Department of Architectural Engineering and Civil Engineering, Hoseo University, Korea
Effect of Steel Fiber Reinforced Concrete Performance Improvement According to Steel Fiber Shape
In many Asian countries and urban areas where apartment complexes are prevalent, inter-floor noise particularly between upper and lower units has become a serious issue. In Korea, a variety of national policies and regulatory systems have been implemented to address this widespread social concern. The most common engineering approach involves increasing the thickness of floor slabs to enhance their stiffness, thereby reducing heavy-weight impact sound, which is a dominant component of inter-floor noise. However, increasing slab thickness leads to structural drawbacks, such as added dead load and reduced story height, which limit the applicability of this solution. Therefore, there is an urgent need for more efficient and structurally sustainable alternatives. This study aims to reduce inter-floor impact noise by improving the cracked stiffness of floor slabs through the use of steel fiber reinforced concrete (SFRC), rather than simply increasing slab thickness. The initial phase of the research focused on optimizing the shape of steel fibers to enhance post-cracking behavior and stiffness. Experimental and analytical investigations were carried out to evaluate the influence of fiber shape and tensile strength on performance, with the goal of identifying an optimal fiber configuration. Future work will involve verifying the effectiveness of the optimized steel fibers in reducing impact noise transmission through floor systems.