Experimental investigation on the strength and ductility of HSC and SCC beams subjected to monotonic and cyclic loading

ABSTRACT The results of an experimental campaign concerning eighteen beams made of normal-strength and high-strength self-consolidating or vibrated concrete are presented and discussed in this paper. The beams were subjected to 4-point bending. Six beams were tested under monotonic loading and the remaining twelve under cyclic loading. Concrete cylindrical compressive strength covered the range 40 - 115 N/mm2. On the whole, the tests show that the ultimate strength and the ductility of SCC beams are comparable with those of the beams made of vibrated concrete. Some differences emerge in the crack pattern and in the type of damage. In the beams made of either normal-strength self-consolidating concrete or vibrated concrete the cracks mostly formed in the constant-bending zone, with more concentrated cracks in the latter case, for the same concrete strength. Negligible differences were detected between the HSC beams made of either self-consolidating or vibrated concrete.