Influence of the fiber content on the compressive low-cycle fatigue behavior of self-compacting SFRC

An experimental campaign is presented to evaluate the influence of fiber content on compressive fatigue of self-compacting concrete reinforced with steel fibers. Five different fiber contents, from plain concrete up to a content of 0.8% in volume, are studied. Beneficial effect of fibers is observed in fatigue resistance. However, the longest fatigue life is not achieved with the highest fiber content, but rather with an intermediate one (0.6%). It has also been verified that the relationship of the secondary strain rate per cycle with the fatigue life is independent of the amount of fibers and therefore it depends only on the matrix. Based on these results, a strain-based fatigue failure criterion involving mechanical and time dependent deformation is proposed.