Long-term behaviour of cracked SFRC beams exposed to aggressive environment

This work describes the first results of an experimental campaign aimed at investigating the long-term behaviour of cracked Steel Fibre Reinforced Concrete (SFRC) beams exposed to an aggressive en-vironment. Initially, the beams were pre-cracked, unloaded and then reloaded for the long-term test with a constant load, in a four-point bending scheme. During the test one of the beams was exposed to drying-wetting cycles of a 5% NaCl solution while the other beam was left unexposed. The long-term test lasted for about 8 months and was performed in a climate-controlled room. The mid-span deflection and the crack open-ing of the beams were monitored for the entire length of the test. At the end of the long-term test the beams were loaded up to failure. The first results show that the effects of the exposure to the aggressive environment are quite limited on both the long-term behaviour and the ultimate strength.