Prestressing effect of embedded Fe-based SMA wire on the flexural behavior of mortar beams

This paper investigates the stress recovery stress induced in the newly developed Fe-based SMA and then studies the prestressing effect of embedded Fe-SMA wires on the flexural behavior of mortar beams. To evaluate deflection variations of the beams during heating and cooling using an external heating source at the bottom, we increase the temperature in two types of reinforced and unreinforced mortar beams. Under developed prestressing force, several three-point bending tests are carried out to analyze the bending stress in the Fe-SMA reinforced specimens. Moreover, the crack propagation and failure modes of each specimen are investigated. Experimental data indicates that prestressing force can more than double the fracture deformation capacity and decrease the resultants stress by about 28% in both tensile and compressive parts of mortar beams.