Direct shear strength of high-strength fibre concrete

An experimental and theoretical study of the shear behaviour of steel-fibre-reinforced concrete is presented. Twenty-seven direct shear push-off tests were carried out on high-strength concrete, with and without steel fibre reinforcement. The test series contained uncracked and precracked specimens for the study of the slipping response and the shear stress that can be transferred across an open crack. The test variables were the fibre content and the reinforcement ratio. The test results were compared with information provided by the available codes and other, previous results. The test results indicated that incorporation of steel fibres and bars in concrete members subjected to shear leads to an improved mechanical behaviour before failure. Based on the presented experimental results, an equation governing the direct shear strength is proposed and verified against test results from other test series.