International Journal of Advanced Information Science and Technology (IJAIST) ISSN: 2319:2682

Vol.32, No.32, December 2014

Experimental Study on Behavior of

Reinforced Concrete Beams with Precast
Sifcon Laminates
R.Regupathi1, R.Mathiyalakan2, V.Balasundaram3, G.Selvanarayanan4
1Department of Civil Engineering

Vel Tech High Tech Dr.Rangarajan Dr.Sakunthala Engineering College, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, INDIA
2Department of Structural Engineering

L&T Construction, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, INDIA

3,4Department of Civil Engineering

Sakthi Engineering College, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, INDIA.

1(email : regupathi@velhightech.com)

Abstract––Slurry infiltrated fibrous concrete slurry for SIFCON matrix includes, cement, fly
(SIFCON), an exceedingly improved version of
conventional fibre reinforced concrete (FRC), is a ash, silica fume and quartz powder with various
unique construction material having unique properties mix proportions.
in the areas of both strength and ductility.SIFCON
being a new kind of fibre reinforced composite material, II. MATERIALS AND METHODS
limited literature is available regarding its application as
structural element. In the present study, investigations A. What Makes It So Special?
are carried out to study the behavior of reinforced  The compressive strength of SIFCON is very
concrete beams with SIFCON laminates.An high as compared to conventional RC beams
experimental programme has been carried out to study  It has a larger strain capacity
the behavior of flexural and shear RC beams with
 It exhibit an extreme ductile behaviour under
precast SIFCON laminates. A total number of six
specimens of size 100mm x 150mm x 1700mm compression monotonic and high amplitude
corresponding to two test series has been cast and tested cyclic loading
under cyclic loading to study the first crack load,  Flexural strength was found to be very high
ultimate load and the load deformation behavior.The  It has maximum value of shear strength
concrete mix for RC beams has been designed to obtain  The modulus of elasticity is high
a concrete grade of M30. The steel fibres used in the
 It has very high impact resistance and abrasion
study were round crimpled fibres having 0.5mm
diameter and aspect ratio of 0.6. Fibre volume fraction
resistance
was 9%. B. Steps In Methodology
Index Terms––SIFCON, Ductility, Flexure, Cyclic 1. Collection of materials.
loading, M30 Grade of concrete. 2. Details of mix proportion.
3. Casting of beams.
I. INTRODUCTION 4. Curing of beams.
Nowadays natural and manmade disasters like 5. Pasting of laminates
earthquake, wind force, etc., play an important role in 6. Testing of beams.
the behavior of structures. So the structures has to be Collection Of Materials
designed in good manner, which resist higher loads,
blast loads, seismic and impact forces. Slurry  Cement used was Ordinary Portland Cement
Infiltrated Fibrous concrete possesses high strength,  Fly ash passing through 300µ sievefrom Mettur
improved ductility, impact resistant and enhancing thermal power plant is used
energy absorption capacity. So it becomes necessary  Micro silica unit passing through 300µ sieve from
to study the behavior of SIFCON. Meridian Science and Technologies is used
 Quartz powder passing through 300µ sieve is
Objectives used
 This study focuses on Slurry Infiltrated Fibrous  Natural river sand has been used as fine aggregate
Concrete (SIFCON) as an option for  Coarse aggregate of size 12 mm to 20 mm is used
strengthening the conventional reinforced for conventional concrete beams
concrete beam.  8 mm φ and 6 mm φ Fe415 HYSD bars are used
 The scope of the project is to find the flexural as main reinforcement and shear reinforcement
strength of the reinforced concrete beams with respectively
precast SIFCON laminate confinement. The  Steel fibres of length 30 mm and 1 mm diameter
were used (Aspect ratio 30).
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International Journal of Advanced Information Science and Technology (IJAIST) ISSN: 2319:2682
Vol.32, No.32, December 2014
 Water reducing admixture Cera Hyper Plast XR – mould were sealed with POP to prevent leakage. Steel
W40 was used to improve the flow ability of fibres were sprinkled throughout the mould up to top
slurry into the fibre matrix surface and well packed. Prepared slurry mix with
 Potable drinking water was used for mixing and hyper plasticizer was poured into the prepared mould
curing the concrete and well finished.
TABLE 2 SPECIMENS DETAIL
Details Of Mix Proportion
S.No Designation Description
1. RC beam mix proportion Flexure Beam –
1 FBC
M30 grade concrete is used for making RC beams. Control
The mix design procedure for M30 grade concrete Flexure Beam –
was shown in Table 1. 2 FB1 Single face
TABLE 1 – MIX PROPORTION FOR RC BEAM
confinement
Flexure Beam –
Fine Coarse
Water Cement 3 FB3 Three face
Aggregate Aggregate
confinement
0.45 1 1.16 2.81
Shear Beam –
4 SBC
2. Slurry Mix Proportion Control
The slurry mix consists of cement, micro silica, fly Shear Beam – Single
5 SB1 face confinement
ash and quartz powder. The suitable mix proportion is
selected from trial and error method of selection. The Shear Beam – Three
optimized mix ratio of 1:0.1:0.5:0.5 was selected to 6 SB3 face confinement
prepare the slurry for making SIFCON laminates. The
mix ratio was optimized based on cube compressive Curing of Beams
strength.  Specimens are cured with jute bags for 28 days.
3. SIFCON Mix Proportion After 28 days of curing, specimens were dried in
air and pasted to the beams.
The steel fibres used in the study were round
crimpled fibres having 0.5mm diameter and aspect Pasting of Laminates
ratio of 0.6. Fibre volume fraction was 9%. SIFCON  The SIFCON laminates were used to strengthen
slurry consists of Cement, Micro silica, Fly ash, the RC beams. A total number of 6 beams were
Quartz powder in the proportion 1:0.1:0.5:0.5. The casted belonging to two test series. The laminates
water binder ratio was 0.45. Hyper plasticizer of 1.5% were pasted to the beams to have single face
was added to the mix to improve the flowability of confinement (bottom face of the beam) and three
slurry into the fibre matrix. face confinement (bottom face and side faces of
Casting Of Beams the beam).
 The laminates were bonded to the RC beams with
1. Beam Casting
the help of ISO resin for which methyl ethyl
The mould was arranged properly and placed over a ketone peroxide (MEKP) and cobalt octoate were
smooth surface. The sides of the mould exposed to used as catalyst and accelerator respectively.
concrete were coated with oil to prevent the side walls
of the mould from absorbing water from concrete and Testing of Beams
to facilitate easy removal of the specimen. The  All the specimens were tested under two point
reinforcement cage was placed in the mould with cyclic loading (loading and unloading). The
proper cover between the reinforcement and the specimens were loaded upto the final failure of
mould. The concrete contents such as cement, sand, the specimens.
aggregate and water were weighed accurately and
mixed. The mixing was done until uniform mix was III. RESULT AND D ISCUSSION
obtained.
A. Behavior of Flexure Beams
The concrete was placed into the mould
immediately after mixing and well compacted. An experimental investigation was carried out to
Control cubes were prepared for all the mixes along study the behavior of flexure RC beam specimens
with the beams. The specimens were demoulded after under cyclic loading. The parameters like first crack
24 hours and were cured for about 28 days. Details of load and ultimate load carrying capacity were
cast specimen is given in Table 2. observed. The results of the investigation were
discussed in this chapter.
2. Laminate Casting
Load Deflection Behavior
The mould was arranged properly and placed over
watertight smooth surface. The bottom corners of the The maximum load level was increased in each
cycle. The load was increased and decreased in stages
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International Journal of Advanced Information Science and Technology (IJAIST) ISSN: 2319:2682
Vol.32, No.32, December 2014
of 3 kN. The first crack load for three face
confinement beam was found to be 33 kNwhere as for
single face confinement and control beam, the first

Load, kN
crack load was found to be 18 kN and 9 kN
respectively. The ultimate load carrying capacity of
three face confinement beam was found to be 51 kN
whereas the corresponding values for bottom face
confinement and control beam were 24 kN and 18 kN
Deflection, mm
respectively. A typical load sequence curve for three
face confinement beam was shown in Fig. 1. The
comparison of first crack load and ultimate load for Fig. 4 Load deflection curve for control flexure beam
various specimens were shown in Fig. 2 and Fig. 3
respectively. The load deflection curve for control,
bottom face confinement and three face confinement
beams were shown in Fig. 4, Fig. 5 and Fig. 6
respectively.

Load, kN
Load, kN

Deflection, mm

Fig. 5 Load deflection curve for bottom face confinement

Load cycles

Fig. 1 Load sequence curve for three face confinement beam

Series1,
Load, kN

FB3, 42
Load,kN

Series1,
FB1, 21
Series1,
FBC, 9

Deflection, mm
Fig. 6 Load deflection curve for three face
confinement beam
Fig. 2 Comparison of first crack load Behavior and Mode of Failure
Series1,
FB3, 54  All the specimens have failed in flexure mode by
the yielding of tension steel. For RC beams,
Series1,
crushing and spalling of concrete takes place after
Load,kN

FB1, 33
the yielding of steel in tension zone. The load
Series1,
FBC, 18 was increased and decreased in cycles of 15 kN,
24 kN, 33 kN, 42 kN and 51 kN etc.
 Behavior of RC beams under cyclic loading are
listed below,
 Control specimen has withstand two cycles of
loading and unloading. The maximum deflection
Fig. 3 Comparison of ultimate load
was observed as 10.57 mm under an ultimate load
of 18 kN. Six numbers of cracks have been
observed during the final failure of the specimen.
 Single face confinement specimen has withstand
three cycles of loading and unloading. The
maximum deflection was observed as 11.61 mm
under an ultimate load of 33 kN. Three numbers
of cracks have been observed during final failure

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International Journal of Advanced Information Science and Technology (IJAIST) ISSN: 2319:2682
Vol.32, No.32, December 2014
of the specimen. This may be due to laminate
confinement in the bottom face.
 Three face confinement specimen has withstand
six cycles of loading and unloading. The

Load, kN
maximum deflection was observed as 13.02 mm
under an ultimate load of 54 kN. Only one crack
has been observed during final failure of the
specimen. This may be due to laminate
confinement in the three face.
 Flexure beam with three face confinement suffer
lesser damage as compared to other specimens. Load cycle
The failure patterns of the beams are shown in Fig. 8 Load sequence curve for three face confinement beam
Fig. 7.
Series1,
SB3, 33

Series1,

Load,kN
SB1, 18

Series1,
SBC, 9

Fig. 9 Comparison of first crack load

Fig. 7 Failure patterns of Flexure beams

Series1,
B. Behavior Of Shear Beams SB3, 51

An experimental investigation was carried out to

study the behavior of shear RC beam specimens under
Load,kN

cyclic loading. The parameters like first crack load Series1,

and ultimate load carrying capacity were observed. Series1, SB1, 24
The results of the investigation were discussed in this SBC, 18
chapter.
Load Deflection Behavior
The maximum load level was increased in each
cycle. The load was increased and decreased in stages
of 3 kN. The first crack load for three face Fig. 10 Comparison of ultimate load
confinement beam was found to be 42 kN whereas for
single face confinement and control beam, the first
crack load was found to be 21 kN and 9 kN
respectively. A typical load sequence curve for three
face confinement beam was shown in Fig. 8. The
Load, kN

comparison of first crack load and ultimate load for

various specimens were shown in Fig. 9 and Fig. 10
respectively. The load deflection curve for control,
bottom face confinement and three face confinement
beams were shown in Fig. 11, Fig. 12 and Fig. 13
respectively.
Deflection, mm
Fig. 11 Load deflection curve for control shear beam

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International Journal of Advanced Information Science and Technology (IJAIST)
Vol.32, No.32, December 2014
Load, kN
Deflection, mm
Fig. 12 Load deflection curve for bottom face
confinement beam
load, kN
Deflection, mm
Fig. 13 Load deflection curve for three face
confinement beam
Behavior and Mode of Failure
The control specimen had failed in shear with
cracks between the supports and loading point. The
bottom face confinement and three face confinement
beams have failed in flexure mode by the yielding of
tension steel. The behavior may be due to laminate
confinement crushing and spalling of concrete takes
place after the yielding of steel in tension zone.
Behavior of RC beams under cyclic loading are listed
below,
 Control specimen has withstand two cycles of
loading and unloading. The maximum deflection
was observed as 12.1 mm under an ultimate load
of 18 kN. Six numbers of cracks have been
observed during the final failure of the specimen.
 Single face confinement specimen has withstand
two cycles of loading and unloading. The
maximum deflection was observed as 9.51 mm
under an ultimate load of 24 kN. Three numbers
of cracks have been observed during final failure
of the specimen. This may be due to laminate
confinement in the bottom face.
 Three face confinement specimen has withstand
five cycles of loading and unloading. The
maximum deflection was observed as 13.29 mm
under an ultimate load of 51 kN. Only one crack
has been observed during final failure of the
specimen. This may be due to laminate
confinement in the three face.
ISSN: 2319:2682
Three face confinement shear beam suffer lesser
damage as compared to other specimens. The failure
patterns of the beams are shown in Fig. 14.
Fig. 14 Failure patterns of Shear beams
IV. CONCLUSION
In this present study, Experiments have to be
conducted to find out the flexurural strength of RC
beam specimens under cyclic loading using
SIFCON(Slurry Infiltrated fiberous concrete).Control
specimen has withstand two cycles of loading and
unloading The maximum deflection was observed as
12.1mm under an ultimate load of 18KN. Six numbers
of cracks have been observed during the final failure
of the specimen. Single face confinement specimen
has withstand two cycles of loading and unloading.
The maximum deflection was observed as 9.51 mm
under an ultimate load of 24 kN. Three numbers of
cracks have been observed during final failure of the
specimen. Three face confinement specimen has
withstand five cycles of loading and unloading. The
maximum deflection was observed as 13.29 mm
under an ultimate load of 51 kN. Only one crack has
been observed during final failure of the specimen.
This paper concludes that, the flexural strength of the
SIFCON (Slurry Infilterated Fiberous Concrete) is
very much higher than the conventional concrete.
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International Journal of Advanced Information Science and Technology (IJAIST) ISSN: 2319:2682
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