The structural performance of fiber-reinforced concrete beams with nanosilica

ABSTRACT

This study explores the enhanced performance of nano-silica-enriched concrete beams, with a focus on the effects of including steel fibers. A thorough examination was conducted on eighteen finely constructed beams, each three thousand millimeters long and with a 150 × 250 millimeter cross-section. This study’s main goal was to evaluate how steel fibers affected these beams’ mechanical characteristics. A number of static loading tests were used to carefully examine the specimens’ structural strength. The overall effectiveness of the concrete beams was assessed by carefully using key parameters as indicators, such as the first crack load, yield load, yield load deflection, ultimate load deflection, deflection ductility, deflection ductility ratio, energy ductility, and energy ductility ratio. The findings of the extensive testing clearly show that adding steel fibers to concrete beams that contain nano silica improves their performance significantly. This enhancement was regularly seen in a number of important areas of structural behavior, proving without a shadow of a doubt the beneficial effect of steel fiber incorporation on the beams’ mechanical characteristics.

Keywords:
Cracking; Deflection; Ductility; Fibre reinforced concrete; Nano silica