Numerical analysis of steel fiber reinforced concrete shells

Abstract

Here, a simple numerical model for steel fiber concrete, based on a reinforced concrete model is presented. In the proposed model concrete is modeled using a finite element dedicated to brittle materials, available at ANSYS library. Fiber contribution to the multiaxial state of concrete is modeled by changing concrete parameters accordingly. Moreover, stress transfer by fiber bridging action is taken in account by considering the fibers as an equivalent smeared reinforcement. An appropriate although simple model for fiber reinforced concrete is therefore obtained by suitably adjusting the parameters of a reinforced concrete model. The proposed model is applied to shells which are part of the Wall of the Benidorm esplanade (Spain). Analyses are carried out on wall segments, considering the structure self-weight, and temperature variations. The numerical results obtained represent well the structural behavior.