Hybrid assessment of fiber orientation influence on the load resistance of anchors in SFRC

Abstract

The consistent evolution of concrete has led to a variety of concrete types that enhance the material's versatility, cost-efficiency, and sustainability. Despite the rapid development and extensive research regarding steel fiber-reinforced concrete (SFRC) in the last decades, there are still knowledge gaps on the material's resistance against locally applied tension loads on anchor bolts, as well as the interaction of possible nonhomogeneous fiber orientations on the anchorage axisymmetric stress field. This aspect becomes particularly relevant since anchors are placed at the component boundaries, where fibers tend to align parallel to the external surface. Through an innovative experimental investigation on 64 single-bonded anchors using layer-casting concrete and a supporting set of nonlinear finite element simulations, this work aspires to exhibit the influence of controlled unidimensional fiber orientation on the load-bearing capacity and behavior of anchorages in SFRC.