Experimental Study on the Structural Ductility of UHPC Beams under Flexure

Abstract

This guide Ultra-high performance concrete shows great potential in the construction industry. However, the structural-level ductility of UHPC members has not been clearly established and is frequently subverted by the crack localization phenomenon. This paper presents an experimental investigation of the structural ductility of a total of twelve UHPC beams tested under flexure. The main variable parameters are the reinforcement ratio, ranging from low to high ratios, and the fibers volumetric ratio, selected as 0%, 1.5%, and 2.5%. The results revealed that 1.5% fiber content and a corresponding reinforcement ratio between 1.2 % -4.4% are generally adequate for generating sufficient ductility on a structural level, and further increasing the fiber content has a minimal enhancement to the ductility. Moreover, adding fibers is not only necessary to improve the ductility from the tension side, but also from the compression side as the fibers impose a slow and gradual crush of UHPC, thereby improving the ductility in the post-peak branch.