Engineering Science and Technology, an International Journal 42 (2023) 101432

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Engineering Science and Technology,

an International Journal
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jestch

Performance of hybrid steel fiber-reinforced self-compacting concrete

RC beam under flexure
Ramkumar K.B., Kannan Rajkumar P.R. ⇑, Gunasekaran K.
Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Technology, SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Kattankulathur-603 203, Chengalpattu District, Tamil Nadu, India

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Hybrid steel fiber-reinforced self-compacting concrete (HSFRSCC) has desirable properties for improving
Received 21 December 2022 the performance of structures. But the literature is sparse on the flexural performance of the reinforced
Revised 15 March 2023 concrete (RC) beam reinforced with hybrid fibers. The impact of the combined action of micro- and
Accepted 22 April 2023
hooked-end steel fibers on the flexural performance of the SCC beam to which mineral admixtures and
Available online 12 May 2023
superplasticisers have been added to improve their workability is investigated in this study. In the exper-
iment, beam specimens, reinforced with micro-steel and hooked-end fibers, with a compressive strength
Keywords:
of 60 and 80 MPa and of size 150
230
3000 mm were prepared. The results clearly demonstrate that the
Hybrid steel fiber-reinforced self-
compacting concrete (HSFRSCC)
flexural performance of the SCC beam significantly improved with the addition of hybrid steel fibers. The
Hooked-end steel fiber combination of 0.5% of hooked-end steel fibers and 0.25% of micro-steel fibers offers a better flexural per-
Micro-steel fiber formance than the addition of hybrid fibers in other proportions. Adding hybrid steel fibers in RCSCC
Self-compacting concrete (SCC) beam increases the beam’s load- and moment-carrying capacities by 40.64% and 40%, respectively, com-
Flexural behaviour pared to the RCSCC beam without hybrid steel fibers. The crack spacing and crack width are also reduced
by 16–45% and 25–75%.
Ó 2023 Karabuk University. Publishing services by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC
BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

1. Introduction
The development of self-compacting concrete (SCC), also known
as self-consolidating concrete, has been one of the most significant
developments in the construction industry. This type of concrete
flows through and fills to the size and shape of the elements on
its own, even compacting the reinforcement area without needing
external vibration[35,39]. After Okamura developed the self-
compacting concrete (SCC) two decades back[27], it has found
wide applications. Due to its wider applicability, the SCC has been
the subject of investigation for its potential application in the con-
struction industry in the United States, Japan and Canada[18]. The
advantages of the SCC are high productivity, simplicity in produc-
tion and high structural quality[17]. Using high-power cement is
essential for the SCC, which increases the cost of concrete produc-
tion. Therefore, mineral admixtures such as ground-granulated
blast furnace slag (GGBS), silica fume (SF) and fly ash (FA) when
used as a partial replacement for cement reduces the cost,
enhances the workability and durability of SCC [19]. SCC’s brittle
nature leads to the collapse of the structure shortly after the first
⇑ Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: kannanrp@srmist.edu.in (K.R. P.R.), gunasekk@srmist.edu.in
(G. K.).
crack is formed. However, the reinforcing SCC with fibers makes
the resulting SCC ductile. The various types of fibers generally
added to the concrete are carbon, glass and steel. Other advantages
of adding fibers to concrete include increased tensile strength,
impact strength, strain capacity, and reduced crack width and
shrinkage[10,13]. Fiber-reinforced self-compacting concrete
(FRSCC) is one of the SCC types containing fibers. The randomly
distributed fibers transfer the stress across the crack and arrest
the cracks[32]. Recent studies also have demonstrated that the
mechanical properties of concrete are improved on fiber reinforce-
ment, primarily its post-cracking behaviour[37]. Among the vari-
ous types of fibers, the steel fibers offer better performance when
added to concrete, because of its high modulus of elasticity and
tensile strength[36,2]. Fiber-reinforced concrete (FRC) is widely
used to construct shotcrete, tunnels, pavements and precast struc-
tures. Many standard test methods have been developed in various
countries for testing the bending performance of the FRC like JSCE-
SF4 [16], ASTM C1018 [5] and CECS13:2009 [9]. These standards
assist in the determination of flexural strength, flexural toughness
index and energy absorption of the FRC. Jabbar et al. [15] and Mah-
mod et al. [23] reported that reinforcement ratio, compressive
strength of concrete, cross-sectional area, shear-span depth ratio
and concrete mix design influence the flexural behaviour of FRC.
Hence, these factors are considered in this study.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jestch.2023.101432
2215-0986/Ó 2023 Karabuk University. Publishing services by Elsevier B.V.
This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
R. K.B., K.R. P.R. and G. K. Engineering Science and Technology, an International Journal 42 (2023) 101432

Many researchers have probed the action of a hybrid of differ- hybrid fibers in pre-peak stage was higher than at the post-peak
ent fibers added to concrete and concluded that the hybrid fiber stage, particularly in initial cracking properties.
composite provides attractive engineering properties because the Despite extensive studies performed on fresh and durability
combined action of fibers improves their potential properties as a properties of the HSFRSCC, the research on hybrid steel fiber-
whole. Wu et al. [41] pointed out that when two types of deformed reinforced concrete is found to be scanty. Moreover, most of the lit-
fibers are employed, it is effective compared to using only straight erature is focused on the hybridisation of SF with PPF, SF with
fibers. Meng and Khayat [25] reported that a hybrid combination of nylon fibers and SF with PVA. Also, information on the structural
steel fibers effectively improves the strength without much performance of the HSFRSCC is limited. The research on the flexu-
increase in the volume of fiber content. Pajak [28] investigated ral behaviour of the hybrid fiber-reinforced concrete beam using
the flexural behaviour of the HFRSCC by adding 0.5%, 1% and two different steel fibers is scanty. This study aims to fill the liter-
1.5% of steel fibers (SF) with 0.3% and 0.9% of polypropylene fibers ature gap by analysing the effect of hybrid steel fiber on the flexu-
(PPF). Increasing the volume of SF positively affects the flexural ral behaviour of RC beam with SCC. Therefore, the effect of
strength. On the other hand, the addition of PPF negatively affects hybridisation of hooked-end and micro-steel fibers on the struc-
the flexural strength. However, the addition of PPF caused a bene- tural performance, i.e., load-carrying capacity, moment-carrying
ficial effect on the toughness of the HFRSCC. Bawa and Singh [6] capacity, deflection, strain, crack characteristics and end rotations
examined the hybrid effect of SF and PPF on the flexural behaviour of the beam element under flexure, was examined, which has not
of the SCC and found that hybridisation of PPF and SF has a positive been attempted before to the best of our knowledge.
impact on the compressive strength, flexural strength and tough-
ness of the SCC. Pajak and Ponikiewski [29] investigated the impact 2. Methodology
of the combined action of straight and corrugated steel fibers on
the flexural behaviour of the SCC at a volume ratio of 1–3% and This section describes the materials used and mix proportioning
found that increasing the fiber volume from 2% to 3% did not and their properties.
improve the flexural parameters. Selvi and Thandavamoorthy
[34] studied the flexural behaviour of the RC beam reinforced with
2.1. Materials
2.14% of crimpled steel fibers and PPF and found that hybridised SF
and PPF significantly impacts the deflection, i.e., higher the fiber
Fly ash (FA), GGBS and micro silica (MS) were used as the sup-
content helps in decreasing the deflection. However, the addition
plementary cementitious materials (SCMs) along with cement. The
of steel fibers causes lower deflection than the addition of
addition of these SCMs brings two benefits to SCC: cost reduction
polypropylene or hybrid fibers. Yavas et al. [42] concluded that
and improved performance[30]. The utilisation of FA enhances
increasing the volume fraction of hybrid fibers (hooked-end, micro
the rheological properties of concrete, because of reduced heat of
and macro steel fibers) from 1.5% to 2% might improve the flexural
hydration with reduced cement content in the SCC [22]. MS, a min-
strength by 124% and toughness by 60–85 times. They found that
eral admixture, improves the strength and decreases the thermal
the utilisation of microfibers helps prevent crack formation. In
cracking of SCC. Due to its pozzolanic nature, GGBS was recom-
addition, increasing the volume of microfibers in the hybrid con-
mended for use in the production of SCC[11,7]. The specific gravity
crete specimen helps initiate first crack at higher loads. Zhang
of the SCC was 3.11, compressive strength at 7 days 35 MPa, com-
et al. [45] examined the hybrid effect of SF and PPF on the flexural
pressive strength at 28 days 64 MPa, initial setting time 30 min,
behaviour and observed that adding mono and hybrid fibers
final setting time 460 min and standard consistency of the cement
increases the ultimate bearing capacity by 55% and first crack load
30.5%. Table 1 shows the chemical composition of various SCMs.
by 40%. Moreover, the increasing volume of PPF results in the
The Msand, free from silt and clay, is utilised as a fine aggregate.
reduction of flexural behaviour. Similarly, Teng et al. [38] reported
Nanthagopalan and Santhanam [26] reported that the utilisation of
that replacing 50% of the hooked-end steel fiber with polyvinyl
Msand in the SCC imparts various benefits like contributions
alcohol (PVA) fibers substantially reduces flexural performance.
from finer particles as filler materials, enhancing strength and
This is because the high modulus of elasticity and tensile strength
durability concrete. The specific gravity of FA, GGBS, MS, fine and
of the hooked-end steel fiber can adequately resist the crack prop-
coarse aggregate was 2.15, 2.85, 2.35, 2.76 and 2.65, respectively.
agation and consequently improve the flexural load-carrying
The hybrid and micro-steel fibers are used in the SCC mix. The vol-
capacity. Annadurai and Ravichandran [3] examined the hybrid
ume fraction of hooked-end fiber used was 0.4% and 0.5%; the vol-
effect of steel and polyolefin fibers on the flexural behaviour of
ume fraction of microfiber used was 0.1% and 0.25%. Two types of
the high-strength concrete beam under cycling loading. They
steel fibers were used, because only the steel fibers enhance the
reported that the specimen with hybrid fiber combination of 80%
concrete properties rather than other fibers such as PPF when used
of steel fibers with 20% of polyolefin fibers have higher energy
as hybrid fibers [45]. The physical properties of the steel fibers
absorption, ductility and ultimate strength than the hybrid fiber
used in the investigation follow the ASTM A820/A820M16[8]
combination of 60% of steel fibers with 40% of polyolefin fibers.
guidelines. The various properties of the hooked-end and micro-
This demonstrates the efficiency of steel fibers in strengthens the
steel fibers are tabulated in Table 2. The second-generation poly-
flexural performance compared to the polyolefin fibers. Vijayaku-
carboxylic ether (PCE) form of superplasticiser named Master Gle-
mar and Madhavi [40] examined the hybrid effect of steel and
nium ACE-30 was used as a chemical admixture. It helps in gaining
nylon fibers on the flexural behaviour of the SCC. The first crack
higher strength at earlier ages. It appears light brown with a rela-
load increases with an increase in the steel fiber ratio, thus increas-
tive density of 1.09±0.02 at 25 °C. The superplasticiser’s pH value
ing the flexural strength. The first crack load was increased by
was > 6 and chloride content <0.2%.
80.9% for the specimen with 0.3% of steel fibers with 0.1% of nylon
fibers. However, the additional amount of steel fibers affects the
passing ability of concrete, thus decreasing the strength. Liu et al. 2.2. Mix proportioning
[21] reported that increasing the volume of steel fibers will show
high improvement in the flexural strength than increasing the vol- The mix proportions used in the study were taken from the
ume of PVA fibers. However, in the post-cracking stage, steel and research work done by Ramkumar and PR [31], where they used
PVA fibers improve the flexural behaviour, i.e., bending stress 20 different concrete mixes with addition of various volume frac-
and toughness. Li et al. [20] reported that the synergetic effect of tions of hybrid steel fibers. Two proportions of hybrid steel fibers
2
R. K.B., K.R. P.R. and G. K. Engineering Science and Technology, an International Journal 42 (2023) 101432

Table 1
Chemical composition of SCMs.

Properties Cement FA GGBS MS

SiO2 (%) 18.91 72.08 35 85–95
Al2O3(%) 4.51 5.15 11 0.2–2
Fe2O3 (%) 4.94 0.57 1 0.3–1
CaO (%) 66.97 12.34 41 0.1–0.6
MgO (%) 0.87 4.04 – 0.3–7.5
Na2O3 (%) 0.12 – – 0.8–1.8
SO3 (%) 2.5 – – 0.–0.5

Table 2
Properties of steel fibers.
Properties Types of steel fibers
Hooked end
Length (mm) 35
Diameter (mm) 0.55
Aspect ratio 65
Specific gravity 7.9
Density (kg/m3) 7850
Tensile strength (MPa) 1700
Elastic modulus (N/mm2) 2.1
105
at 0.4% of hooked-end fibers and 0.1% of micro-steel fibers and 0.5%
of hooked-end fibers and 0.25% of micro-steel fibers were added to
the concrete to examine the flexural behaviour of the SCC beam.
According to IRC: SP:46-2013 [14], the dosage of fibres was used
for various volume fraction was calculated. The amount of super-
plasticiser added was varied to attain the acceptable values of
workability of SCC concrete as mentioned in EFNARC [33]. The
research work done by Ramkumar and PR [31] was focused only
on studying the mechanical properties of the hybrid fiber rein-
forced self-compacting concrete. From the 20 different concrete
trial mixes from research work of Ramkumar and PRK [32], four
optimal mixes are selected to study the flexural performance of
the beam. The mix proportion of the concrete mixes are given in
Table 3a. To test the applicability of those concrete mixes, this pro-
posed study aims to investigate the structural performance of RC
beam using those concrete mixes.
Table 3b presents the flow properties and compressive strength
of the four optimal mixes of the hybrid fiber-reinforced self-
compacting concrete as collected from research work of Ramkumar
and PRK [32]. The slump flow value of the F60SCCHy2 was 23.7%
higher than that of F60SCC. Also, slump flow value of the
F60SCCHy8 was 16.29% lower than that of F60SCC; however, it sat-
isfies the recommended slump flow value as per IS:10262–2019
standards.
Micro
10 3. Experimental programme
0.12
83.33 The primary aim of this study is to examine the flexural beha-
7.9
viour of the HSFRSCC by testing specimens under flexural loading
7850
2000 to study various parameters such as load-carrying capacity,
moment versus deflection, ductility, cracking and moment versus
strain and moment versus end rotations. The test results of the
HSFRSCC specimens are compared with the control specimen.
3.1. The beam specifications
The flexural design of the beam of size 150
230
3000 mm was
determined in accordance with IS:456–2000 guidelines. The
designed beam specimens were singly reinforced beams, with
two beams of 12 mm diameter bar at the tension zone and two
beams of 10 mm diameter as a hanger bar. The beam was provided
with a concrete cover block of 25 mm. The specimen was designed
to resist shear failure when the longitudinal tensile reinforcement
cracked to result in a pure flexural failure in the centre of the beam.
To avoid this, two-legged stirrups of 8 mm diameter were placed at
150 mm centre-to-centre spacing in the beam. The cross-sectional
view of the beam specimen is presented in Fig. 1. The detailed
description of the beam specimen is presented in Table 4.
3.2. Casting of beam
The mould was prepared using the wood plates as per the
designed beam. The strain gauge of TML-10MM with resistance
of 120 Ohms was fixed on the mid-span of the tension bar using

Table 3a
Mix proportions for SCC.

Specimen ID Cement GGBS FA MS MSand Coarse Aggregate Water Super Plasticizer

(kg/m3) (kg/m3) (kg/m3) (kg/m3) (kg/m3) (kg/m3) (kg/m3) (kg/m3)
F60SCC 450 60 120 50 836 694 190 4.42
F60SCCHy1 6.46
F60SCCHy2 7.48
F80SCC 450 200 – 50 874 669 4.69
F80SCCHy1 6.72
F80SCCHy2 8.05

Table 3b
Properties for SCC.

Specimen ID F60SCC F60SCCHy1 F60SCCHy2 F80SCC F80SCCHy1 F80SCCHy2

Slump flow (mm) 675 835 565 692 835 565
Compressive strength 71.60 78.88 73.37 93.32 96.03 90.97
(28 days) (MPa)

3
R. K.B., K.R. P.R. and G. K. Engineering Science and Technology, an International Journal 42 (2023) 101432

weighed and mixed with the cementitious materials. Then the

required amount of hooked-end and micro-steel fibers were mixed
thoroughly. With the addition of the superplasticiser, no workabil-
ity issues were encountered for the given range of fibers. The con-
crete was filled in the mould and levelled properly. After the 24 h
of moist curing, the specimen was demoulded and allowed to cure
for 28 days using gunny bags.

3.3. Testing of beam

Fig. 1. Reinforcement details.
the glue. The surface of the tension bars should be grounded
smoothly and rubbed with the fine salt paper before fixing the
strain gauge. Similarly, strain gauge is also placed at the stirrups
at the supports of the beam. The batching and mixing of the con-
crete were properly done as per the designed mix proportions.
The concrete was mixed on a water-tight platform and filled in
the beam mould. Initially, the coarse aggregate and Msand were
Before the tests, the beam specimen was fully white-washed,
and centre lines, neutral axis and location for pasting of the strain
gauge were accurately marked. The strain gauge was placed at the
front face of the beam at a distance of d/2. The lead wires of the
strain gauge were linked to a 10-channel strain bridge and data
logger using the half-bridge method. A linear variable displace-
ment transducer (LVDT) was placed at the mid-span loading point,
and at a distance of L/3 from the end support to observe the deflec-
tions, respectively. Fig. 2 presents a schematic representation of

Table 4
Details of beam specimen.

Specimen ID q=Abdst (%) Steel fibers (kg/m3) Area of tensile steel

(Ast )(mm2)
Hooked end Micro
F60SCC 0.75 – – 226.19
F60SCCHy1 31.40 7.85
F60SCCHy2 39.25 19.625
F80SCC – –
F80SCC Hy1 31.40 7.85
F80SCC Hy2 39.25 19.625

Fig. 2. Schematic representation of test setup of beam specimen.

4
R. K.B., K.R. P.R. and G. K.
the test setup of the beam specimen, and Fig. 3 shows an arrange-
ment of flexural testing. After ensuring the safety of personnel,
equipment and instruments, the beam specimen was loaded ini-
tially in increments of 0.5 T, 1 T, and 1.5 T under four-point loading.
The deflection and strain are recorded in the LVDT and data logger.
The crack width was estimated using a hand-held microscope with
an optical magnification of 40 and a sensitivity of 0.01 mm. The
theodolite was positioned over the beam support to measure the
end rotations with an accuracy of 20 s. The levelling staff was set
at a specified distance from the beam to take the vertical reading.
4. Results and discussion
The load-carrying capacity, deflections, ductility behaviour,
cracking characteristics, moment–strain behaviour and end rota-
tion of the SCC and HSFRSCC beams tested under flexure are dis-
cussed in this section. For the benefit of the readers, the
mechanical properties of the concrete mixes are also discussed.
The compressive strength of the F60SCCHy1 and F60SCCHy2 was
10.16% and 2.47% higher than the F60SCC. The compressive
strength of the F80SCCHy1 and F80SCCHy2 was 2.9% and 2.51%
lower than the F80SCC. The tensile strength of the F60SCCHy1
and F60SCCHy2 was 71.06% and 76% higher than F60SCC. The ten-
sile strength of the F80SCCHy1 and F80SCCHy2 was 79% and 83.5%
higher than the F80SCC.
4.1. Load-carrying capacity
The experimental and theoretical values of load-carrying capac-
ity and moment of the beam reinforced with hybrid steel fiber at
service and ultimate stage are presented in Tables 5 and 6. The
load- and moment-carrying capacities of the beam reinforced with
hybrid steel fiber at service and ultimate stages were higher than
the beam without hybrid steel fibers. This can be attributed to
Fig. 3. Flexural test setup.
Table 5
Experimental and theoretical load and moment values at the service stage.
Specimen ID Neutral axis depth (mm) Experimental
Load (Tonnes)
F60SCC 25.44 3.33
F60SCCHy1 23.10 4.40
F60SCCHy2 24.83 4.67
F80SCC 19.53 3.66
F80SCCHy1 19.39 4.65
F80SCCHy2 19.34 5 22.88
Engineering Science and Technology, an International Journal 42 (2023) 101432
the ability of steel fiber to arrest the growth of the crack. The
mix with hybrid steel fibers has a higher load-carrying capacity
than the reinforced SCC mix. The micro-steel fibers play a signifi-
cant part in the strengthening of the cement matrix as it delays
the expansion of micro-cracks. When large cracks are formed,
more energy is dissipated due to the presence of hooked-end
fibers, which have excellent pull-out resistance. Thus, the expan-
sion of the crack is delayed, and load-carrying capacity is
improved. Both micro-steel and hooked-end fibers complement
each other during the failure process of the beam, which effectively
improves the load-carrying capacity. Therefore, the deflection
before flexure failure is large and can resist a higher load. It may
also give a warning before failure. The load-carrying capacity of
the F60SCCHy2 specimen was 6.4% higher than the F60SCCHy1
specimen. Similarly, the load-carrying capacity of the F80SCCHy2
specimen was 7.3% higher than the F80SCCHy1 specimen. The
moment-carrying capacity of the F60SCCHy2 specimen was 6.11%
higher than the F60SCCHy1 specimen. Similarly, the moment-
carrying capacity of the F80SCCHy2 specimen was 7.5% higher than
the F80SCCHy1 specimen. It was observed that hybrid steel fibers
added to SCC increase the load- and moment-carrying capacities
of the beam by 40.64% and 40%, respectively, to volume of the
fibers at both service and ultimate stages. The values of load-
and moment-carrying capacities of the beam obtained from this
study are consistent with those obtained by other researchers
[40,34]. Vijayakumar and Madhavi [40] achieved a 35% improve-
ment in load-carrying capacity using 0.4% of steel fibers with
0.1% of nylon fibers. Selvi and Thandavamoorthy [34] achieved a
33% improvement in load-carrying capacity using 2.14% of steel
fibers with 2.14% of polypropylene fibers. However, improved
crack resistance (that is, higher values of load- and moment-
carrying capacities) is obtained in this study compared to earlier
reported results. The F80SCCHy2 showed the highest load- and
moment-carrying capacity among the beam specimens. This may
be due to the higher volume fraction of fiber, i.e., 0.5% of hooked-
Theoretical Capacity ratio (Exp/Theo)
Moment (kN m) Load (Tonnes) Moment (kN m)
15.25 2.78 12.74 1.19
20.13 2.80 12.81 1.57
21.36 2.78 12.76 1.67
16.78 2.82 12.91 1.30
21.27 2.83 12.92 1.64
2.82 12.89 1.77
5
R. K.B., K.R. P.R. and G. K. Engineering Science and Technology, an International Journal 42 (2023) 101432

Table 6
Experimental and theoretical load and moment values at the ultimate stage.

Specimen ID Neutral axis depth (mm) Experimental Theoretical Capacity ratio (Exp/Theo)
Load (Tonnes) Moment (kN m) Load (Tonnes) Moment (kN m)
F60SCC 25.44 5 22.88 4.18 19.11 1.19
F60SCCHy1 23.10 6.6 30.20 4.20 19.22 1.57
F60SCCHy2 24.83 7 32.03 4.18 19.14 1.67
F80SCC 19.53 5.5 25.17 4.23 19.36 1.30
F80SCCHy1 19.39 6.97 31.91 4.24 19.39 1.64
F80SCCHy2 19.34 7.5 34.32 4.23 19.34 1.77

end fibers with 0.25% of micro-steel fibers. The increased availabil-

ity of the steel fibers can delay the growth of the micro-cracks,
thereby improving the ultimate load-carrying capacity of the
beam.
The experimentally obtained moment was compared with the
theoretical moment using the BS 8110 and IS456:2000 standards.
The experimental ultimate moment was 19.72–30% higher than
the theoretical moments for the reinforced SCC beam (F60SCC
and F80SCC) and 57.12–77.45% higher for the hybrid steel fiber-
reinforced SCC beam. This demonstrates the improved strength
of SCC on the inclusion of steel fibers. The capacity ratio of the
hybrid steel fiber-reinforced SCC beam was 26–36% higher than
the reinforced SCC beam without fibers. The capacity ratio is the
parameter used to assess the variation between the experimental
and theoretical values. It is defined as the ratio between the exper-
imental and theoretical values. The hybrid fiber-reinforced beam’s
capacity ratio increases with the increase in fiber volume. The
capacity ratio of the F60SCCHy1 and F60SCCHy2 beams was 31.9% Fig. 5. Moment vs. Deflection at Load point.
and 40.33% higher than the F60SCC. The capacity ratio of the
F80SCCHy1 and F80SCCHy2 beams was 26.15% and 36.15% higher
than the F80SCC. Similar results were achieved by Gunasekaran
et al. [12].

4.2. Deflections

The deflection of the beams was measured using the LVDT

placed at the load point and mid-span of the beam. The
moment–deflection behaviour at mid-span and load point of the
beam is depicted in Figs. 4–6. All the tested beams were found to
display the same load–deflection pattern. The slope of the load–de-
flection curve was steep and almost linear before the crack
appeared. The mid-span deflection decreased with an increase in
the proportion of hybrid steel fibers due to the higher flexural stiff-
ness of the beam, which decreased the beam’s deformation,

Fig. 6. Moment vs. Deflection at Quarter span.

thereby controlling the crack formation. During the earlier stage

too, there was no interface slip due to the increased cohesion
between the fiber and concrete. All the beams exhibited non-
linear behaviour after the appearance of the first crack. The hybrid
steel fiber-reinforced beam specimens could sustain larger deflec-
tions at the ultimate stage compared to the reinforced SCC beams.
It was notable that hooked-end steel fibers offer better fiber
anchorage mechanism than the other steel fibers, which increases
the members’ flexural strength and post-crack bridging capacity.
Also, the addition of hooked-end steel fibers increases the strength
of concrete, whereas adding micro-steel fibers increases the plas-
ticity of the concrete, thus delaying the cracking process. Thus,
adding both hooked-end and micro-steel fibers increase the flexu-
ral strength of the concrete, which is reflected in the load–deflec-
tion curve. The F60SCCHy2 specimen can withstand higher
Fig. 4. Moment vs. Deflection at Mid-span. deflection than F60SCCHy1. Also, F80SCCHy2 specimens can with-
6
R. K.B., K.R. P.R. and G. K.
stand higher deflection than F80SCCHy1 at both service and ulti-
mate stages. In the yield stage, the F60SCCHy2 specimens can with-
stand the mid-span deflection of 4.1 mm, which is almost 16%
lower than that of F60SCC. Similarly, the F80SCCHy2 specimen
can withstand the mid-span deflection of 4.42 mm, which is almost
2.42% lower than that of F80SCC. In the ultimate stage, the
F60SCCHy2 specimen can withstand the mid-span deflection of
35.9 mm, which is almost 52.7% higher than that of F60SCC. Simi-
larly, the F80SCCHy2 specimen can withstand the mid-span deflec-
tion of 37.12 mm, which is almost 53.96% higher than that of
F80SCC. In the ultimate stage, the F60SCCHy2 specimen can with-
stand the deflection of 22.37 mm, which is almost 13.49% higher
than that of F60SCC. Similarly, the F80SCCHy2 specimen can with-
stand the deflection of 23.55 mm, which is almost 11.7% higher
than that of F80SCC at the load point. However, as per the IS
456:2000 and BS 8110 standards, the allowable limit of span/250
is essential to meet the structural appearance and safety standards.
A higher steel fiber content (0.5% of hooked-end fibers with 0.25%
of micro-steel fibers) in this study increases the first crack load,
demonstrating the higher capability of the hybrid steel-
reinforced beam to resist the flexural stresses due to fiber-
bridging action. It was concluded that moment–deflection of the
beam was significantly increased by the addition of hooked-end
and micro-steel fibers through a synergetic effect. Usually, in
hybrid systems, the hooked-end steel fibers lead to a more promi-
nent effect than the micro-steel fibers due to the presence of the
hook projection at the end. Yoo et al. [43] showed that adding 1%
of volume of steel fiber in the beam with stirrups significantly
increases the flexural capacity. This is because the steel fibers do
not considerably improve the tensile resistance after the steel
rebar yielded. In contrast, in this study, a much higher increase
in the flexural capacity was obtained with 0.75% of the fiber
(0.5% of hooked-end + 0.25% of micro-steel fibers), because of the
superb fiber-bridging capacity at crack surface, resulting in a
strain-hardening response. It was demonstrated by crack charac-
terisation, where some micro-cracks were found in the beam
instead of one localised crack as displayed in Fig. 9.
4.3. Ductility behaviour
Ductility was examined based on the deflection of the beam. As
indicated by ACI Committee 363 (ACI 363R-84) [1], the ductility
ratio (l) is expressed as l = Du/Dy. Here Du is the ultimate deflec-
tion of the beam and Dy the deflection of the beam when the steel
yields. The ductility ratio of the beams is given in Table 7. Gener-
ally, a high ductility ratio (l) denotes that a beam can withstand
large deflections before breaking. All the beam specimens possess
a ductility ratio (l) of more than 4, showing relatively good ductil-
ity. However, the hybrid steel fiber-reinforced concrete has a
higher ductility ratio (l) than the reinforced SCC beam without
fibers. Ashour et al. [4] concluded that a ductility ratio of 3–5 is
essential for sufficient ductility, particularly in the areas of seismic
design and moment distribution. Coincidentally, all the hybrid
Table 7
Experimental Moment vs. Deflection.
Specimen ID Ultimate Deflection at Load point Deflection at Yield stage (Dy)
Moment (kNm) Deflection (mm) Moment (kNm)
F60SCC 22.88 19.71 9.15
F60SCCHy1 29.75 21.86 10.53
F60SCCHy2 32.03 22.37 11.44
F80SCC 25.17 21.08 7.40
F80SCCHy1 31.91 21.82 8.69
F80SCCHy2 34.32 23.55 8.24
Engineering Science and Technology, an International Journal 42 (2023) 101432
steel fiber-reinforced SCC beams in this study have the ductility
index value greater than 3. The ductility ratio (l) of the F60SCCHy1
and F60SCCHy2 beam specimens was 85.4% and 82.5% higher than
that of F60SCC. The ductility ratio (l) of the F80SCCHy1 and
F80SCCHy2 beam specimens was 57.7% and 50% higher than that
of F80SCC. You et al. [44] observed that ductility decreases with
the addition of hybrid fibers (steel and synthetic fibers). A possible
reason could be the low modulus of elasticity of the synthetic fiber
in comparison to that of steel fibers. A significant increase in the
ductility ratio was found when hybrid steel fibers are added to
the SCC. The maximum rate of improvement in ductility was
achieved for the addition of 0.4% of hooked-end and 0.1% of
micro-steel fibers. In the case of hybrid steel fibers, while the
microfibers arrest the formation of cracks, the hooked-end fibers
further bridge the crack, thus reducing the crack width. Thus, the
propagation of the crack was confined, which increased the load-
carrying capacity within the post-cracking region. As a conse-
quence, the beam’s capacity to absorb plastic deformation was
improved.
4.4. Cracking characteristics
It was found that the first crack was formed close to the loading
point as shown in Fig. 7. The control specimen has a smaller num-
ber of cracks, whereas multiple cracks were observed on the
HSFRSCC specimen. This demonstrates the presence of a better
crack control mechanism in the hybrid steel fibers. Table 8 pre-
sents the various cracking characteristics of the reinforced and
hybrid steel fiber-reinforced SCC beam specimens.
The vertical cracks on the surface of the beam indicates the fail-
ure of the beam in flexure. In the case of hybrid steel fiber-
reinforced SCC beam, the crack spacing was found to be smaller
and crack network was denser as compared to the reinforced SCC
beams as shown in Figs. 8 and 9. Adding hybrid steel fibers
increases the number of cracks between the load points. The num-
ber of cracks between the load points for the F60SCCHy1,
F60SCCHy2, F80SCCHy1 and F80SCCHy2 specimen are 11, 15, 15
and 12, respectively. The number of cracks between the load point
was lower than the number of cracks in the shear span, which
demonstrates the presence of shear reinforcement. The average
crack spacing of the reinforced and hybrid steel fiber-reinforced
SCC beam was 98–104 mm and 57–82 mm. The addition of hybrid
steel fiber reduces the crack spacing by 16% for F60SCCHy1, 42% for
F60SCCHy2, 31.5% for F80SCCHy1 and 45% for F80SCCHy2. In addi-
tion to this, the propagation of the cracks was delayed in the hybrid
steel fiber-reinforced SCC beam with regard to opening and height.
The fiber’s ability to transfer the stress to the concrete through the
crack is the reason for the delayed crack formation. The uniform
distribution of the fibers in the specimen acts as a reinforcement
and contributes to better stress distribution. Therefore, the width
of cracks formed in the hybrid steel fiber-reinforced SCC beam
were smaller as compared to reinforced SCC beam specimens with-
out fibers. This was mainly due to the relatively effective anchor-
Ultimate Deflection at Mid-Span Ductility ratio (l) = (Du)/(Dy)
(Du)
Deflection (mm) Moment (kNm) Deflection (mm)
4.9 22.88 23.5 4.80
3.06 29.75 27.23 8.90
4.1 32.03 35.9 8.76
4.53 25.17 24.11 5.32
3.82 31.91 30.5 7.98
4.42 34.32 37.12 8.39
7
R. K.B., K.R. P.R. and G. K. Engineering Science and Technology, an International Journal 42 (2023) 101432

Fig. 7. Formation of cracks.

Table 8
Cracking characteristics of specimens.

Specimen Experimental crack width at Experimental crack width at Permissible crack width as per Average crack No. of cracks between
ID Service Moment (mm) Ultimate Moment (mm) IS:456–2000 (mm) spacing (mm) load points
F60SCC 0.08 1.7 0.3 98.4 10
F60SCCHy1 0.02 0.75 82.1 11
F60SCCHy2 0.06 0.20 57 15
F80SCC 0.1 0.78 104 8
F80SCCHy1 0.04 1.55 56.5 15
F80SCCHy2 0.08 1.3 71.23 12

Fig. 8. Crack pattern of the reinforced SCC beam without fibers.

ages provided by the hooked-end steel fibers. The maximum crack
width at service stage of the F60SCCHy1, F60SCCHy2, F80SCCHy1
and F80SCCHy2 beams was 0.02, 0.06, 0.04 and 0.08 mm, whereas
the maximum crack width at ultimate stage of the F60SCCHy1,
F60SCCHy2, F80SCCHy1 and F80SCCHy2 beams was 0.75, 0.20,
1.55 and 1.3 mm. The crack widths of hybrid steel fiber-
reinforced SCC beams were found to be reduced by 25–75%. It is
essential that there should not be any excessive cracking in the
structural member for satisfactory performance. The wider cracks
in the beam significantly decrease the stiffness, promote the pene-
tration of harmful substances and may cause concern to occupants.
The BS 8110 and IS 456:2000 code specify that the surface crack
width must not exceed 0.3 mm based on exposure conditions.
Complying with these standards, all the beams investigated in
the study have crack widths below 0.3 mm at the service stage.
There was a gradual widening of the cracks in the hybrid steel
fiber-reinforced SCC beam as presented in Fig. 10(a). Adding steel
fibers leads to a significant improvement in the post-crack beha-
viour of the hybrid steel-reinforced beam. When the first crack
appeared, the fibers bridge the crack, resist the load and thus prevent
the propagation of crack as shown in Fig. 10(b). This resulted in the
beams resisting the load beyond the first crack as observed for the
F60SCCHy1, F60SCCHy2, F80SCCHy1 and F80SCCHy2 beam speci-
mens. The flexural cracks are observed in the constant moment zone
vertically upwards that gradually widen with an increase in load. As
the load increases, the shear span of the beam also starts cracking.
Hybrid steel fiber-reinforced SCC beams display improved elastic
limit, strain hardening and toughened post-peak response, where
multiple instances of micro-cracking and increase in the load-
carrying capacity was observed during testing.

8
R. K.B., K.R. P.R. and G. K. Engineering Science and Technology, an International Journal 42 (2023) 101432

Fig. 9. Crack pattern of the HSFRSCC beam.

Fig. 10a. Formation of crack.

Fig. 10b. Crack bridging by fibers.

4.5. Moment–strain behaviour

The strain developed in steel (tension strain) and concrete

(compressive strain) was recorded at every incremental increase
in load. The moment versus concrete comparative strain, moment
versus steel tension strain and movement versus strain on stirrups
are presented in Figs. 11–13. At the service stage, the concrete’s
compressive strain value was in the range of 0.00–0.0002 and
0.00–0.0005 for reinforced and hybrid steel fiber-reinforced SCC
beams, respectively. However, the compressive strain value was
in the range of 0.0025–0.003 and 0.00055–0.003 for the reinforced
and HSFRSCC beams just prior to failure. At the service stage, the
steel tension strain was in the range of 0–0.0015 and 0–0.001 for
reinforced and HSFRSCC beams, respectively. However, the tension
strain was in the range of 0.0015–0.003 and 0.001–0.0029 for rein-
forced and HSFRSCC beams just prior to failure, respectively. At the
service stage, the strain on stirrups was in the range of 0–0.0008
and 0–0.0004 for reinforced and HSFRSCC beams, respectively.
However, the tension strain value was in the range of 0.0008–
0.0017 and 0.0004–0.003 for reinforced and HSFRSCC beam just Fig. 11. Moment versus compressive strain in concrete.

9
R. K.B., K.R. P.R. and G. K. Engineering Science and Technology, an International Journal 42 (2023) 101432

Fig. 14b. Failure pattern of HSFRSCC beam.

Table 9
End Rotations.

Specimen Experimental Moment End Maximum End

ID at Ultimate Stage Rotations Rotations at Ultimate
Fig. 12. Moment versus tension strain in steel. (kNm) Minimum (°) Stage (°)
F60SCC 22.88 1°270 3600 3°520 1200
F60SCCHy1 30.20 1°430 4800 3°310 4800
F60SCCHy2 32.03 1°330 3600 3°160 1200
F80SCC 25.17 1°340 4800 4°70 1200
F80SCCHy1 31.91 1°520 4800 3°410 2400
F80SCCHy2 34.32 1°340 1200 3°90 3600

strain level than the specimen without hybrid steel fibers. Impor-
tantly, the capacity to withhold increasing load increased with
the increase in fiber content. The HSFRSCC beam can accomplish
its full strain capacity under the flexural loadings. The final failure
of the beam was characterised by large strains in the steel bar and

40

35

30

25
Moment (kNm)

Fig. 13. Moment versus strain in stirrups.

20
F60SCC

15 F80SCC
prior to failure, respectively. Zhang et al. [45] reported that the F60SCCHy1
addition of steel fibers did not lead to a significant change in the 10
F80SCCHy1
tension strain before beam cracking. Post cracking, HSFRSCC beam F60SCCHy2
5
had decreased tension strain than that of reinforced beam without F80SCCHy2
fibers. The same pattern was observed in the present investigation. 0
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5
It can thus be concluded that the presence of hybrid steel fibers
End rotation ( )
reduces the strain of the longitudinal reinforcement. It was
observed that HSFRSCC specimen supported higher load for a given Fig. 15. Moment versus End rotation.

Fig. 14a. Failure pattern of reinforced SCC beam without fiber.

10
R. K.B., K.R. P.R. and G. K.
Fig. 16. Tested beams 60 MPa and 80 MPa SCC with fibers.
large deflections close to the collapse with extensive widening. The
failure pattern of HSFRSCC and reinforced SCC beam without fiber
is presented in Figs. 14(a) and (b). The failure zones of hybrid steel
fiber-reinforced SCC beam were higher than the reinforced SCC
beam without fibers. The reinforced SCC beam was subjected to
failure by crushing the concrete at top surface of the beam. This
is because the depth of the neutral axis has moved deeper into
the compression zone fibers, resulting in high compressive stress.
In contrast, in the HSFRSCC beam, the steel fibers began to pull-
out with one or more specific cracks close to the peak load, after
which the width of a particular crack is fundamentally larger than
the width of other cracks. This is usually called as crack
localisation.
4.6. Moment-curvature (end rotations)
The end rotation of the beam is one of the useful parameters to
study the curvature of the structural members. The moment versus
end rotation values of the reinforced SCC beam and HSFRSCC beam
is given in Table 9 and graphically presented in Fig. 15. The
moment versus end rotation curve of the reinforced SCC beam
and HSFRSCC beam increases linearly until the steel yields. It was
seen that the end rotations of the beam just before failure changes
from 1°270 3600 to 3°520 1200 and 1°340 4800 to 4°70 1200 for F60SCC and
F80SCC, respectively. The minimum end rotations of the hybrid
steel fiber-reinforced SCC beam are in the range 1°330 3600 to
1°520 4800 . After crack formation in the tension zone, the steel bar
11
Engineering Science and Technology, an International Journal 42 (2023) 101432
bears a larger part of the tension components of the bending
moment. As beam rotation increases, the stress in the reinforce-
ment bar spreads across the constant moment zone [24]. Finally,
at one or more points, the steel reaches its yield stress limit. The
lack of material stiffness therefore drastically brings down the
overall stiffness of the beam and reduces the capacity of the beam
to carry the tensile component of the bending moment. Once the
yielding occurs, the end rotations increase rapidly. However,
F60SCCHy2 and F80SCCHy2 show the reduced maximum end rota-
tion of 3°160 1200 and 3°90 3600 , which is almost 15.5% and 23% lower
than that of the F60SCC and F80SCC, respectively.
It was observed that the F60SCCHy2 and F80SCCHy2 have low
end rotations with the high moment at the ultimate stage. This is
attributed to a large volume of hooked-end fibers and micro-
steel fibers in the beam. Fig. 16 shows the tested beam specimen
are stacked in the laboratory.
5. Conclusions
In this research, the aim was to leverage the combined proper-
ties of the two or more different fibers to improve the mechanical
properties of concrete. Short and long fibers were added in combi-
nation to SCC to utilise the properties of the individual fibers to
bring about a synergistic effect of both types of fibers and improve
some properties of the concrete. The flexural behaviour of the
hybrid steel fiber-reinforced SCC beam was explored in this study,
which represents one of the first efforts to study flexure behaviour
R. K.B., K.R. P.R. and G. K.
of concrete using hybrid fibers the best of our knowledge. Hooked-
end and micro-steel fibers were employed as reinforcement to con-
crete. Micro-steel fibers help in bridging the micro-cracks and
increase the first cracking load, while hooked-end steel fibers
arrest the propagation of macro crack with its hooked-end projec-
tions, thus improving the post-cracking behaviour of concrete. The
following conclusions are drawn from this investigation:
 Both micro- and hooked-end steel fibers complement each
other during the failure of the beam, which effectively improves
the load-carrying capacity and moment-carrying capacity at
both the service and ultimate stages. Adding hooked-end and
micro-steel fiber in a hybrid form to the SCC increases the
load- and moment-carrying capacity of the beam by 40.64%
and 40%, respectively, to the volume of fiber at both the service
and ultimate stages.
 The crack resistance of the hybrid steel fiber-reinforced beams
significantly improved. When the large cracks are formed, more
energy is dissipated because of the presence of hooked-end
fibers, which have excellent pull-out resistance. The addition
of hooked-end and micro-steel fibers in a hybrid form reduces
the crack spacing in the range of 16–45%, respectively, to con-
crete strength and volume fraction of fibers. Similarly, the width
of the crack was also reduced by 25–75%.
 High steel fiber content of 0.5% of hooked-end fibers with 0.25%
of micro-steel fibers results in an increased first crack load,
which demonstrates the capability of the hybrid steel fiber-
reinforced beam to resist the flexural stresses. Thus, it helps
to retain the larger deflection at the ultimate stage than in the
reinforced SCC beam without fibers.
 The addition of hooked-end and micro-steel fibers in the hybrid
form into the SCC increases the ductility ratio in the range of
50–85.4%, respectively, to the concrete strength and volume of
the fiber.
 The hybrid steel fiber-reinforced SCC beam can achieve the full
strain capacity under flexure. The end rotation of the concrete
prior to the failure was found to be better.
 The predicted ultimate load- and moment-carrying capacities of
the HSFRSCC beam using BS 8110 and IS 456:2000 is acceptable.
The flexural behaviour of the SCC beam was found to be
enhanced by the addition of hybrid fibers in this investigation
and the hybridisation effect of hooked steel and micro-steel fibers
was also demonstrated. Hybrid fibre-reinforced SCC concrete is
therefore fit to be recommended for the application at the area
of congested reinforcement, particularly at the beam–column joint.
Utilising hybrid steel fiber in SCC can enhance tensile strength and
may reduce the reinforcement requirement. In future, a model is
planned to be developed using finite element analysis tool ANSYS
to validate the experimental data.
Declaration of Competing Interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing finan-
cial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared
to influence the work reported in this paper.
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