Dynamic tensile behaviour of Self Compacting Steel Fibre Reinforced Concrete

The promise of fibre reinforced cementitious composites for dynamic loading application stems from their observed good response under static loading. However, very little research has been carried out to investigate if their good static response corresponds to an improved dynamic response. Current understanding of the dynamic response and impact resistance of cementitious composites, and especially of SFRC, is very limited. In the framework of the ACCIDENT project, an experimental research aimed at contributing to the understanding of the behaviour of steel bre reinforced concrete subjected to low and high displacement rates was carried out. The material investigated is a self compacting steel fibre reinforced concrete with compressive strength equal to 70 MPa. Hooked steel bres 35 mm long were used. The fibre content was 50 kg/m3. The material behaviour was investigated at high displacement rates (1.2 m/s) by exploiting a modied Hopkinson bar (MHB) and the tests results were compared with the results obtained in static tests. A comparison between static and dynamic tests highlighted several relevant aspects regarding the material behaviour at high displacement rates.