Steel fibres have obvious benefits when to be used in ‘self leveling or self compacting concrete’.
Reinforced concrete and prestressed concrete have been developed in order to remediate to this weak point.
As the concrete cracks they transfer the tension across the crack, guaranteeing a post crack load bearing capacity.
-beam test: a standard beam is subjected to 4 point bending. Load versus deflection is being recorded. Absorbed energy quantities are translated in toughness indices (USA) or an equivalent flexural strength (Japan, Europe). Another way to do the test is to record the load versus the crack opening.