An attempt to the determination of the partial safety factor for SFRC members subjected to bending forces

Abstract

In the last few years, research on techniques that permit the reduction or even the complete elimination of structural bar reinforcements has been intensified. The addition of steel fibres to the concrete matrix is proven to be an effective way of covering the deficiencies in this material when subjected to tensile stress. However, there still exists uncertainty surrounding some of the basis of design of structural members in ultimate condition. A clear example is the partial safety factor applied to the tensile strength. In this paper, a reliability-based analysis is carried out through the study of a particular application, such as the tunnel lining concrete segments built in an experimental section of the L9 Metro tunnel in Barcelona, solely reinforced with steel fibres. Specimens were extracted from three different segments and tested in tension by using the Barcelona test. Such a representative sample of tensile strength results made possible an assessment of the degree of the existing safety in this particular case by applying the reliability method FORM. The reliability analysis suggested a partial factor equal to 1.77. This would represent a first step to obtain the general material safety factor, which may involve a calibration in a wide range of tunnel segments and afterwards, other structural members and applications of SFRC.