Two-layer pre-stressed beams consisting of normal and steel fibered high strength concrete

Abstract The paper is focused on analysis of two-layer bending pre-stressed beams consisting of steel fibered (SF) high strength concrete (HSC) in compressed zone and normal strength concrete (NSC) in tensile zone. Investigation of such beams is important for RC structural design, because calculation of fibers volume ratio is significant, like that of reinforcing steel bars for usual RC elements. In other words, such elements are made of high performance concrete (HPC). There is a growing tendency that more effective HPC structures replace NSC ones, first of all in pre-stressed elements. Definition of the HSC class lower limit, to be used in the compressed zone of a two-layer pre-stressed beam, is given. It was demonstrated that SF have little effect on the beam elastic deflections. However, the ultimate deflections of the section increase because additional potential for plastic energy dissipation (PED) in the bending element. NSC, used in the section tensile zone, contributes additionally about 20% to the section’s PED potential compared to one-layer HSC beams. In order to guarantee sufficient section’s ductility of the pre-stressed beams, required to withstand dynamic loadings, a minimum SF ratio is proposed to be considered. The fibers take the tensile stresses, yielding cracks in the concrete matrix. A design method for calculation of the SF volume ratio, as a function of required ductility, is proposed. A numerical example, illustrating the efficiency of this method is presented.