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Mechanical behavior of Drainage Pipes of Steel Fiber Reinforced Concrete: A

numerical model
Facundo L. Ferrado1 , Mario R. Escalante1,2 y Viviana C. Rougier1,2
1 GIMCE, Facultad Regional Concepcion del Uruguay, Universidad Tecnologica Na-
cional, Ing. Pereyra 676, P.O.Box 3260, Concepcion del Uruguay, Argentina; PH
(54) 03442-425541; email: ferradof@frcu.utn.edu.ar, rougierv@frcu.utn.edu.ar, es-
calantem@frcu.utn.edu.ar
2 Facultad Regional Concordia, Universidad Tecnologica Nacional, Salta 277, P.O.Box

3200, Concordia, Argentina

ABSTRACT
Recently, the use of steel fibres in precast concrete pipes as a replacement for
rebar reinforcement has been growing.
The main advantages of this material called steel fiber reinforced concrete
(SFRC) is controlling the cracking process, as well as additional benefits related to
its strength. However, distribution and orientation of the fibers are also important to
maximize its potential.
In this work the mechanical behaviour of SFRC pipes is studied by simulating
the three edge bearing test by means of a 2d model in plane strain state.
The SFRC is represented through a damage - plasticity model and, to study the
effect of fiber distribution and orientation, a probabilistic approach is used. Then, the
numerical model is solved with the aid of the Finite Elements Method coupled with
Monte Carlo simulations in order to carry out a stochastic analysis. Finally, results are
discussed and shown through pictures and comparative tables.

INTRODUCTION
Steel fiber reinforced concrete is one of the most important innovations in the
field of special concretes. The SFRC should be understood as a concrete that includes in
its composition short and discrete fibers, distributed randomly in their mass. Once the
concrete has cracked, the loss of adhesion and fiber pull-out dissipates a great amount
of energy, which leads to a significant increase in tenacity. (Blanco et.al.,2010).
In this respect, the addition of fibres provides advantages from both the tech-
nical and the economic point of view. From the technical point of view, a substantial
improvement of several mechanical properties of concrete is achieved. The use of fibres
also contribute economically, because allows saving up on the assembling operations
related to conventional reinforcement, reducing labor force, equipment use, and asso-
ciated risks (De la Fuente et al. 2010)

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Replacement of regular steel rebar reinforcement for steel fibers is a growing

tendency. As said, manufacturing of reinforcing steel cages from conventional steel re-
bar requires special bending, welding, and placement machinery, which is costly and
time-consuming. Conversely, steel fibres can be added into the mixer of any concrete
batch plant, similar to other mixture components, without significant process modifi-
cation.
So, SFRC can be produced and cast in pipe moulds similar to ordinary plain
concrete. Therefore, SFRC pipes can be an economical alternative to the conventionally
reinforced concrete pipes (Mohamed and Nehdi,2016)

MOTIVATION
Numerical simulation of fiber reinforced concrete allows the comparison and
coupling of the various constituent models with the experimental results in order to
establish the actual behavior of the material.
Numerical models do not replace the experimentation of physical models, how-
ever, to perform the latter, numerical modeling is useful in order to pre-dimensioning
trials and predicting results.
Numerical modeling is a useful tool in the analysis and evaluation of existing
structures which allows to determine causes of deformations, cracking and ultimate
loads, among others. At present days, laboratory tests can only be carried out at lim-
its that represent permissible stability for measuring equipment. With the numerical
modeling, such behavior can be obtained simulating its collapse using the mechanical
parameters measured experimentally(Caicedo Silva, 2010).
In this work, SFRC has been simplified as a homogeneous and isotropic mate-
rial. The material is represented taking into account its real composition applying the
theory of mixtures.
Numerical modeling of fiber-reinforced concrete using the theory of mixtures
can be applied with a good degree of precision to structural elements having regular
reinforcement amount.
The constitutive models describing the behavior of simple concrete are the start-
ing point to study the behavior of reinforced concrete.
Here, a constitutive model of damage-plasticity for the modeling of SFRC is
used , which allows to take the qualities of both failure mechanisms: by the side of
the plasticity mechanism allows to store inelastic deformations (permanent) associated
with a process of loading or unloading the material, and on the side of the damage
mechanism allows a degradation of elastic constants based on the law of evolution of
the damage variable.
The properties of SFRC mostly depend on the type, shape, slenderness, content
of fibers in unit volume of concrete and homogeneity of their random distribution.
The randomness of fiber distribution in concrete matrix is a significant problem in
producing a material model of fiber reinforced concrete which is reliable and easy to

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apply in numerical calculation. Sometimes the regular distribution of fibers is assumed

for simplification (Kunieda et al. 2008).
It is important to mention too that the distribution and orientation of the fibers
in the concrete mass are important in order to optimize the advantages provided by the
fiber addition. This fact causes a difficulty in the prediction of the post-crack behavior
of the SFRC since the behavior of the material in a test specimen may differ from the
behavior of the same material in a real structure since the procedures of vibration and
casting of the concrete can result in predominants fiber orientations.
For this reason, a predefined orientation of fibers in a test of a specimen may
result in an overestimation of the mechanical properties of the HRFA compared to
mixtures with equal proportion of fibers but with a random fiber orientation.
Hence the need to develop new models that can reproduce the influence of these
parameters on the behavior of the composite material

1 USE OF SFRC PIPES AS DRAINAGE SYSTEM

Unreinforced concrete pipes and steel bar reinforced concrete pipes are well-
known and accepted solutions for drainage and sewage pipes. The concrete-made sewer
infrastructure gather desirable durability with structural efficiency as well as life-cycle
economy.
In the last decades, advances in fiber reinforcement technology have opened
new prospects for design of highly efficient reinforced concrete infrastructure systems
(Banthia et.al.,2012). Nonetheless, todays concrete pipe designs have not yet taken full
advantage of advanced fiber reinforcement systems towards achieving higher levels of
structural efficiency and performance (Buco et.al,2008).
One of the reasons why the introduction in the market of the SFRC pipes is
still under development, is the lack of calculation methods for this material. How-
ever, nowadays there is a possible solution for such problem: constitutive equations
to simulate the mechanical response of the SFRC subjected to tension (De la Fuente
et.al.,2012).

2 CONSTITUTIVE MODELS OF SFRC

As said, the characterization of plain concrete is the starting point to study the
behavior of fiber reinforced concrete. But, the post-cracking behavior of SFRC differs
a lot from that of common concrete, exhibing the first a ductile response since the fibres
across the cracks prevent the brittle and non-ductile behaviour.
Because of great variety in the geometry, shape and material properties of steel
fibers and, thus, varying characteristics of bond between fibers and concrete, there are
no currently available reliable constitutive models for SFRC (Meskenas et.al.,2013).
Is for that reason that, although a number of studies were conducted to investi-
gate the structural behaviour of SFRC, it is still required that rational constitutive mod-
els to represent the structural behaviour of SFRC should be developed in order to ana-

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lyze SFRC structures with or without conventional reinforcing bars (Lee, et.al.,2012)

2.1 Equivalent homogeneous model

An approximation for the simulation of the SFRC is to consider it as an ho-
mogeneous material, which among other things reduces its computational cost and the
number of variables involved in the formulation of the model. The equivalent homo-
geneous material model used here is a concrete model with identical elastic properties
in compression of a plain concrete but with a hardening/softening curve in tension,
modified due to the contribution of the fibers. The SFRC tensile behavior curve can
be obtained from direct tensile tests, indirectly from bending tests or alternatively in a
numerical form. For this, a plastic damage model is used, whose basics fundamentals
allow to simulate the multiaxial behavior of the concrete considering the phenomenon
of stiffness degradation produced from the beginning of the cracking process, in order
to better reproduce the inelastic behavior of the concrete (Lubliner et al., 1988)

2.2 Damage plasticity models

SFRC is a heterogeneous material, which shows a complex nonlinear mechan-
ical behaviour. Failure in tension and low confined compression is characterised by
softening which is defined as decreasing stress with increasing deformations. This soft-
ening response is accompanied by a reduction of the concrete stiffness, and irreversible
(permanent) deformations, which are localised in narrow zones often called cracks or
shear bands. There are many constitutive models for the nonlinear response of con-
crete proposed in the literature but the most commonly used frameworks are plastic-
ity, damage mechanics and combinations of plasticity and damage mechanics (Grassl,
et.al,2013).
In this work two plasticity-based models are used for the modelling of the
SFRC.

2.2.1 Concrete damage plasticity

This model assumes that the main two failure mechanisms are tensile cracking and
compressive crushing of the concrete material. The evolution of the yield (or failure)
surface is controlled by two hardening variables (as tensile and compressive equivalent
plastic strains) linked to failure mechanisms under tension and compression loading,
respectively.
According to this model, the uniaxial tensile and compressive response of con-
crete is characterized by damaged plasticity, as shown in Figure 1. Under uniaxial ten-
sion the stress-strain response follows a linear elastic relationship until the value of the
failure stress t0 , is reached. The failure stress corresponds to the on-set of micro-
cracking in the concrete material. Beyond the failure stress the formation of micro-
cracks is represented macroscopically with a softening stress-strain response, which

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Figure 1. Response of concrete to uniaxial loading in tension (a) and compression

(b)

induces strain localization in the concrete structure. Under uniaxial compression the
response is linear until the value of initial yield, c0 . In the plastic regime the response
is typically characterized by stress hardening followed by strain softening beyond the
ultimate stress, cu . This representation, although somewhat simplified, captures the
main features of the response of concrete.
This model was implemented using a commercial software, in which these
curves were entered by points, defining the constitutive relation of the material.

2.2.2 Coupled damage plasticity model

This model simultaneously solves the plastic problem, characterized by permanent de-
formations, with that of damage, characterized by the degradation of stiffness. The
conditions of plastic consistency and damage are satisfied simultaneously in each stage
of loading. In this way, using damage variables related to energy dissipation in each
of the processes, a correct energy dissipation of the overall process is achieved. It is a
thermodynamically consistent model and derives from a generalization of the classical
theory of plasticity (Oller, 1988) and Kachanovs isotropic damage theory. The theory
of plasticity is used as a mathematical framework.
At the same time, an adaptation of the plasticity model and coupled damage

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above-mentioned is used too. The extension of the model is achieved by modifying the
terms of the variables of hardening and adopting a yield function of second degree in
the components of the stress tensor. For this reason, in this modified criterion, maxi-
mum traction meridians and maximum compression meridians are curved rather than
straight, and a non-isotropic hardening occur (Luccioni et. al,1996).
For this models, a non-linear finite elements code called PLastic Crack dynamic
(PLCd) was used, in which the material response is introduced through analyticals
formulations which allows to describe the SFRC behavior.

3 STUDY OF FIBERS DISTRIBUTION AND ORIENTATION

In this section the problem of the distribution and orientation of the fibers in the
concrete matrix inside the tube is addressed.
Being:

V = {(, , z)/Rint Rint + e, 0 2, 0 z L} (1)

the region of the space occupied by the tube of length L, inner radius Rint and thickness
e. The location of each fiber length l f is determined by the coordinates of its midpoint
M f and its directional vector ~v f . The coordinates of the mean point expressed in cylin-
drical coordinates,( f , f , z f ), give their position in the pipe, and the pair of angles
( f , f ), with 0 f y 0 f < /2, determine the orientation of the fiber.
Be (, F , P) the probability space, where is the sample space, F is a -
Algebra on and P is the probability measure. The random vector variable :
R5 U(0, 1) is defined. Then, the position and orientation of each fiber () will be
given by (, , z, , )() with:

() = Rint + e1 ()
() = 22 ()
z() = L3 () (2)
() = 4 ()
() = 5 ()
for each .

3.1 Fiber distribution

The distribution of each fiber in the tube is done by a random draw, (realizations
of the random variable ()). Be P1 f = M f + 12~v f l f the coordinates of the ends of
each fiber, with l f the
length of the fiber; the location of a fiber is sorted and verified
that M f , P1 f , P2 f V , sufficient condition for being V a convex domain. If not,
this realization is discarded and this process is continued until the totality of fibers
corresponding to the desired fiber dosage.
Then, in order to determine the amount of fibers, it is considered an average

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portion of the tube of thickness em = 10mm and cross section corresponding to its
middle section.

Figure 2. Random fiber distribution in a SFRC pipe

In Figures 2 and 3, an example of distribution of the fibers in the tube and the
fraction thereof corresponding to the middle section considered, are illustrated respec-
tively. On the other hand, in Figure 3, different lengths of fibers can be observed in the
exemplified section due to the orientations of the fibers which are shown in projection
on the cross section considered together with the finite elements mesh used
Only those fibers which, totally or partially, are in the pipe fragment analyzed
is taken into account; and of them, only the part of the fiber of length l ef that is inside
the same.
Then, in each element of the finite element mesh the amount of fibers (in vol-
ume, vol ef ) contained is calculated and the fraction of fiber volume in each element is
determined Areae /vol ef . Finally, with the fraction of fiber volume contributed to each
element, the properties of homogeneous equivalent material corresponding to the ele-
ment are obtained, applying the classical theory of mixtures.

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Figure 3. Fibers contained in the analyzed midsection of the pipe

Figure 4. Finite elements mesh and fiber distribution: mid cross section

3.2 Fiber orientation

To analyze the effect of the fibers orientation, the average fiber angle by
element is introduced, which is given by:
N8f
i ,e lie
e = i=1N (3)
f
lie
i=1

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where N f is the number of fibers, lei is the length of the fiber i in an element and ie the
corresponding orientation (in projection). From these average angles and the amount
of fibers of each element, obtained according to the abovementioned, an equivalent
material for each finite element is defined using the classical theory of mixtures, and
e
orientation with respect to the global reference system.

4 ASSESSING OF THE MECHANICAL BEHAVIOR OF SFRC PIPES

The crushing test or three edge bearing test (see Fig.5) is the one traditionally
used for the mechanical assessment of concrete pipes and for classifying the pipes
in five strength classes. It has also been accepted, with several modifications, for the
assessment of the SFRC pipes. The test consists in the application of a longitudinal

Figure 5. Three edge bearing test or crushing test

load uniformly distributed over the upper generatrix of the pipe, which leans on two
longitudinal strips. The procedures and all the details that should be observed during
the execution of the test are specified in tne american standard ASTM C497.

5 FINITE ELEMENT MODELLING OF THE THREE EDGE BEARING

TEST
A 2D model is made to simulate the three edge bearing test already mentioned.
Both the pipe, the lower supports and the upper support were modeled.
The supports are 50mm wide and 50mm high and the spacing between them is

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50mm. The pipe was modeled using 3-node linear triangular elements in plane strain
state.
Figure 6 shows the proposed model and the mesh. Lower supports were mod-
eled as rigid elastic and are fixed at the bottom to prevent movement or rotation. Dis-
placement controlled loading was accomplished by applying a 20 mm downward dis-
placement at the upper bearing strip.

Figure 6. Finite elements mesh and model adopted

6 NUMERICAL SIMULATIONS
Two different cases are exposed. In the first case, the different constitutive mod-
els proposed for the SFRC were analyzed and compared, while in the second case the
influence of the random distribution of the fibers was analyzed through the Monte Carlo
method.

6.1 First case

Studied pipes for this case have an internal diameter of 450 mm and a wall
thickness of 82mm.
Two mixtures were studied which we will call them as SL30 (long fibers) and
SS30 (short fibers).
The table 1 shows the properties of the mixes which were used in the concrete
damage plasticity model. This parameters required by the concrete damage plasticity
model were obtained from the work of another author (Mohamed, 2015) including
uniaxial tension and compression stress-strain curves.
Table 2 shows the properties of each mix used in coupled damage plasticity
models. This properties were extracted from the Mohameds work too, and the missing

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Table 1. Properties of the mixes and parameters used in the concrete damage
plasticity model

Young Modulus (Mpa) 34500

Poissons Ratio 0.3
Dilation angle 36.51
Flow potential eccentricity 0.1
b0
c0 1.16
Kc 0.67
Viscosity parameter 0
Fluence criterion Lubliner - Oller modified by Lee and Fenves
Potencial criterion Lubliner - Oller modified by Lee and Fenves

properties were found by means of the rule of mixtures. The assumptions adopted by
the rule of mixtures theory are not always true for heterogeneous materials as SFRC,
for that reason their use in design should be used with extreme caution (Roylance,
2008).

Table 2. Mixes properties used in coupled damage plasticity models

Mix SS30 SL30

Young Modulus (Mpa) 36.45 36.45
Poissons Ratio 0.2 0.2
Comp. ult. strength(MPa) 51.54 50.78
Tension ult. strength (MPa) 11.49 10.72
Yield threshold (Mpa) 38.65 38.08
Fracture energy (N/mm) 6 6
Crushing energy (N/mm) 365.5 365.5
Fluence criterion Lubliner - Oller/ Lubliner-Oller with curved meridians
Potential criterion Lubliner-Oller /Lubliner-Oller with curved meridians

Figure 5 shows stresses diagrams in direction of the coordinate axes. The simu-
lation gives an agreement with the typical stress distribution for the three edge bearing
test, in which the highest tensile stresses are concentrated on the outer part of the tube.
This tensile stresses are especially importants because they are what cause the failure
of the pipe.
Table 3 shows the numerical results obtained for the two samples studied, which
were compared with the experimental ones provided by the work of Mohamed. As can

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Figure 7. Stresses distribution diagram

be seen, the values numerically obtained are very close to each other for the first two
models used here, meanwhile for the coupled damaged plasticity model with curved
meridians, higher loads and closer to the experimental ones were obtained.

Table 3. Ultimate loads according experimental tests and numerical model

Mix Model Used Ult. Load (KN) Exp. Ult. Load (KN)
Concrete damage plast. 194
SS30 Coup. dam. plast. (straight meridians) 203 256
Coup. dam. plast. (curved meridians) 261
Concrete damage plast. 199
SL30 Coup. dam. plast. (straight meridians) 192 273
Coup. dam. plast. (curved meridians) 257

6.2 Second case

For this case we have the following dimensions: inner radius = 150 mm, wall
thickness 69mm. In order to analyze the influence of the random distribution of the
fibers, the Monte Carlo method is used being realized 500 simulations. The procedure
followed for each simulation comprises the following steps:
A random distribution of the fibers is sorted.

The fibers that are totally or partially in the tube section corresponding to the
middle section and thickness 10 mm are determined and from them only the part
of length l f that is inside the tube fragment is considered.

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For each element of the finite element mesh the amount of fibers (in volume,
vol ef ) contained is calculated and the fraction of fiber volume in each element is
determined Areae /vol ef .

With the fraction of fiber volume contributed to each element the properties of the
homogeneous equivalent material corresponding to the element are calculated by
applying classical mixing theory.

Two different dosages of fibers were considered: 20kg/m3 and 40kg/m3 . In

Table 2 the characteristics of the mixtures are indicated.

Table 4. Mechanical properties of concrete mix.

Properties 20kg/m3 40kg/m3
Young Modulus (MPa) 34850 37770
Poissons Ratio 0.2 0.2
Ult. Tension Strength (MPa) 5.4 7.31
Ult. Compression Strength (MPa) 52.88 58.02
Yield Threshold (MPa) 40 43.5
Plastic hardening variable 0.2 0.2
Fracture energy (N/mm) 6 6
Crushing energy (N/mm) 365.5 365.5
Yield Criterion Lubliner-Oller
Potential Criterion Lubliner-Oller

As in the previous case, the properties of the mixtures were extracted from
the work of Mohamed. In order to analyze the validity of the model, the numerical
values of the failure loads obtained here are compared with experimental values of
other authors (Mohamed et al., 2014) and with those obtained previously using a unique
homogeneous equivalent material model (Ferrado et al., 2015).
The histograms of Figures 8 a) and b) show the values corresponding to the
tube failure load obtained from the Monte Carlo simulations.
Their respective means and standard deviations are indicated in each case. From
these graphs it can be seen that the distribution of the fibers has a significant influence
on the loading capacity of the tube.
Also shown in figure 9, diagrams of convergence of accumulated mean and
cumulative standard deviation, from which it is concluded that 500 simulations are
enough to obtain statistical results with a good approximation.
As can be seen, this model better matches the results previously obtained with
a single homogeneous equivalent material model.
Finally, table 5 shows the numerical results obtained together with those of
Mohamed et al 2014 and Ferrado et al 2015.

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Figure 8. Failure loads histograms for fiber dosage of a) 20 kg/m3 b) 40 kg/m3

Figure 9. Convergence diagrams of accumulated mean and cumulative standard

deviation

7 CONCLUDING REMARKS
In this work the mechanical behavior of SFRC pipes was studied by the simula-
tion of the three edge bearing test. For this purpose two different numerical tools were

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Table 5. Failure loads a) Mohamed et. al. 2014, b) Ferrado et. al. 2015, c) This
work (mean value)
Fiber dosage (a) Pf Experim. (N/mm) (b) Pf Homog. Mod (N/mm) (c) This work (N/mm)
20 kg/m3 151 160 153.13
40 kg/m 3 160 171 165.7

used. From the results obtained, it can be said that by means of the proposed model
the stresses generated in the crushing test can be appreciated, and among the proposed
SFRC models, the modified coupled damage plasticity model is the one that best fit the
experimental results.
In addition, a methodology was also proposed to analyze the effect of fiber dis-
tribution on the mechanical behavior of the tubes using the finite elements method to-
gether with the Monte Carlo method. The results obtained using this methods, showed a
better approximation in relation to the unique equivalent homogeneous material model
(Ferrado et. al., 2015.). The effect of the orientation of the fibers was considered ac-
cording to a weighted average angle, and from that dominant orientation, the properties
of the equivalent homogeneous material are obtained.
As a next stage, the use of a micromodel is proposed instead of a equivalent
homogeneous model, that explicitly consider the fibers as discrete elements inside the
cementitious mix,taking into account the possible debonding and fiber slipping from
the matrix.

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