Abstract
In the literature, there is little information available regarding the behavior of composite beams made up of reinforced concrete (RC) and ultra-ductile fiber-reinforced concrete (UDFRC). In this study, UDFRC was examined for its effectiveness in enhancing the strength of RC beams. With a tensile strength of 4.35 MPa and a strain capacity of 2.5%, PVA-based UDFRC was prepared. The performance of 12 medium-sized reinforced concrete (RC) beams was measured under four-point flexural loading. The beams measured 1800 mm long, 150 mm wide, and 200-260 mm deep. The experimental program on beam specimens was divided into two phases. In the first, four 150 × 200 × 1800 mm RC beams with UDFRC layer thicknesses of 0, 30, 60, and 90 mm were tested. Additionally, four concrete and four concrete-UDFRC beams were investigated, measuring 150 × 230 × 1800 mm and 150 × 260 × 1800 mm, respectively. The study focused on medium-sized, slender RC beams under quasi-static loads and room temperature with additional or substituted UDFRC layers. As a result of replacing concrete with UDFRC, the load-carrying capacity at first crack and steel yield significantly increased between 18.4 and 43.1%, but the ultimate load-carrying capacity increased only in the range of 6.3-10.8%. Furthermore, beams with additional UDFRC layers could carry 30-50% more load than their concrete counterparts. An RC-UDFRC beam had a load-carrying capacity 10-15% greater than that of a comparable RC beam. Generally, there is a lower deflection response in UDFRC-concrete composite RC beams than in control concrete beams. The UDFRC layering can potentially improve the load-carrying capacity of RC beams, at least when ductility provisions are considered.