The behaviour of steel-fibre-reinforced geopolymer concrete beams in shear

An investigation of the shear behaviour of steel-fibre-reinforced geopolymer concrete beams is presented. Shear tests were conducted on five series of 250 mm deep by 120 mm wide beams spanning 2250 mm. The beams did not contain conventional web reinforcement (stirrups), but were reinforced with end-hooked and straight steel fibres in various fibre volumetric dosages, ranging from 0 to 1.5%. The test results show that the shear strength increases significantly as the fibre content increases and that improvement in the cracking behaviour is achieved through the addition of fibres. The results of the test were compared with the fib Model Code 2010 alternative model for shear strength of steel-fibre-reinforced concrete in combination with the variable engagement model for the determination of the tensile strength of steel-fibre-reinforced concrete. A good correlation is observed for the predictive model with the test data.