ABSTRACT
An experimental research project was carried out at the University of British Columbia to test the effectiveness of steel fibre concrete in the seismic design of reinforced concrete structures. Two sets of parallel two-bay, two-storey plane frames were tested on an earthquake simulator. Both sets of frames were identical in geometry and were detailed to resist seismic loads according to the CAN3-A23.3-M84 Canadian concrete code. However, the second set of frames was constructed with steel fibre-reinforced concrete and had a substantial number of confining hoops removed from the joint regions. The steel fibres used were 30 mm-long × 0.50 mm-diameter collated hooked-end Dramix (Bekaert) fibres, and were added to the concrete at a loading of 60 kg/m3 (0.76% by volume). Each set of frames was subjected to the same sequence of earthquake tests. Comparison of the data from the two sets of frames showed the steel fibre concrete to be effective in maintaining the integrity of the joint regions and in providing additional post-cracking energy absorption during the higher-magnitude earthquakes. The potential of steel fibre concrete in the seismic design of concrete structures is clearly demonstrated.
