Shear behavior model for steel fiber-reinforced concrete members without transverse reinforcements

Due to the complex shear mechanism of steel fiber-reinforced concrete (SFRC) members, there is lack of comprehensive shear behavior models for SFRC members. The shear behavior model, based on a smeared crack model, requires the tensile stress–strain constitutive equation of SFRC membrane subjected to biaxial stresses. After SFRC panel tests under biaxial stresses were recently conducted, it has been possible to create a more complete smeared crack model for estimating the shear behavior of SFRC members. It is, however, very difficult to conduct such experiments for different types of steel fibers, various amount of steel fibers, different ranges of concrete strengths, etc. Thus, in this study, steel fibers are modeled as average direct tensile contribution elements in a modified smeared crack truss model, considering directionality and distribution of fibers. In this way, only simple bond tests are required to reflect the effects of different characteristics of SFRC. In addition, the shear contribution of steel fibers can be obtained considering the bond failure of steel fibers. The proposed model was compared to the test results of 8 SFRC panels and 80 SFRC beams, and the shear behavior of the SFRC members was well estimated.