Behavior of low-rise, steel fiber-reinforced concrete thin walls under shake table excitations

The use of steel fiber-reinforced concrete (SFRC) for low-rise walls in low-seismicity regions is evaluated experimentally. Shake-table tests of SFRC and conventionally reinforced concrete walls with an aspect ratio of 1.0 under several ground motions to failure were conducted. Main variables studied were fiber aspect ratio (64 and 80) and fiber volume content (0.55%, 0.75%, and 1%). Wall performance is assessed in terms of crack patterns, failure modes, lateral resistance and hysteretic response. The results showed that SFRC walls exhibited superior performance than that observed for the wall with welded wire reinforcement in the web. Furthermore, SFRC walls containing 0.75% or 1% fiber volume content exhibited a response that was as good as that observed for the wall reinforced with deformed bars as web reinforcement in terms of lateral strength and drift capacity.