An experimental investigation of the flexural behaviour of Steel Fibre Reinforced Concrete (SFRC) has been carried out in order to improve design methods for SFRC tunnel linings and similar applications. A large number of suspended slabs and beams with fixed ends were tested, with the intention of gaining a clearer understanding of how these structural elements behave during failure. The calculations, which were based on yield line theory, were in poor agreement with the test results in that the estimated capacities were consistently lower than the actual load bearing capacity of the specimens. From the tests it was clear that compressive arch action enhanced the load bearing capacity of the specimens and that this phenomenon led to the error in the calculated values. The effect of compressive arch action is currently ignored in design methods for applications such as tunnel linings.
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