Experimental behaviour of fiber concrete slabs on soil

摘要

The cracking control of plain concrete slabs on soil foundation requires the execution of joints with mechanismsof load transfer between adjacent panels. These joints increase the construction costs and, often, are the source oflocal damage and loss of service performance. Slabs reinforced with steel wire mesh have been used in order toincrease the load carrying capacity and to enhance the cracking control. However, the use of this conventionalreinforcement increases the costs, mainly due to labor time spent on the arrangement and positioning of thereinforcement.Fiber reinforced concrete is a recent material well fitted for applications in industrial floors on soil foundation.The cost of fibers is compensated by a faster construction process and a reduction in the number of expansionjoints. The fatigue, impact and flexural strength are significantly improved when steel fibers are added to theconcrete mix.The work developed aims to contribute to the on going research effort to clarify the behavior of fiber reinforcedconcrete slabs on soil foundation. For this purpose, an experimental and numerical investigation were carried out.The present article deals basically with the experimental work developed, describing the tests performed anddiscussing the main results obtained.