Experimental tests on the effect of temperature on the long-term behaviour of macrosynthetic Fibre Reinforced Concretes

• We investigate the effect of temperature (20–50 °C) on the behaviour of MSFRCs.
• We consider cracked beams in bending with no rebars.
• The short term strength can decrease by 20%.
• Creep failures under serviceability loads may be triggered by temperature.

This paper presents the experimental results of short- and long-term tests on cracked MSFRC elements at different temperatures. Various factors affecting the long-term behaviour of MSFRCs have been identified in the literature but the effect of temperature has never been investigated. Short term three-point bending tests were carried out at 20 °C and 40 °C. Four-point long-term tests under sustained loads were performed at increasing temperatures (20–50 °C). Temperature reduced the short-term residual strength of some of the MSRFCs analyzed. It also had a strong effect on long-term deformations producing, in some cases, creep-failure. These findings suggest that temperature should always be considered as an important factor when designing MSFRC elements.