Assessment of bearing capacity of hybrid fiber reinforced concrete pipes

Abstract

In recent decades, the use of a single type of fiber, either steel or synthetic, as concrete reinforcement in precast pipes. However, concrete has a multi-scale nature of fracture and one type of fiber provide reinforcement only at one level and within a limited range of strains. Therefore, a more efficient reinforcement could be achieved by using the combination of fibers of different materials, geometry and/or mechanical characteristics. Reinforced concrete with two or more types of fibers combined rationally is called hybrid fiber reinforced concrete (HFRC). In this paper, the results of an experimental campaign are presented in which the bearing capacity of HFRC (HFRCP) pipes was studied. The results are compared with those obtained for concrete pipes with traditional steel bar reinforcement (RCP) and steel fiber reinforced concrete pipes (SFRCP), elaborated and tested in the same campaign. The results showed that the HFRCP reached a load capacity equivalent to RCP and superior to that of SFRCP.