MOMENT CAPACITY AND CRACKING BEHAVIOUR OF FERROCEMENT IN FLEXURE

FERROCEMENT IS A THIN SECTION CEMENT MORTAR WITH REINFORCEMENT IN THE FORM OF MULTIPLE LAYERS OF LIGHT MESH. FOR CONTINUING APPLICATIONS AND COMPARISON WITH OTHER MATERIAL, ENGINEERING DESIGN PROPERTIES OF FERROCEMENT ARE NECESSARY. THIS REPORT PRESENTS THE RESULTS OF TESTS ON FERROCEMENT BEAMS. DATA ON INITIAL CRACKING, CRACK WIDTHS AND ULTIMATE STRENGTH ARE REPORTED. THE ULTIMATE STRENGTH OF FERROCEMENT BEAMS CAN BE PREDICTED ACCURATELY USING PROCEDURES SIMILAR TO THOSE USED IN THE ULTIMATE STRENGTH DESIGN OF CONVENTIONALLY REINFORCED CONCRETE BEAMS. THE MAXIMUM WIDTH OF CRACKS CAN BE PREDICTED FROM THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE MAXIMUM STEEL STRESS AND THE SPECIFIC SURFACE OF THE REINFORCEMENT.