Effect of hybrid steel-polypropylene fiber on punching shear behavior of flat slab with an opening

This research aimed to gain a better understanding of how the addition of fiber influences the punching shear capacity of two-way slabs by conducting an experiment into the structural behavior of flat slabs with and without a square opening using different volume fractions of hybrid steel-polypropylene fiber (0%, 0.9%, 1.05% and 1.8%). Ten 700 × 700 × 70 mm slabs were divided into five pairs, with two samples used as control samples (with and without openings), and eight other samples with different volume fraction of fibers. Results showed that an increase in fiber content enhanced the shear strength of the slabs. For example, as the volume fraction of hybrid fiber increased from 0.0 to 1.8%, the ultimate load increased by 52% for slabs without an opening and up to 42% for slabs with an opening.