Steel Fiber-Reinforced Concrete Corbels: Experimental Behavior and Shear Strength Prediction

In the present paper, an experimental research is presented \nregarding the flexural behavior of corbels in plain and fibrous \nconcrete and in the presence of steel bars. This research considers \nthe influence of the type of concrete grade (normal- and highstrength \nconcretes), of the fiber percentage and of the arrangement \nand percentage of the steel bars on the flexural behavior of the \ncorbels. The results in terms of load-deflection curves and crack \npatterns show the effectiveness in using fibrous reinforced concrete \ncorbels as well as in the presence of stirrups ensuring adequate \nstrength and deformation capacity in reinforced concrete corbels. \nTherefore, a simplified analytical model is proposed to calculate \nthe shear strength of fibrous reinforced concrete corbels as well as \nin the presence of stirrups. The expression proposed for the calculation \nof the shear strength is then compared with other expressions \navailable in the literature. Finally, the experimental results generated \nin terms of bearing capacity and those available in the literature \nare compared with the results obtained through the proposed model \nand with existing analytical expressions present in the literature \nshowing good agreement