AN EXPERIMENTAL AND FEASIBILITY STUDY ON FLEXURAL BEHAVIOR OF CONCRETE BEAMS REINFORCED WITH DISCRETE AND CONTINUOUS STEEL FIBERS

The random distribution of discrete steel fibers in concrete and their negative impact on workability limit their use in the concrete industry. This research presents a novel approach to concrete reinforcement using continuous steel fibers to overcome the above mentioned limitations. Three innovative composites were developed, namely, double inline-continuous steel fiber reinforced concrete (DI-CSFRC), single inline-continuous steel fiber reinforced concrete (SI-CSFRC), and single staggered-continuous steel fiber reinforced concrete (SS-CSFRC). Steel reinforced beam and discrete steel fibers reinforced concrete beam (DSFRC) beam were fabricated and considered as control specimens. The results showed that replacing discrete steel fibers with continuous steel fibers significantly enhanced the mechanical performance. At a constant fiber volume fraction (0.4%), the cracking and ultimate loads of DI-CSFRC beam were 145% and 105% higher than that of DSFRC beam, respectively. The implementation of continuous steel fibers also offered cost and weight benefits, making it a promising alternative for concrete reinforcement.