Experimental Study of Steel Fibers in Improving Mechanical Properties of Fiber Reinforced Concrete

Fiber reinforced concrete is widely used for improving the dynamic properties of concrete structures against blast effects, shock and penetration in passive defense, military and hardening projects. Adding fibers to concrete increases toughness, ductility, tensile and flexural strength of concrete especially against impact and dynamic loads and control the crack propagation and spalling of the concrete. Research conducted on steel fiber reinforced concrete has been done mostly using imported fiber. In this study, domestic steel fibers were tested to investigate their effect on mechanical properties of concrete. Test results showed that adding this type of fiber considerably improves the compressive, flexural and tensile strength of concrete. Consequently, it is expected that adding this type of steel fibers in concrete will dramatically increase its strength against very heavy loads such as impact and explosion.