INFLUENCE OF FIBER REINFORCEMENT ON THE DOWEL RESISTANCE TO SHEAR

The dowel resistance of reinforced concrete beams depends on the tensile strength of the concrete and the bending resistance of tension steel. The presence of fiber reinforcement in concrete not only helps to control cracking and enhance the tensile strength and ductility of the composite but also increases the pullout resistance of tension reinforcement. Fiber reinforcement can then be used to advantage in normal reinforced concrete beams. Tests are reported to study the shear transfer through dowel action in fiber reinforced normal T-beams. It is shown that the presence of fiber reinforcement delays and controls dowel cracking, and thereby improves the stiffness and deformation characteristics of the dowel crack zone. The load at which the first crack forms and ultimate dowel strength are both found to increase almost linearly with the flexural strength of the composite. /Author/