Behavior of Steel-Fiber-Reinforced Concrete (SFRC) Slab-on-Grade under Impact Loading

Abstract

Structures such as industrial pavements, roads, parking areas, and airport runways are often slab-on-grade where steel-fiber reinforcement can substitute conventional steel reinforcement. Due to the dynamic nature of loading while in service, these structures are exposed to the damaging effects of impact loading, such as strength and stiffness deterioration in materials or structural elements. In this study, the behavior of concrete slab-on-grade with steel-fiber-reinforced concrete under impact load has been investigated by considering different parameters. Nonlinear finite element software ABAQUS/Explicit is used to simulate the system. The accuracy of the nonlinear finite element models is verified using experimental work available in the literature. A total of 108 specimens are simulated by varying the volume fraction of steel fiber by 0.5%, 1%, and 1.5% coupling with the impact mass and velocity from the control specimen and variation of load location, thickness, and aspect ratio. The analysis results revealed that the addition of 0.5%, 1%, and 1.5% volume fraction of steel fiber in concrete could effectively accommodate up to 0%, 10%, and 26% reduction of thickness, respectively. These results confirmed that the appropriate use of steel fiber in concrete can be a feasible solution to improve the overall performance of slab-on-grade. Moreover, an increase in the aspect ratio of steel fiber improves the crack resistance of steel-fiber-reinforced concrete slab-on-grade, but a further increase in aspect ratio reduces the performance due to local crushing of concrete.