Shear Strength of SFRC Piles without Shear Reinforcement using the Centrifugal Forming Technique

Abstract

This paper proposed a fabrication method of steel fiber reinforced concrete (SFRC) piles without shear reinforcement using the centrifugal forming technique to reorient the fibers perpendicular to the pile’s longitudinal axis for resisting the shear stresses. Effects of rotation patterns and concrete mixes on the fiber dispersion were investigated experimentally to identify the optimum procedure providing both well-oriented and well-distributed steel fibers. Using the X-ray radiography to visualize steel fibers inside the piles, it is confirmed that the centrifugal forming technique can realign the fibers in favor of the shear stresses. The shear test results show the effectiveness of the steel fibers in improving the shear strength of the SFRC piles due to good fiber dispersion. Moreover, the SFRC piles without shear reinforcement exhibited more ductile behavior than the RC piles with shear reinforcements. Steel fibers can be used to replace the shear reinforcements and improve the demanding productivity in the pile construction industry by saving time and labor.