Rational design approach for the instantaneous and time-dependent serviceability deflections and crack widths of FRC and UHPFRC continuous and simply supported beams

Abstract

Novel mechanics-based closed-form solutions for long- and short-term serviceability deflections and crack widths of fiber-reinforced concrete (FRC) and ultra-high-performance fiber-reinforced concrete (UHPFRC) beams are presented. These solutions incorporate the bond properties from bond tests directly and as such obviate the need for constant bond stress simplification and consequently the need for member calibration as is commonly required in code approaches. The closed-form solutions are validated on 12 simply supported and 4 continuous UHPFRC beams as well as 10 normal-strength FRC beams with good correlation. A design example is also included for a UHPFRC T-beam demonstrating application of the solutions.