The efficiency of steel fibers for shear strength of reinforced concrete beams is assessed. Four beams were evaluated: control consisted of one beam without any steel fibers and three beams with reinforced concrete with steel fibers. All beams were reinforced for shear strength by a minimum reinforcement rate. The influence of fiber content added to concrete, at 0.5%, 0.8% and 1.0%, and the possibility of partial or total replacement of conventional shear reinforcement (stirrups) by steel fibers were evaluated. Results showed a significant increase in ductility and stiffness of the beams with steel fibers and, consequently, changes in the failure mode were observed, of shear (control beam) to flexure behavior (beams with steel fibers).

This experimental investigation presents results and a discussion on a series of four reinforced concrete pile caps with and without steel fibers, measuring 400 × 400 × 1000 mm3, which were tested under concentric loading. The study set the steel fiber and the inclined shear reinforcement as variables. The fiber volume fraction was 1.5%, and the concrete compressive strength was 25 MPa. The results showed a tendency to increase ductility and ultimate strength with the use of inclined shear reinforcement; the same behavior was observed with the addition of steel fibers, improving the performance of the tested pile caps. This study opens the possibility of designing slender pile caps, especially when associated with both analyzed parameters.

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