranging from 0.38% to 0.76%, the sec- of failure by presenting a minimum residual strength
ond group presented was blended with volumes of fibers even at large crack widths.
 17517648, 2022, 5, Downloaded from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/suco.202100416 by Universidad Politecnica De Cataluny, Wiley Online Library on [26/10/2022]. See the Terms and Conditions (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/terms-and-conditions) on Wiley Online Library for rules of use; OA articles are governed by the applicable Creative Commons License
GALEOTE ET AL. 3149

A relation between Vf and the ratio fR3k/fR1k is shown tensile strengths (fuf). A set of results of different mixes of
in Figure 12. The results are shown for the characteristic FRC are presented in two separate groups with tensile
strength results of a HE steel fiber and synthetic fibers, strengths for steel fibers ranging between 1000–1400 MPa
both with an aspect ratio of 65.0 and blended in different and 1400–2300 MPa and for synthetic fibers between
volumes. The results indicate that greater Vf leads to an 300–450 MPa and 450–650 MPa.
increasing trend of the ratio fR3k/fR1k, especially for the FRC mixes blended with steel fibers presenting a ten-
case of synthetic fibers, whose trendline slope is greater sile strength ranging from 1000 to 1400 MPa exhibit a
than the one for steel fibers. These results are in accor- smaller fR3 than fR1, whereas those ranging from 1400 to
dance with those shown in Figures 2 and 8, those con- 2300 MPa tend to present fR3 greater than fR1. According
firming the beneficial effect of synthetic fibers at large to the data reported, increasing the tensile strength of the
crack widths when increasing the volume fraction. fibers generally leads to an improved behavior of FRC at
larger crack widths, this leading to a hardening behavior
of fR3 with respect to fR1.
3.6 | Influence of the properties of the In line with the results reported in previous analyses,
fibers FRC mixes with synthetic fibers tend to present greater
strengths at fR3 than at fR1 regardless of the fiber tensile
3.6.1 | Tensile strength strength. The results also reveal a similar strength
increase from fR1 to fR3 for any fiber tensile strength, this
The tensile strength of the fibers directly affects the resid- confirming a good efficiency of synthetic fibers at increas-
ual strength of FRC during the cracked stage. Figure 13 ing crack widths when activated after the load drop at
shows the relation between fR1 and fR3 of 1HE steel fibers the cracking strength.
and synthetic fibers considering different ranges of fiber

3.6.2 | Aspect ratio

Previous studies6 have shown that the aspect ratio of

the fibers barely influenced the compressive strength
and fLOP of FRC. At the cracked stage, increasing the
aspect ratio of the fibers generally leads to greater
residual strengths even though it can also affect nega-
tively the concrete workability.42,43 An analysis of the
general influence of this parameter is conducted given
that the wide range of aspect ratios of the fibers pre-
sent in the results collected can provide additional
information on the specific behavior of the FRC at the
cracked stage.
The results of fR1 and fR3 of FRC blended with steel
and synthetic fibers are presented in Figure 14 to evalu-
F I G U R E 1 2 Relation between Vf and fR3k/fR1k ratio in steel ate the influence of the aspect ratio of the fibers on the
and synthetic fibers residual strength. This analysis was conducted on 1HE

F I G U R E 1 3 Influence of
the tensile strength on the
relation between fR1 and fR3 of
(a) steel and (b) synthetic fibers
 17517648, 2022, 5, Downloaded from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/suco.202100416 by Universidad Politecnica De Cataluny, Wiley Online Library on [26/10/2022]. See the Terms and Conditions (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/terms-and-conditions) on Wiley Online Library for rules of use; OA articles are governed by the applicable Creative Commons License
3150 GALEOTE ET AL.

F I G U R E 1 4 Influence of
the aspect ratio of (a) steel and
(b) synthetic fibers on the
residual strength

steel fibers in a volume fraction of 1.53% with

aspect ratios of 50, 65, and 80 mm/mm, whereas the
analysis of synthetic fibers was conducted on fibers
with aspect ratios 35, 50, and 109 mm/mm in contents
of 1.09%.
In line with the results of previous authors,44,45 there
is a clear increasing trend of the postcracking strength
with the aspect ratio in both steel and synthetic fibers. In
such terms, increasing 60% the aspect ratio of steel fibers
(from 50 to 80 mm/mm) enhanced the residual strength
approximately 50%. In synthetic fibers, increasing the
fiber aspect ratio 68% (from 35 to 109 mm/mm) has led
to residual strengths fR1 and fR3 improve 41% and 35%,
respectively.
An analysis of the relation between fR1 and fR3 of 1HE
steel fibers is shown in Figure 15. The analysis is per-
F I G U R E 1 5 Influence of the aspect ratio on the relation
formed considering by separate three groups of aspect
between fR1 and fR3
ratios ranging 44–55 mm/mm, 56–64 mm/mm, and over
65 mm/mm to assess its effect in the evolution of the
residual strength on different crack widths. the fibers makes the number of fibers decrease when
Among the results analyzed, fibers with aspect ratios blended in the same volume fraction, previous authors
44–55 mm/mm reach residual strengths fR1 greater than have reported that the number of fibers crossing the
fR3 in 90% of the cases. Fibers presenting aspect ratios crack surface does not significantly change6 in such situ-
ranging 56–64 mm/mm lead to 33% of the postcracking ation. In this case, although the number of longer fibers
strengths to exhibit fR1 values greater than fR3. On the decreases when compared to shorter ones, the greater
other hand, 88% of the FRCs with fibers presenting an length also increases the likelihood of longer fibers to be
aspect ratio above 65 mm/mm exhibited greater residual present at the crack surface with a greater embedded
strengths at fR3 than at fR1. Considering these data, the length.6,20
results confirm a clear trend of fibers with a greater aspect Additionally, and based on the orientation number
ratio to present fR3/fR1 >1.0 this leading to an enhanced approach at the cross-section developed by previous
behavior at the postcracking stage of fR3 with respect to authors,46,47 increasing the length of the fiber also
fR1. Conversely, the use of fibers with low aspect ratios increases the average orientation number of the cross-
usually develop a deflection-softening behavior and a section given that the wall-effect of the formwork has a
reduction of the residual strength after fR1. greater area of influence on the cross-section. This would
The enhanced performance of the residual strength lead a greater number of long fibers to present a preferen-
of FRC with the increasing aspect ratio of the fibers can tial orientation towards the perpendicular direction of
be attributed to the increasing bond area between the the crack surface, which would consequently result in
matrix and the fiber, thus leading to a greater pull-out greater residual strengths as exhibited in the results
load capacity. Even though increasing the aspect ratio of presented.
 17517648, 2022, 5, Downloaded from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/suco.202100416 by Universidad Politecnica De Cataluny, Wiley Online Library on [26/10/2022]. See the Terms and Conditions (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/terms-and-conditions) on Wiley Online Library for rules of use; OA articles are governed by the applicable Creative Commons License
GALEOTE ET AL. 3151

4 | C ON C L U S I ON S specific geometries may introduce additional air in the

concrete mix during mixing and reduce the quality of
The postcracking behavior of a comprehensive database the concrete matrix and the bonding strength.
involving more than 300 results for each type of fiber • The relation between the average results and the char-
(steel and synthetic) was carried out. These results have acteristic strengths reveal the importance of having a
been complemented with data published in the literature, large enough representative number of specimens to
this leading to a representative database with results of determine the characteristic strength. Increasing the
different types of concretes (conventional concrete, self- number of specimens leads to scatter reduction,
compacting concrete and high-performance concrete) improves the reliability of the results, and reduces the
blended with fibers of different materials, geometries and width of confidence intervals, providing more reliable
mechanical properties. The main study included the anal- results.
ysis of different properties of the material and the influ- • Results show that the residual strength can be related
ence of the characteristics of the fibers on the residual to parameters associated with the fibers such as the
strength. The analysis of such a large experimental data- volume fraction, the aspect ratio, fiber tensile strength,
base provides a guideline of FRC performance especially and fiber modulus of elasticity.
focused on the residual and characteristic strengths ori-
ented to structural design. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Bending tests results generally present a great scatter in The authors from UPC wish to express their acknowledg-
comparison with other testing methods oriented to the ment to the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competi-
characterization of FRC given the small failure surface. In tiveness of Spain for the financial support received under
the case of FRC, the main sources of scatter come from the the scope of the projects BIA2016-78742-C2-1-R and
precision of the equipment and the setup used in the test, PID2019-108978RB-C32. The authors from UPM grate-
the intrinsic scatter of the material and that related with the fully acknowledge the financial support provided by
process of production of the specimens. In this line, especial the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness
attention needs to be taken in predesign given the potential of Spain by means of the Research Funds Projects
impact of the variability on the material design require- BIA2016-78742-C2-2-R and PID2019-108978RB-C31.
ments. Accordingly, it should be taken into consideration
that the specimens used for the analyses here presented DA TA AVAI LA BI LI TY S T ATE ME NT
were manufactured under laboratory conditions, this mean- The data that support the findings of this study are avail-
ing that samples produced on-site are likely to present a able from the corresponding author upon reasonable
greater scatter than those manufactured at laboratory. request.
Based on the analyses performed, the following con-
clusions may be drawn: ORCID
Eduardo Galeote https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8370-4043
• Steel fibers tend to present greater fR1 than fR3, whereas

Alvaro Picazo https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8496-8008
synthetic fibers generally present greater values of fR3 Marcos G. Alberti https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7276-
when compared to fR1. Steel straight fibers also tend to 8030
present a reduction of the residual strength for larger Albert de la Fuente https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8016-
crack widths given the absence of an improved anchor- 1677
age mechanism if compared to HE fibers. Alejandro Enfedaque https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5659-
• Increasing the aspect ratio enhanced the residual 7358
strength of FRC and exhibited a greater effect on the Jaime C. G
alvez https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9106-2917
improvement of the residual strength of FRC with steel Antonio Aguado https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5542-6365
fibers. In steel fibers, greater aspect ratios generally
lead to fR3 values higher than fR1 as longer fibers are RE FER EN CES
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