Construction and Building Materials 122 (2016) 23–35

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Construction and Building Materials

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/conbuildmat

Monotonic and cyclic behaviour of lightweight concrete beams

with and without steel fiber reinforcement
Angelo Caratelli, Alberto Meda, Zila Rinaldi ⇑
University of Rome Tor Vergata, via del Politecnico 1, 00133 Rome, Italy

h i g h l i g h t s

Experimental tests on lightweight concrete beams with and without steel fiber reinforcement are developed.

The cement was partially substituted by ashes coming from the combustion of Municipal Solid Waste.

Both monotonic and cyclic loads are applied.

The results show the effectiveness of fiber reinforcement in improving the element performance.

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

Article history: Experimental tests on four lightweight concrete beams with and without steel fiber reinforcement,
Received 18 February 2016 subjected to monotonic and reverse cyclic loads, were set-up in order to investigate the influence of
Received in revised form 23 May 2016 the fiber reinforcement on the strength, ductility and energy dissipation. The tests were performed on
Accepted 14 June 2016
beams with 200  300 mm cross section and clear span of 3000 mm. Furthermore, in the framework of
Available online 21 June 2016
the definition of sustainable materials, the cement of the concrete matrix was partially substituted by
ashes coming from the combustion of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW), with pozzolanic reaction. The
Keywords:
obtained results are presented, discussed and compared.
Fiber reinforced beams
Cyclic loads
Ó 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Municipal Solid Waste
Experimental tests

1. Introduction the application of steel fiber reinforced concrete (SFRC) to enhance

The use of Fiber Reinforced Concrete (FRC) is continuously
growing, particularly in pavements, shotcrete and precast industry
[5,22,17]. In some applications, such as precast tunnel segments,
the possibility of totally or partially replace the traditional rein-
forcement with FRC allows several advantages not only in terms
of cost reduction but also related to an increase of the quality
and structural performance [32,26,9,15,10,29].
With reference to the structural aspects, the fiber reinforcement
improves the performance of the material under tensile actions,
remarkably increasing the toughness and enhancing the cracking
control [34,36]. Furthermore, the presence of fibers in the concrete
matrix has important effects in increasing the fatigue and the
impact resistance [16,7]. Guidelines and codes for FRC structures
have been developed in different Countries [13,11] and the fib
Model Code 2010 includes specific indications on FRC structural
design [25]. Nevertheless, there is a clear gap in the literature on
⇑ Corresponding author.
E-mail address: rinaldi@ing.uniroma2.it (Z. Rinaldi).
the seismic -and thus cyclic – response of a structure and to assess
the potential ductility and energy absorption capacity of such
composites. Indeed under reverse cyclic loading, concrete is sub-
jected to more severe damage and the presence of fibers can
reduce the strain magnitude and control the crack openings
[14,33]. Very few papers are nowadays available on the cyclic
behaviour of fiber reinforced elements, and mainly beam.
Monotonic and cyclic experimental tests on small steel FRC beams
(150  150  500 mm) were made by Campione and Mangiavil-
lano [8]. Several advantages given by the fibers under cyclic action
were observed, such as a reduced cover spalling process, a signifi-
cant increase in shear strength due to the bridging actions of the
fibers across the principal cracks, fewer pinching effects.
Twelve two-span beam specimens (150  200  1000 mm)
were tested by Kotsovos et al. [27] using different reinforcement
diameters and concrete grades, with or without steel fibers in the
mix, with the aim of studying the effect of fibers on the behaviour
of reinforced-concrete (RC) structures designed in accordance with
Eurocode 8 [19]. Both monotonic and cyclic loading were consid-
ered. Based on the experimental results, the authors concluded

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2016.06.045
0950-0618/Ó 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
24 A. Caratelli et al. / Construction and Building Materials 122 (2016) 23–35

Table 1 Table 2
Concretes mix design and density (amount in kg/m3). Concretes compressive mechanical properties.

L-MSW L-FRC-MSW Mean concrete cubic strength Rc [MPa]

Cement 472 460 Time (days) L-MSW L-FRC-MSW
MSW ashes (40% in slurry) 140 133
3 33.55 34.33
Sand (0–4 mm) 922 1113
7 47.50 42.50
Coarse Aggregate (2–16 mm) 165 –
14 51.14 47.27
Expanded clay (0–15 mm) 344 295
28 58.56 52.77
Water (total) 170 162
160 65.60 65.00
Plasticizers 38 48
Shrinkage reducer agent 32 32
Steel Fibers – 30
Measured density 2064 2156
70

that for the specimens without fibers, under cyclic loading, 60

designing to current code provisions does not safeguard against a

Rcm [MPa]
premature brittle failure. On the contrary, specimens with fibers L-MSW
50
satisfied the performance requirements of Eurocode 8 for strength
and ductility, for concrete strength up to 60 MPa. For higher values L-FRC-MSW
of concrete strength, in spite of the significant improvement in 40
performance, the code requirements were not fulfilled in terms
of ductility.
Schumach [35] found that in some circumstances the 30
0 14 28 42 56 70 84 98 112 126 140 154 168
introduction of fibers for the enhancement of a particular struc-
time [days]
tural behaviour (e.g., shear, impact resistance, behaviour at service
load, crack control, etc.) can limit the ductility under flexure. This Fig. 2. Mean compressive strength at different curing times.
situation occurred in particular conditions, mainly when both steel
rebars with a low hardening ratio and a FRC having a high tough-
ness are adopted. The combination of these two aspects was found experimental tests have been carried out on beams with two con-
to be particularly detrimental with regard to the overall ductility. crete mixes, also in presence of lightweight aggregates, with and
In those circumstances, an increase in the rebar bond leads to a without fiber reinforcement. The full-scale specimens are
localization of deformations at a crack. Similar conclusions were subjected to cyclic loads and the effectiveness of the FRC material
found by Meda et al. [30]. solutions is remarked.
The lack of works dealing with the influence of the fiber
reinforcement on the cyclic behaviour of full-scale beams, and 2. Material properties and characterization
the emerging contrasting views, clearly show the need to provide
more experimental data and models. Four beams were cast with a lightweight concrete (with clay aggregate) and
with a partial replacement of the cement with ashes coming from the burning of
Recently, a comprehensive research on the adoption of fiber
Municipal Solid Waste. In two specimens, steel fiber reinforcement was added also.
reinforced concretes, with different mix designs, both in beam The specimens were subjected to monotonic and cyclic loads.
and slab elements [31] has been developed at University of Rome
Tor Vergata. The use of innovative concrete in RC structures is 2.1. Concrete mixes
receiving widespread attention, with particular reference to the
idea of reducing the environmental impact of new concrete Two concrete mixes were cast and adopted in the present research:
structures [24]. In this context, the possibility of partially replacing
– Lightweight concrete with ash from Municipal Solid Waste (L-MSW);
the cement with the product of incineration of the Municipal Solid – Lightweight fiber-reinforced concrete with ashes from Municipal Solid Waste
Waste (MSW) can be of great interest [23,6,12,28,1,3]. A research (L-FRC-MSW).
on innovative lightweight concrete with cement partially replaced
with ashes coming from the burning of MSW, having pozzolanic The fiber reinforced concrete is characterized by the addition of 30 kg/m3 of
properties, has been developed by the authors, and its possible hooked steel fibers with length (l) equal to 30 mm and diameter (d) of 0.30 mm
(aspect ratio l/d equal to 100). The steel wire strength is higher than 2000 MPa.
application in combination with steel fiber reinforcement is here
The mix design for the concretes used in the experimental program is shown in
proposed for beams subjected to cyclic loads. At this aim, Table 1.

L-MSW L-FRC-MSW

Fig. 1. Slump flow test results.

 A. Caratelli et al. / Construction and Building Materials 122 (2016) 23–35 25

A Section A-A

hsp=125

125
150
150
A b=150
150
250
250 L=500
250
(a) 500
(b)

Fig. 3. Flexural test; a) specimen geometry; b) clip cage for CMOD measure.

Fig. 4. FRC tensile characterization; a) flexural test set-up (UNI EN 14651 [20]); b) reference strength values (MC2010).

6
fR3
fR2
Nominal stress [MPa]

5 fR4 Strength Mean Characteristic

Value Value
4 fR1 fL [MPa] 2.62 1.92
3 fR1 [MPa] 3.40 2.78
fR2 [MPa] 4.14 3.07
2 fR3 [MPa] 4.21 3.06
fR4 [MPa]
CMOD1

CMOD2

CMOD4
CMOD3

3.93 3.02
1

0
0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 4.0
CMOD [mm]

Fig. 5. Results of the flexural response of the fiber reinforced concrete, mean and characteristic values of residual flexural strength.

Fig. 6. Tensile test on steel rebars; a) set-up; b) measured stress-strain relationships.

26 A. Caratelli et al. / Construction and Building Materials 122 (2016) 23–35

Fig. 7. Beam geometry.

1000 1000 1000

50

300
Fig. 8. Static schemes for monotonic and cyclic tests.

(a)
Fy
2/3 Fy
1/3 Fy
Fcr

(b)

Fig. 9. Loading history: a) pre-yielding cycles; b) post-yielding cycles.

 A. Caratelli et al. / Construction and Building Materials 122 (2016) 23–35 27

load, the opening of the notch at the bottom face of the beam, named Crack Mouth
Opening Displacement (CMOD). This last quantity has been directly measured with
a clip gauge, as shown in Fig. 3b.
The Limit of Proportionality strength fL and the reference strength values fR1, fR2,
fR3 and fR4, defined by EN14651 and used by MC2010 for defining the constitutive
relationship or the material, are related to CMOD equal to 0.5, 1.5, 2.5 and 3.5. These
quantities are evaluated from the F-CMOD relationship and shown in Fig. 4b.
In particular, in the hypothesis of linear stress distribution (r, Fig. 3a), and being
l the span length (500 mm) and b the specimen width (150 mm):

Left side Right side

3F L l 3F j l
fL ¼ 2
f R;j ¼ 2
ð1Þ
2bhsb 2bhsb

where:
fL is the limit of proportionality as defined in EN 14651;
fRj is the residual flexural tensile strength corresponding to CMOD = CMODj;
Fj is the measured load corresponding to CMOD = CMODj;
hsp the distance between the notch tip and the top of the specimen (125 mm).

The nominal stress–CMOD diagrams related to the five specimens are shown in
Fig. 5; the mean and characteristic residual strengths are remarked in the same
figure.
The characteristic values are evaluated in agreement with the EN 1990 [18]. In
Fig. 10. Testing system. particular, for each strength (fi), the average value (fm), the standard deviation (s)
and the coefficient of variation (Vx) have been evaluated:
sffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
X
n Pn 2
i¼1 ðfi  fmÞ s
The concrete has been prepared in a truck mixer. For every batch a quantity of fm ¼ fi s¼ Vx ¼ ð2Þ
n1 fm
concrete equal to 2.5 m3 has been mixed and the mixer plant was 30–40 min from i¼1

the laboratory, where the specimens where prepared. The concrete rheology was
measured before starting the casting procedure through a slump flow test, carried
out according to EN 12350 [21]. The results are shown in Fig. 1.
The combination of lightweight aggregate and fiber reinforcement allows
keeping the material density lower than that of the ordinary normal weight
concrete (usually in the range 2300–2400 kg/m3). The adoption of lightweight
concrete in the beam L-MSW gives a dead load reduction of about 10–14%, with
respect to the ordinary normal weight concrete (see Table 1).
2.2. Concrete strength characterization
The average concrete strength measured on four cubes having a side of 150 mm,
at different curing times is reported in Table 2 and plotted in Fig. 2. The last date
corresponds to the test age. It can be noted that after 28 days a lower value of
compressive strength is measured for the fiber reinforced mix (about 10% with
respect to L-MSW), but this difference becomes absolutely negligible with the time.
In particular after 160 days from the cast (date of the test), the compressive
strengths of the L-MSW and L-FRC-MSW mixes are almost the same (65.60 MPa
and 65.00 MPa, respectively).
Finally, the tensile behaviour of the fiber reinforced materials was characterized
through flexural test on beams (150  150  600 mm3), according to the UNI EN
14651 [20] (Figs. 3a and 4a).
In particular, the nominal values of the material properties are defined by
performing a three point bending test on a notched beam (notch width and height
equal to 5 mm and 25 mm, respectively, Fig. 3a), and by measuring, besides the
being (n) the number of specimens (five in the analysed case).
In the hypothesis of normal distribution, the characteristic values can be
calculated as:
f k ¼ f m  kn s ð3Þ
The value of kn is suggested by [18] as a function of the specimens, for unknown
and known coefficient of variation (Vx). In particular, for fiber reinforced concrete, it
can be considered (Vx) known from prior knowledge, and the coefficient kn can be
assumed equal to 1.8.
Finally, the possibility of adopting the cast FRC as a structural material is
checked according to the ModelCode 2010 prescriptions, and then it is verified that
both the code requirements are widely fulfilled:
f R1k =f LK ¼ 1:45 > 0:4
f R3k =f R1k ¼ 1:10 > 0:5
2.3. Steel characterization
The beams where reinforced with 16 mm diameter steel rebars. All the bars
came from the same production and the tensile behaviour (Fig. 6) was characterized
through tensile tests on three specimen. The average yielding and ultimate
strengths were equal to 520 MPa and 650 MPa, respectively.

Fig. 11. Test set-up for cyclic loads: load transmission system a); b) detail.
28 A. Caratelli et al. / Construction and Building Materials 122 (2016) 23–35

(a) (b)

Steel pad
Neoprene layer

Fig. 12. Details of the test set-up; a) point load; b) support.

(a)

W1
W5
W2R

W3R
W4

(b)

W3L
W2L

Fig. 13. Instrumentation; a) right surface; b) left surface (Fig. 10).

3. Experimental tests

In the Laboratory of the University of Rome Tor Vergata two

200 beams were cast with the concrete matrix L-MSW, named OC
180 elements (ordinary concrete), and two beams were made with
160 FRCM
L-FRC-MSW concrete material and named FRC elements. The sub-
140 OCM
scripts M and C will point out the nature of load, monotonic and
Load [kN]

120
cyclic, respectively.
100
The beams have a length of 3.50 m (net span 3.00 m) and a
80
200  300 mm cross-section. The elements are reinforced with
60
3£16 symmetrical longitudinal reinforcement (Fig. 7). The
40
transversal reinforcement is made with £8 stirrups spaced
20
100 mm. A spacing equal to 50 mm is given close to the supports
0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 and to the point load position (Fig. 7).
Both monotonic and cyclic tests are carried out, according to the
Displacement [mm]
schemes of Fig. 8. A grid (50  50 mm, see Fig. 8) was drawn on the
Fig. 14. Load-midspan displacement diagram. lateral surfaces in order to simplify the crack pattern detection.
 A. Caratelli et al. / Construction and Building Materials 122 (2016) 23–35 29

Right side

0 50 100 150 200 250 300

25 300 25

Left side

0 50 100 150 200 250 300

25 300 25

Fig. 15. Beam OCM, Monotonic test, crack pattern.

Fig. 16. Beam OCM, Monotonic test: a) crack pattern at yielding (Fy = 140 kN); b) crack width at yielding; c) failure stage for concrete crush.

The loading history, related to the cyclic loads, is represented in
Fig. 9. In particular, starting from the cracking load (Fcr), four
triplets of cycles are given up to the yielding load (Fy), as shown
in Fig. 9a. Then, (Fig. 9b) the triplet of cycles are given in terms
of displacements (d), starting from the yielding one (dy) up to the
beam failure (du).
3.1. Test set-up and instrumentation
The test set-up is made with structural steel HEB300 (Fig. 10).
The lower part includes two main beams that can move on steel
wheels and slide on suitable guides, allowing a simple positioning
of the specimen under the load cell. A transversal beam connects
the main ones, and acts as stiffening element. The intermediate
part consists in two steel columns for reaching the fixed height,
while the upper part, constituted by secondary beams bolted to
the columns, allows the lodging of the support system.
The described set-up has been improved for the cyclic tests. In
particular for avoiding the lifting during the inverse loading, the
testing system has been connected to the floor slab with
£20 mm steel threaded rebars. The load is transmitted through a
system shown in Fig. 11 composed of a main beam, two small
beams and four ties, able to grant the same behaviour during the
up-loading and un-loading phases.
All the tests have been performed under a contrast frame of
4000 kN and the load is given by a 1000 kN electromechanical jack,
in displacement control.A steel pad is inserted between the
cylindrical point load and the beam surface. Furthermore a layer
of neoprene is placed in correspondence of the point load, under
30 A. Caratelli et al. / Construction and Building Materials 122 (2016) 23–35

Right side

0 50 100 150 200 250 300

25 300 25

Left side

0 50 100 150 200 250 300

25 300 25

Fig. 17. Beam FRCM, Monotonic test, crack pattern.

Fig. 18. Beam FRCM; Beam OCM, monotonic test – collapse state a) crack pattern; b) concrete crush; c) rebar failure.

the steel slab, for assuring a uniform contact (Fig. 12a). The support
system has been designed and made in order to allow the
horizontal displacements and the rotations with respect to the
support axis (Fig. 12b).
The displacements are measured through seven wire
transducers, placed as shown in Fig. 13 and in particular one close
to the midspan (W1); four close to the point load (W2R, W2L, W3R,
W3L) and two located at 50 cm from the support (W4, W5). The
total load F is measured with a 1000 kN (±1%) cell.
4. Results of monotonic tests
The experimental results of the monotonic tests developed for
both the ordinary (OCM) and fiber reinforced (FRCM) beams are
here summarised and discussed. It is worth remarking that both
monotonic and cyclic tests were developed on beams with the
same geometry and support conditions.
The load-midspan displacement diagrams measured during
both the tests are compared in Fig. 14.
 A. Caratelli et al. / Construction and Building Materials 122 (2016) 23–35 31

0
0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000
-20

-40

displacement [mm]
-60
OCM
-80

-100

-120

-140 FRCM

-160
x [mm]

Fig. 19. Displacement pattern for yielding and ultimate stages.

200
OCM
150

OCC 100

50
Load [kN]

0
-100 -80 -60 -40 -20 0 20 40 60 80 100
-50

-100

-150

-200
Displacement [mm]

Fig. 20. Load displacement diagram; reinforced concrete beams OCM and OCC: Comparison between monotonic and cyclic bejaviour.

Right side

0 50 100 150 200 250 300

25 300 25

Left side

0 50 100 150 200 250 300

25 300 25

Fig. 21. Beam OCC. Cyclic test; crack pattern evolution.

32 A. Caratelli et al. / Construction and Building Materials 122 (2016) 23–35

Fig. 22. Beam OCC. Cyclic test: crack pattern for the first cycle (4 dy).

Fig. 23. Beam OCC. Cyclic load: Crack pattern for the second cycle (5 dy).

200

150

100
Load [kN]

50

0
-120 -10 0 -80 -60 -40 -20 0 20 40 60 80 100 12 0 140 16 0
-50

-100

-150

-200
Displacement [mm]

Fig. 24. Load displacement diagram; Fiber Reinforced beams FRCM and FRCC: Comparison between monotonic and cyclic bejaviour.

The loads related to the first cracking (Fcr) and first yielding (Fy)
of the beam OCM were equal to 19 kN and 140 kN. The related
midspan displacements were about 0.6 mm and 15.5 mm, respec-
tively. The crack pattern evolution measured during the test is
summarised in Fig. 15. More in detail, the crack pattern at yielding
stage is shown in Fig. 16a and the maximum crack width at the
same load level, equal to about 0.2 mm, is shown in Fig. 16b. The
maximum load, almost coincident with the failure one, was about
165 kN, and the ultimate displacement was about 82 mm. The
failure was due to the concrete crush (Fig. 16c).
With reference to the fiber reinforced beam FRCM, the load
related to the first cracking (Fcr) and first yielding (Fy) were equal
to about 20 kN and 170 kN. The related midspan displacements
were about 1.12 mm and 16 mm, respectively. The maximum load
was about 196 kN, related to a midspan displacement of about
91 mm. The ultimate displacement was about 140 mm. The com-
plete crack pattern detected during the test is summarised in
Fig. 17. The failure was due to the contemporaneous effects of
concrete crush and rebar failure. (Fig. 18a–c). In can be clearly
noted the variation of failure mode due to the fiber presence. In
particular in the FRCM beam the fibers avoid the sudden and brittle
concrete crushing, due to their capacity of improving the concrete
toughness in compression [30]. The fiber presence leads to an
increase of the yielding and ultimate load of about 21% and 19%,
respectively, in agreement with other experimental tests [4,2].
The increase of the ductility defined as the ratio between the
 A. Caratelli et al. / Construction and Building Materials 122 (2016) 23–35 33

Right side

0 50 100 150 200 250 300

25 300 25

Left side

0 50 100 150 200 250 300

25 300 25

Fig. 25. Beam FRCC. Cyclic test; crack pattern evolution.

Fig. 26. Beam FRCC. Cyclic test. Crack pattern: a) second cycle (5 dy); b) third cycle 5 dy; c) rebar failure.

ultimate and yielding displacements is equal to about 65%. Finally,
the displacements, measured along both the beams, at yielding and
close to the failure stages are plotted and compared in Fig. 19.
Negligible differences are found up to the yielding force, while a
significant increase of displacements in the fiber reinforced beam
is measured for load values close to the ultimate one.
5. Results of the cyclic tests
Some of the main results obtained from the cyclic tests
developed on both the ordinary reinforced concrete beam (OCC)
and fiber reinforced one (FRCC) are here summarised and dis-
cussed. The applied loading history has been discussed in Section 3.
34 A. Caratelli et al. / Construction and Building Materials 122 (2016) 23–35

200 FRCC

150

100

50
Load [kN]
0
-120 -100 -80 -60 -40 -20 0 20 40 60 80 100 120
OCC -50

-100

-150

-200
Displacement [mm]

Fig. 27. Beams OCC and FRCC: comparison of the cyclic behaviour.

10
9
8
FRCC
7
E [kN m]

6
5 OCC
4
3
2
1
0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
cycle number

Fig. 28. Beams OCC and FRCC: energy dissipated.

5.1. Reinforced concrete beam OCC
The load midspan displacement diagram measured for the
beam OCC, is plotted in Fig. 20. In the same figure the monotonic
response, discussed in the previous section, is superimposed.
The maximum cyclic load was about 151 kN. If compared to the
monotonic behaviour a decrease of this property of about 9.3% is
measured. On the contrary, an increase of the ultimate cyclic
displacement is observed, of about 20%.
The crack pattern evolution, detected during the test, is shown
in Fig. 21. The response of the beam related to the third cycle (4 dy)
and to the second cycle (5 dy) is shown in Fig. 22.
The complete failure took place at the second cycle (5 dy), as
highlighted in Fig. 23. A complete crush of the compressive
concrete occurred (Fig. 23).
5.2. Fiber reinforced concrete beam FRCC
The load midspan displacement diagram measured for the
beam FRCC, is plotted in Fig. 24. In the same figure the monotonic
response, discussed in Section 4, is superimposed. The beam
collapsed in correspondence of the cycle (4 dy).
The maximum load was about 182 kN. If compared to the
monotonic behaviour a slight decrease of this property of about
7% is measured. The ultimate displacement also appears reduced
of about 28%. The crack pattern evolution, during the test, is shown
in Fig. 25. The beam behaviour close to the failure is shown in
Fig. 26a and b, with reference to the second cycle (5 dy) and
the last cycle (third 5 dy), respectively.
The collapse took place at the third cycle (5 dy), as highlighted
in Fig. 26c, with a failure of the rebars at the bottom side.
5.3. Comparisons
The cyclic behaviour of the beams OCC and FRCC, expressed in
terms of load-midspan displacement, are finally superimposed in
Fig. 27.
In agreement with the monotonic behaviour an increase of
about 14% of the maximum load was noted. The energy dissipated
in each cycle is shown in Fig. 28. It can be noted the very stable
cyclic behaviour, since the three cycles of each step dissipate
approximately the same energy. In both the beams the energy
increases with the cycle number, but a higher dissipation takes
place in the FRC element, mainly for higher cycle number (energy
dissipation increase of about 20%).
6. Conclusions
In the present paper, an experimental research on the
monotonic and cyclic behaviour of beams cast with a lightweight
aggregate concrete with and Municipal Solid Waste, with and
without steel fiber reinforcement, is presented. On the basis of
the obtained results the following remarks can be addressed:
 A. Caratelli et al. / Construction and Building Materials 122 (2016) 23–35
– in the monotonic test, the addition of about 30 kg/m3 of hooked
steel fibers steel fibers leads to an increase of about 20% of the
ultimate load: the increase of ductility (defined as the ratio
between the ultimate and yielding displacements) is equal to
about 65%.
– in the cyclic tests, the fiber reinforced beam exhibits an increase
of the ultimate load of about 14%, with respect to the reference
one without fibers. Furthermore, the fibers addition causes an
increase of dissipated energy (of about 20%) and more stable
behaviour for higher cycle number,
– the adoption of lightweight aggregates allows reducing the self-
weight of the composite material of about 10–14%, with respect
to the traditional concrete. The combination of lightweight
aggregate and fiber reinforcement allows keeping the material
density equal or lower than the ordinary concrete;
– the adoption of Municipal Solid Waste does not provide signif-
icant differences in the compressive behaviour of the material
and in the final global behaviour of the beam elements.
Acknowledgement
The research has been partially funded by the European Found
for Veneto Region Development, program POR FESR 2007–2013.
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