Investigation of the strengthening effect of DFRCC applied to plain concrete beams

One of the most important characteristics of Ductile Fiber Reinforced Cementitious Composite (DFRCC) is its strain hardening behavior up to 5–6% strain under tensile loading. In this study, the strengthening effect of DFRCC, applied to the tension region of plain concrete beams, is both numerically and experimentally examined. More specifically, 10%, 20%, and 30% of the beam height are replaced with DFRCC to measure the strengthening effect of the composite beam. From four-point bending tests and numerical simulations, the load–deflection behaviors are investigated and compared. To assess the effect of ultimate tensile strength, strain capacity and strain hardening slope of DFRCC, numerical simulations are carried out with DFRCC strain capacities ranging from 1% to 5%. From these studies, it is shown that DFRCC significantly contributes to the deflection capacity, load carrying capacity and failure modes of concrete beams.