Tensile failure of steel fiber-reinforced mortar

Results are discussed from experimental and theoretical studies on the tensile failure of short, steel fiber-reinforced mortar/concrete (SFRC) composites. A displacement-controlled test method for conducting stable fracture tests on tension-weak brittle materials developed in an earlier study has been used for conducting uniaxial tension tests. Several concrete, mortar, paste, and SFRC mixes were tested. Fracture of SFRC in tension is observed to be influ-enced largely by the matrix softening behavior, the fiber-matrix interfacial response, and its composition parameters. The theoretical model proposed for the idealized SFRC composite takes into account these two primary nonlinear aspects of the failure mechanism in such composites, i.e.: (1) The inelastic behavior of the fiber-matrix interface; and (2) the softening characteristics of the matrix. The model, in addition, is also realistically sensitive to the reinforcement parameters like fiber volume content, aspect ratio, and the elastic properties of the fiber.