Finite element modelling and analysis of brass coated steel fibre reinforced concrete beams

Abstract

The study's objective was to use brass-coated micro steel fibre to improve the strength and flexibility of beams. Steel fibres with a brass coating are resistant to corrosion and improve the fracture resistance and tensile strength of the concrete, making them appropriate for use in the building and construction industry, refractory industry, rocket launch pads, airport runways and highway pavements etc. In this work analytical research on the flexural behaviour of RC beams with brass-coated steel fibre reinforcements is presented. The beams were modelled and analysed using the Abaqus FEA software. Five beams total with various fibre volume percentages (Vf = 0, 0.5, 1, 1.5, 2) were examined for this purpose. The beam cross sections were 1000 mm in length, 100 mm broad, and 150 mm deep. The analytical results show that addition of 2.0% volume of fibres exhibited better performance. When compared to the reference beam, the increase in maximum load and deflection was found to be 36.3% and 61.84%, respectively. The load–deflection and fracture patterns of different beams were compared with the experimental and analytical responses. Amongst the two approaches, it demonstrates good agreement across the whole range of loading. Thus, the deflections obtained from both the methods are ‘very close to each other’ and within ‘generally acceptable limits (say10%)’. Modeling and evaluating the structural parts can be done much more quickly and affordably using the Finite Element Analysis (FEA).