Abstract
This study aimed to investigate the influence of using different synthetic fibers’ (SFs) type, length, and volume on enhancing the structural performance of rubberized concrete beams. Different self-consolidating rubberized concrete (SCRC) and vibrated rubberized concrete (VRC) with different percentages of crumb rubber (CR) and SFs were tested. The main parameters were the percentage of CR (0%, 10%, 15%, 20%, and 30% by volume of sand), type of SFs (micro-synthetic fibers (MISFs) and macro-synthetic fibers (MASFs)), length of SFs (19 mm, 38 mm, 50 mm, 54 mm), and volume of SFs (0%, 0.2%, and 1%). The structural performance of the tested beams was assessed based on the characteristics of load-deflection curves, flexural stiffness, cracking behavior, displacement ductility, energy absorption, cracking moment, and bending moment capacity. The results indicated that using MISFs slightly enhanced the deformability, flexural stiffness, ductility, energy absorption, cracking moment, and bending moment capacity, while this enhancement significantly increased when MASFs were used. The results also showed that increasing the MASF length from 38 mm to 50 mm exhibited less improvement in the structural performance of rubberized beams. Meanwhile, MASF54 (MASF with 54 mm length) showed better improvement compared to MASF50 (MASF with 50 mm length) but still less than MASF38 (MASF with 38 mm length). Combining high percentage of MASF38 (1%) with high percentage of CR (30%) compensated for the reduction in the bending moment capacity (that resulted from using high percentage of CR) and helped to develop semi-lightweight concrete beams.
Published Version
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