Abstract
Semi-circular bend tests were performed on reactive powder concrete (RPC) to investigate the mode I fracture characteristics. A total of 12 RPC specimens including non-fibrous RPC and steel fiber-reinforced RPC (SFR-RPC) with 1%, 2% and 4% volumetric fractions of steel fiber were tested. The characteristics of acoustic emission, fracture parameters and failure patterns were systematically investigated. The test results show that with the incorporation of steel fibers, the SFR-RPC specimens own an increasing enhancement of ductility, carrying capacity and AE activities with the increase of the steel fiber content. The crack initiation deflection, initiation toughness and initiation energy of the specimens vary as exponential functions of the steel fiber content, while the fracture toughness and fracture energy follow linear functions against the steel fiber content. The produced fracture surface shows a decrease in the smoothness with the increase of the steel fiber content.
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