A study of strain-rate effect and fiber reinforcement effect on dynamic behavior of steel fiber-reinforced concrete

•SFRC of a large range of fiber content are compressively tested using SHPB facility.•Wave-shaper technique is investigated and adopted through the experiment.•Strain-rate effect and fiber reinforcement effect of SFRC are studied thoroughly.•Mechanisms underlying the two effects and their coupling effect are investigated.

This paper presents an experimental study on uniaxial mechanical properties of steel fiber-reinforced concrete (SFRC) subjected to high strain-rate compressive loading. SFRC specimens of 6 different steel fiber volume fractions (0.0%, 0.75%, 1.5%, 3.0%, 4.5% and 6.0%) are fabricated and tested using a 75-mm-diameter split Hopkinson pressure bar (SHPB). Wave-shapers are investigated to ensure that two basic assumptions of SHPB hold true and that constant strain-rate is maintained within SFRC specimens. Based on acquired dynamic stress-strain relations, dynamic strength increase factor, fiber reinforcement factor, critical strain, and energy absorption are studied versus both strain-rate and fiber volume fraction. That provides an insight into strain-rate effect and fiber reinforcement effect on dynamic behavior of plain concrete and SFRC. The mechanisms underlying strain-rate effect and fiber reinforcement effect are discussed.