Loading rate effects on multifiber pullout resistance of smooth steel fibers in ultra-high-performance concrete

This study investigated the multi-fiber pullout resistance of high-strength smooth steel fibers embedded in ultra-high-performance concrete (UHPC) at different loading rates. To discover the source of the fiber group effect on fiber pullout resistance, multi-fiber pullout tests were employed by changing the number of fibers, fiber-to-fiber distance, and difference in embedded lengths. The main source of the fiber group effect was found to be the reduced contact pressure per fiber, in the specimens containing more fibers, generated by matrix shrinkage: the fiber pullout stress at the static loading rate (0.0167 mm/s) decreased from 786.58 to 618.59 MPa (21.4% reduction) as the number of fibers increased from 1 to 25. The equivalent bond strength of smooth steel fiber in UHPC generally increased from 4.5–5.2 to 5.9–7.1 MPa as the loading rate increased from 0.0167 to 1.67 mm/s. The favorable rate-sensitive pullout resistance of multi-fiber pullout specimens was notably affected by the number of fibers and fiber distance: the specimens containing nine fibers with a 2.7 mm fiber distance produced the highest dynamic increase factor (1.37) owing to enhanced interactions between interfacial cracks.