Influence of bending test configuration on cracking behavior of FRC

This paper describes an investigation of the influence of the testing configuration for Fiber Reinforced Concrete in bending and aims at evaluating the influence of the test configuration details on the characterization of the material. Two different types of FRC, Steel Fiber Reinforced Concrete (SFRC) and Engineered Cementitious Composites (ECC), were tested and are described in this study.

The materials were chosen so that one of them would be strain hardening (ECC) and the other tension softening (SFRC). Notched and un-notched three- and four-point bending tests were carried out to determine the flexural load-deformation response of FRC. This research focuses particularly on the influence of the appearance and depth of the notch on the cracking behavior of FRC.

For this purpose, several specimens, both un-notched and notched with different depths of the notch (25 mm and 45 mm), were tested. The results obtained in the various tests are compared to determine to what extent the notch can affect cracking behavior and the resulting evaluation of the material according to the method described in the standard.

Formation of cracking and the crack development has been documented by means of a digital image correlation method.