Evaluation Method for Bending Beam Tests of Fibre Reinforced Concrete (2023)

There are several existing guidelines for determining the material parameters of fibre reinforced concrete (FRC). The most commonly used test methods for this determination are the four-point and three-point bending beam tests. Generally, owing to the relatively small size of specimens and the random locations of fibres, the standard deviation of test data is high. Modifying the evaluation method can lead to better approximations of the material parameters without requiring additional experiments. This study proposes a method that considers the number and location of fibres when estimating the post-crack performance of a cracked cross section in three-point notched bending beam tests. The test results of the steel and macro synthetic FRC were evaluated using both Eurocode standards and the proposed method; and the evaluation results were compared. Despite the proposed method being more complex and having an evaluation more effortintensive than that of the existing method, it provided more repeatable material parameters, exhibiting better characteristic results.