Experimental and numerical investigation on the behaviour of reinforced reactive powder concrete two-way slabs under static load

Abstract

This paper studied the behaviour of reinforced reactive powder concrete (RPC) two-way slabs under static load. The experimental program included testing three simply supported slabs of 1000 mm length, 1000 mm width, and 70 mm thickness. Tested specimens were of identical properties except their steel fibers volume ratio (0.5 %, 1 %, and 1.5 %). Static test results revealed that, increasing steel fibers volume ratio from 0.5% to 1% and from 1% to 1.5%, led to an increase in: first crack load by (32.2 % and 52.3 %), ultimate load by (36.1 % and 17.0 %), ultimate deflection by (33.6 % and 3.4 %), absorbed energy by (128 % and 20.2 %), and the ultimate strain by (1.1 % and 6.73 %). The stiffness and ductility of the specimens also increased. A numerical analysis was performed using ANSYS 14.5 software. The FE analysis overestimated the ultimate load capacity of all specimens by (6–28) %, and underestimated the ultimate deflection by (22-44) %. The deflected shape and crack patterns of the FE models were similar to that of the corresponding experimental specimens. It was found out that the optimum values of steel fibers volume fraction are 1.5 % and 1.6%.