Steel Fibre Reinforced Concrete Under Elevated Temperature: Strength and Ductility Assessment

The use of fibres of different materials (metallic and non-metallic) with any weak matrices, to enhance the overall performance of structural members, has become extremely popular. Fibre reinforced concrete is one of these kinds of composites. Any reinforced cement concrete structure, which is exposed to elevated temperature, looses its overall strength. It has been observed from several investigations that the addition of steel fibre in concrete improves the tensile strength, ductility and toughness compared to plain concrete. It has also been observed that the reduction in strength of fibre reinforced concrete is much less compared to that of plain concrete, when exposed to elevated temperature. Again, it is known that the increase in conventional steel reinforcement in RCC structure leads to decrease in ductility. Thus, an optimal use of steel fibre and conventional steel reinforcement in concrete will lead to most rational design from the consideration of strength and ductility.