Multivariable Regression Strength Model for Steel Fiber-Reinforced Concrete Beams under Torsion

Torsional behavior and analysis of steel fiber reinforced concrete (SFRC) beams is investigated in this paper. The purpose of this study is twofold; to examine the torsion strength models for SFRC beams available in the literature and to address properly verified design formulations for SFRC beams under torsion. A total of 210 SFRC beams tested under torsion from 16 different experimental investigations around the world are compiled. The few strength models available from the literature are adapted herein and used to calculate the torsional strength of the beams. The predicted strength is compared with the experimental values measured by the performed torsional tests and these comparisons showed a room for improvement. First, a proposed model is based on optimizing the constants of the existing formulations using multi-linear regression. Further, a second model is proposed, which is based on modifying the American Concrete Institute (ACI) design code for reinforced concrete (RC) members to include the effect of steel fibers on the torsional capacity of SFRC beams. Applications of the proposed models showed better compliance and consistency with the experimental results compared to the available design models providing safe and verified predictions. Further, the second model implements the ACI code for RC using a simple and easy-to-apply formulation.