Comparative pullout behavior of half-hooked and commercial steel fibers embedded in UHPC under static and impact loads

Abstract

This study investigates the pullout behaviors of various steel fibers embedded in ultra-high-performance concrete (UHPC) under static and impact loading conditions. For this purpose, four types of steel fibers, i.e., straight, hooked, twisted, and half-hooked, and three different loading rates applied by static and impact pullout test machines were adopted. To examine the effect of inclination angle on the pullout behavior, four different inclination angles of 0°, 30°, 45°, and 60° were considered. Test results indicate that the highest average bond strengths were found for the hooked and twisted fibers for static and impact loads, respectively, whereas the straight fibers exhibited the lowest bond strength at all inclination angles. The effectiveness of using half-hooked fibers increased when they were inclined, and maximized at an inclination angle of 45° compared to straight and highly deformed fibers. The use of the twisted and half-hooked fibers was also more effective in static pullout energies than the hooked and straight fibers. The pullout resistance of all the steel fibers in UHPC was improved under impact loading conditions, and the order of the loading rate effectiveness regarding both the average bond strength and pullout energy was as follows: straight fibers ˃ half-hooked fibers ˃ twisted fibers ˃ hooked fibers. The change in the failure mode from pullout to rupture, due to the increase in the loading rate, adversely affected the rate sensitivity of the bond strength and energy absorption capacity. Since the deformed steel fibers were easily ruptured under impact loads, their rupture failure needs to be prevented to achieve an excellent bond strength and energy absorption capacity.