Influence of loading-rate and steel fibers on the shear strength of ultra high performance concrete

The paper describes quasi-static and dynamic experimental methods used to examine the confined shear strength of an Ultra High Performance Concrete, with and without the presence of steel fibers in the concrete composition. An experimental setup was created to investigate the concrete shear strength under quasi-static loading regime using a hydraulic press Schenk while dynamic shear strength was characterized by subjecting concrete samples to dynamic loading through a modified Split Hopkinson Pressure Bar. Both methods are based on a Punch Through Shear (PTS) test with a well-instrumented aluminum passive confinement ring that allows measuring the change of radial stress in the shear ligament throughout the test. Firstly, four equally distributed radial notches have been performed in order to deduce the radial stress by suppressing a self-confinement of the sample peripheral part. However, by analyzing the strain gauge data from the confinement ring, it has been noticed that these were apparently insufficient, especially for fiber-reinforced samples, resulting in subsequently practicing eight radial notches through the sample peripheral part. The results obtained from both procedures are reported and discussed.