Glass fiber reinforced

concrete (GFRC)
A new composite for construction
BY WALLACE NEAL*

eep-profile precast panels two stories tall and

10 feet(1) wide provide a curtain wall facing for
the Lutheran Social Services office building addition built in Minneapolis during 1975.
Theyre unusual: each panel weighs only 2000 pounds.(2)
A typical precast concrete panel in this design weighs
about 14,000 pounds.(3)
The high flexural strength of glass fiber re i n f o rc e d
concrete (GFRC) made the dramatic weight saving possible. The panels are impressively strong despite the fact
that average thickness is only 34 inch.(4) New on the construction scene and still in the development stage, GFRC
is described by one British researcher as without doubt
one of the major new material developments, if not the
most important, to be realized during the past 40 to 50
years.
More than 100 firms now manufacture the product
throughout the world. Most are in the U.S., Great Britain
and Japan. Products now made commercially range
from large building panels to livestock watering troughs.
So far, the two producers of alkali-resistant glass fibers
who license or control fiber sales to end-product manufacturers are limiting recommended uses to modest,
nonstructural and semistructural applications. The two
fiber producers are Owens-Corning Fiberglas Corporation, Toledo, Ohio, and Pilkington Brothers Limited,
England. Pilkingtons fibers are distributed in the United States by Cem-Fil Corporation, Nashville, Tennessee
(jointly owned by Pilkington and Ferro Co r p o ra t i o n ,
Cleveland, Ohio).
These two firms are conducting tests on the effects
on GFRC of aging and weathering in various parts of the
world. Results, as some test installations move into their
sixth and seventh years, are encouraging. Glass fiber engineers are likely to broaden recommendations to include more demanding applications before too long;

* Wallace Neal is a professional freelance writer, consultant and researcher

with 24 years of construction industry background. His articles appear in a
number of construction and general business publications. He has been for
many years an active member of the Minneapolis-St. Paul chapter of the
Construction Specification Institute.
Numbers in parentheses refer to metric equivalents listed with this article.
The proprietary initials GRC for glass fiber reinforced cement and the
generic initials FRC for fiber glass reinforced cement have been widely
used for products made of fiber glass and cement, even when they contain
aggregate and are really concrete. In this article the initials GFRC will be
used throughout to denote glass fiber reinforced concrete, although in
some cases the products described may not actually contain any aggregate.

FIBER REINFORCEMENT RESEARCH

Reinforcing a matrix with fibers isnt new. Nature
has a good head star t on usbeavers pack mud into
inter twined branches to build their amazingly strong
houses and dams. Barn swallows, robins and other
birds build sturdy little mud nests reinforced with
straw or twigs. Early man may have noted these benefits of reinforcement materials when he mixed straw into his sun-baked clay bricks and, more recently, when
he mixed horsehair into plaster.
Strengthening cement by adding fibers dates back to
1908, when asbestos-cement entered the market. This
fiber-cement composite soon became a major building
product because it overcame the main weakness of cement productsbrittleness. Reinforced concrete depends upon the addition of continuous reinforcement
such as steel rebars or welded wire fabric, to give it
necessary tensile strength. Asbestos-cement, however,
obtains strength from dispersed tiny fibers, so that
making thin board products, shingles, siding, pipe and
a number of other products is possible.
The nature of asbestos-cement manufacture favors
mass factor y production of standard shapes. The desire for a more versatile product, one that could even
be field mixed and applied, as well as the recent
stress on hazards of asbestos fibers have helped
stimulate accelerated research on other synthetic
fibers for cement product reinforcement.
There were earlier effor ts, but serious synthetic
fiber research really star ted in the late fifties and early
sixties, and commercial products and applications
have only begun to appear in the last five or six years.
Researchers have evaluated a number of fibers, including carbon steel, stainless steel, carbon, various
plastics, rock wool and glass. The success of glass
fiber reinforcement for plastics had made glass fiber
mixed into cement and concrete look like a winner. Researchers struck out when they first tried this, however. Test samples were initially strong but the strength
dropped off as the samples aged because the highly
alkaline environment provided by por tland cement attacked sur faces of the glass fibers.
In 1971, scientists at Pilkington and the Building
Research Establishment, also in England, announced
joint development of an alkali-resistant glass fiber. In
the U.S., Owens-Corning had developed an alkali-resistant fiber concurrently. The two firms subsequently
worked out a technology exchange and both are doing
continuing research on the fibers. Pilkington received
The Concrete Society Innovation Award for 1974 for
its work on the material.

TABLE I. Typical ranges of physical properties at 28 days of GFRC

applied by direct spray
Property

U.S. customary units

SI metric units

Modulus of rupture
(ultimate flexural
strength)

3000 to 4600
psi

21 to 32
megapascals

Limit of
proportionality
(ultimate tensile
strength)

1000 to 1600
psi

7 to 11
megapascals

Compressive
strength

7200 to 11,400
psi

50 to 79
megapascals

57 to 143
Impact strength
per square inch

inch pounds
newtons per meter

10,000 to 25,000

Youngs modulus
(elasticity)

1.5 to 3.0 x 106

psi

10,500 to 20,500
megapascals

Density

105 to 130 pounds

per cubic foot

1.70 to 2.10
megagrams
per cubic meter

Source: Cem-Fil Corporation

eventual use for major load-bearing elements appears

imminent, if test results continue to be good.

Physical properties of GFRC

With the alkalinity problem apparently licked (see
box), research has advanced on physical properties and
applications of glass fiber cement and concrete composites. Properties vary of course, depending on fiber content, fiber size, fiber orientation, water-cement ratio,
type of cement, use of aggregates, use of admixtures, and
techniques of mixing and application. In general, as a
composite GFRC has characteristics intermediate between the rigidity and compressive strength of cement
and the high tensile strength of glass fiber. Typical physical properties are shown in Table I.
Understandably, physical properties are stated conservatively and caution is used in recommending applications. Test results to date are very good, both accelerated and real time. Unlike cement and concrete
products, the strength of GFRC falls off after initial curing, but the rate of loss decreases with time.
Nevertheless, GFRC scores high enough in strength to
suggest many uses where its properties can be used to
advantage, even allowing ample safety factors. Its impact
resistance is 20 times that of asbestos-cement. Glass
fiber reinforced concrete offers two to three times the
flexural strength of unreinforced concrete. Moreover, the
material under increasing load doesnt fail abruptly but
yields gradually.
Theorists in the mechanics of cement and concrete
suggest tensile failure begins with microcracks and microscopic separations. These combine into a cohesive
crack, a weakness which quickly travels in brittle cement

and causes a break. The presence of glass fibers provides

crack arresters. When the first crack occurs in the matrix,
the strong fibers pick up the load. That support is
stronger than the matrix itself, so the next crack must occur elsewhere. More loading adds only new cracks, immediately arrested, rather than causing first cracks to
p ro p a g a t e. Failure develops as a gradual, plastic-like
yielding. Fractus when fibers pull out or break.

Composition of GFRC
Ge n e ra l l y, higher cement contents are used in cement-sand mixtures and concretes that contain glass
fiber reinforcement than in those that do not, particularly when more than minimal amounts of fiber are
added. A lower content and smaller size of coarse aggregate in GFRC concrete is also typical. The GFRC mix is
stiffer, with less slump. Workability thus decreases. Since
addition of excess water should be avoided because it
produces weaker concrete, water-reducing admixtures
are frequently used to ease placing and finishing. Normally Type I portland cement is used. Vibration is needed to consolidate the placed material.
Fibers are normally supplied in either continuous or
chopped strands. GFRC producers who buy continuous
strands use a rotary-blade device to chop them into the
mix. A strand is usually a bundle of 204 individual filaments, each of which is 0.0005 inch(5) in diameter. Due
to the addition of sizing on the surfaces of the filaments
they remain bound into a strand in the cement matrix.
Experiments with binders which permit filaments to be
individually dispersed have produced concrete with
lower physical properties and less workability.
Commonly used fiber lengths are 0.5, 1, 1.5, and 2
inches.(6) Because batch mixing requires use of shorter
fibers to obtain more uniform fiber distribution, the 1inch(7) length is commonly used. Sp ra y-head mixing permits use of longer fibers, often the 1.5-inch(8) length. One
producer has developed a spray-head system which permits use of 4-inch(9) fibers.
Flexural strength of GFRC increases up to a fiber content of about 7 percent by volume. As fiber content increases, density decreases because it is more difficult to
compact and dewater the mix. For most spra y- h e a d mixed products glass fiber content is generally 4 to 5 percent. For batch-mixed products fiber content tends to be
less. Putting more fibers in a mixer makes it more difficult to achieve completely unifo the fiber surfaces. For
batch-mixed product applications, howe ve r, high fiber
content is often not critical. Often a desired pro p e rt y
such as crack resistance is achieved with as little as 0.25
percent fiber content.

Production methods
Three practical methods are being used to produce
GFRC.
Premixing
Premix is simply batch-mixed GFRC, using conven-

Photo courtesy of Cem-Fil Corporation

Photo courtesy of Glas-Con Inc.

Crews place a curtain wall panel of GFRC concrete 10 feet

by 21 feet 6 inches(11) averaging 34 inch(4) in thickness and
weighing 2000 pounds(32) on the Lutheran Social Services
building, Minneapolis. The panel has a deep shadow box
profile with integral window frames in the recesses. Part of
the tan colored surface is fluted and part is smooth.
used with good distribution, and permits use of longer
fibers. The result is a stronger composite. Sheet material
can be made. The sheets are initially plastic but cohesive
enough to be lifted soon after making and shaped to a
mold. Profile suction molds can also be used.
This 30-inch(33) GFRC sewer pipe has a straight exterior
and thin walls, yet meets strength requirements. Field
tested, it is now marketed commercially in England.
tional concrete mixing equipment. It is the simplest
process and requires minimal capital outlay. St re n g t h
levels achieved are more modest than those with the
spray processes, because high fiber concentration is difficult and because the fibers become randomly oriented
in three dimensions. The premixed material is usually
placed into a mold and vibrated but it can alternatively
be applied by trowel or spray.
There is experimental evidence that when coarse aggregate is used mixing and compaction may cause damage to fibers, decreasing the GFRC strength. To minimize
this possibility, the glass is added near the end of the
mixing cycle.
Automatic spray-suction process
The second method is a spray-head mixing process
which can be adapted to continuous-line factory production. This automatic spray-suction process consists
of spraying a fairly wet cement slurry and simultaneously chopping fiber strands onto a perforated pan covered with filter media. Suction removes excess water and
helps compact the material. The method produces twodimensional fiber orientation, allows more fibers to be

Direct-spray mixing
The third method is a spray-head mixing technique
similar to that used for reinforced plastics. Not limited by
vibrator-mounted casting molds or by suction machinery, the direct-spray method is versatile and produces a
product with the strength advantages of automatic
s p ra y-suction process products. It is sophisticated but
has a broad range of applications, including large panels
with thin cross sections and complex profiles.
The direct-spray method warrants a more detailed description because the end products can be varied and
complex. Here are the production steps used by one firm
specializing in the process:
A glass-fiber-reinforced plastic mold is made to the required pattern and coated with a release agent. GFRC is
applied from a spray head that combines a cement-sand
slurry gun and a glass fiber chopper. Typically the applied thickness averages 38 to 34 inch.(10)
The mix is then compacted with a disc roller to remove air bubbles and ensure that the material conforms
to the mold. Anchors, inserts or reinforcing steel are
placed, and over them additional material is spra ye d
and rolled. An alternative technique is to spray up a flat
sheet at the same time the mold is sprayed. The sheet is
cohesive enough to be picked up and laid over the anchors and reinforcement. The sheet is formed to envelop
the reinforcement and lap onto the original coat, and is

Photo courtesy of Owens-Corning Fiberglas Corporation

The worker is securing a 115-pound(34) GFRC curtain wall panel to the building frame by welding. An unerected panel is in
foreground. Structure is an office-retail shops building in Dayton, Ohio.
then rolled to bond the two layers together.
The completed section is cured in the mold for about
16 hours, then stripped and moist cured in polyethylene wrapping for 7 days.

Applications
The cost of GFRC by the cubic yard is not low because
adding glass fiber to a cubic yard of concrete can
quadruple its raw material cost. Producing GFRC is at
least as labor intensive as producing regular concrete
p ro d u c t s. A typical thin-wall GFRC product may cost
$4.00 to $8.00 per square foot.(11)
Shape, aesthetics, surface characteristics and weight
savings are what make GFRC an ideal product for some
kinds of applications. For these, despite its bulk cost,
GFRC can offer savings in cost.
Adding glass fiber to cement creates a composite
which can be molded in fine detail. Corners and thin
sections have high impacchipping, making fine detailing
practical. The molded surface of GFRC is smooth, aesthetically pleasing, easy to maintain and resistant to water penetration.
G F RC s high flexural strength makes possible deepprofile concrete shapes made with thin-wall sections, so
that hollowed-out units can be made. This advantage

can be utilized, for example, in the sculptured facade

cladding of a building to eliminate the mass otherwise
needed for deep relief in ordinary concrete.
In the Lutheran Social Services building mentioned
in the beginning of this article, GFRC panels weighed
one-seventh what architectural precast concrete sections would have. Those panels, typically 10 feet by 21
feet 6 inches(12) were removed from molds and handled in
the shop with an ordinary fork lift truck. The plastic
molds themselves were relatively light. Massive forms
would have been needed for regular deep-section precast panels which would have had to be about 6 inches(13)
thick. The 7-ton(14) cast sections would have re q u i re d
heavy-duty cast-in attachments for lifting, and could not
have been handled by a light-duty crane.
GFRC offers the architect freedom to design complex
shapes in large, light sections with the option of using
color and texture and achieving fine detail. Molds are
sufficiently inexpensive to justify reusing them the limited number of times required by a small project. Sandwich panels with foam insulation are easily made.
The tendency toward shrinkage cracking is greatly reduced in GFRC. For this reason it has been used for septic tanks, burial vaults, picnic tables and tra n s f o rm e r
pads. Concrete industrial floors up to 100 feet(15) in length

TABLE II. SOME VARIED

APPLICATIONS OF GFRC
Sewer pipe: No steel; thin walls; in-wall joint, not bell
joint
Retaining walls: Made of hollow hexagonal GFRC units
linked by steel bars
Coffer units: Integral forms for wide-span structural
concrete floor
Corrugated sheets: Integral forms for bridge deck
Sewer liner: Thin, grooved cur ved sheets assembled
with bolts to make jointed tube liner for deteriorated
sewer. Grout pumped through holes in liner to fill between it and existing sewer
Ventilation ducts: For underground parking structure.
Wall thickness varied from 12 to 1 inch.(18) Ducts designed to withstand impact of car at 5 miles per hour(19)

This hollow GFRC base being lowered into an excavation

will support pad-mounted electrical gear at approximately
ground level. Such units will support up to 7500 pounds(25) of
equipment.
have been successfully placed without contraction
joints.
Specific examples of some of the other varied applications for GFRC are given in Table II. Some have been
produced primarily for field testing. Others have been
produced commercially.

Future uses of GFRC

The GFRC industry is enthusiastic but cautious in
speaking of future applications of this composite. The
industry is not just waiting for time-related data; further
testing under stress conditions and other research has to
be conducted, and it is anticipated that it may be three
or four years at least before the industry can commit itself to promoting purely structural uses, depending on
what happens in testing. Various firms are now building
structural prototypes for testing and evaluating, including a shell roof structure in Germany.
If no snags occur in the continuing development of
GFRC, we may see some interesting products in a few
years. Some of those listed in Table III are already under
development.

Precast trench lids: 34 by 20 by 32 inches,(20) weighing

50 pounds,(21) compared with 125 pounds(22) for concrete lids
Equipment bases: For electrical industr y. Up to 30
inches by 6 feet by 6 feet(23) with 58-inch(24) walls, to support equipment weighing up to 7500 pounds(25)
Pavement overlays: Test slabs for highways and runways. 6-inch-thick(26) GFRC slab equivalent in per formance (in test slabs in Texas and Ohio) to 8-inchthick(27) steel-reinforced concrete
Fire-resistant coverings: 38-inch-thick(28) GFRC integral
form used to cast 8-inch-square(29) reinforced concrete
column. In Building Research Establishment (England)
fire test, the column sustained its load 100 minutes
compared with 40 minutes for a column cast in wood
forms. Improved fire resistance attributed to prevention of spalling over rebars at corners
Artificial rock: For zoos, marine aquariums, and similar exhibits. Actual rock formations utilized to create
the molds used
Simulated wood shake roofing shingles: 58- by 15- by
36-inch(30) panels made by replica molding
Marine uses: Schooner, workboats, pontoons, buoys
Miscellaneous: Acoustic foam-lined trough for air conditioner, infant caskets and vaults, planters, litter bins,
picnic tables, street signs, junction boxes, wheels for
traffic striping, watering troughs for livestock

Design precautions
While using engineering calculations based on published physical properties and applying suitable safety
factors may be adequate for established materials, development of GFRC applications which are at all critical
or dependent on structural behavior should proceed
more conservatively. An essential first step should be to
consult with a GFRC producer because each producer
has a close working relationship with the research labs of
a fiber manufacturer. Products which will be exposed to
wind loads and other stresses, such as building panels,
should be load tested.
Drying shrinkage and moisture-induced expansion is

greater in GFRC than in ordinary concrete. Moisture-volume change will tend to dictate maximum dimensions.
Jointing and anchoring must allow for such movement.
The wall thickness of direct-sprayed GFRC should be
kept to a minimum, for economy in weight and material. A practical average thickness may be 38 to 34 inch(10) depending on application, allowing for minimums due to
surface variations of from 14 to 12 inch.(16) Stiffness is then
providedns, contours or attached studs.
Because GFRC panels are thin in contrast to precast
concrete sections they can warp more readily if designed
improperly. For example, applying an impervious coat-

TABLE III. SOME POSSIBLE

FUTURE USES OF GFRC
Large shell structures: Prototype 28-foot-diameter(31)
domes 10 feet(1) high placed on membrane that is later
inflated by air
Modular housing units: Especially for developing
countries
Plaster repair coats: For deteriorating concrete structures. Test installations made on locks and dams
Accurate replicas: To reproduce deteriorating decorative features of historic buildings, such as metal
draperies, flowers and gargoyles. Plastic molds can be
made directly from existing pieces
Extruded window sills and copings: Extrusion process
reorients fibers parallel to axis of extrusion and improves flexural strength. Some cross-sectional shapes
that cannot be cast can be extruded
Miscellaneous: Pedestrian skyway bridge enclosures,
acoustical ceiling panels, roof decks, roof tiles, transmission towers, light standards, pools and foundations

ing to one side may create an imbalance in moisture-induced movement. Thermal expansion and contraction
of GFRC is similar to that of ordinary concrete. It is possible, howe ve r, that a very large sandwich panel with insulation core could bow due to temperature extremes
between inner and outer surfaces, intensified by the insulation.
One fiber producer cautions against the embedment
of large or long sections of rebar or other steel into
GFRC, saying it may cause distortion or cracking due to
the shrinkage of the concrete. They recommend casting
in attachment sockets and keeping the large metal sections external to the panel.
Bridging of fibers has been a potential problem when
spraying into sharp angles, fine projections, grooves or
slots, or spraying around inserts such as sockets. Fibers
bridge across narrowly spaced points and dont receive
an adequate cover of cement matrix. Weakness results in
such areas. This may be dealt with to some extent by care
in spraying and rolling. Recent research to create a softer fiber may lead to reduced bridging problems.

panel contractor or manufacturer. Items to be specified

in other sections include structural support, framing
and backup walls, anchors embedded in the structure,
caulking and final cleaning and protection.

Outlook
GFRC is on the scene. Although a new arrival, future
success seems assured, enhanced by its parentage. The
product is being carefully shepherded by the two substantial corporations who developed and produce the
alkali-resistant glass fiber: Owens-Corning and Pilkington. Both companies have conducted much research on
GFRC and are actively continuing product development
and evaluation.
A variety of construction industry products has been
made of GFRC with the major volume emphasis being
on building panels. Even as testing continues, cautious
consideration of new more demanding uses is likely
where there are cost or strength advantages despite a
high raw material price. In the future, the cost FRC and
conventional materials may possibly narrow, opening
up broader applications.

Editors note:
This article has been reprinted by permission of the Construction Specifications Institute, 1150 Seventeenth Street,
N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036. It originally appeared in The
Construction Specifier, March 1977, pages 20-23, 26-28,
30-32.

Metric equivalents
(1) 3 meters

(19) 8 kilometers per hour

(2) 910 kilograms

(20) 19 by 510 by 810 millimeters

(3) 6350 kilograms

(21) 22.5 kilograms

(4) 19 millimeters

(22) 57 kilograms

(5) 0.013 millimeters

(23) 0.760 by 1.83 by 1.83 meters

(6) 13, 25, 38 and 51 millimeters

(24) 16-millimeter

(7) 25-millimeter

(25) 3400 kilograms

(8) 38-millimeter

(26) 150-millimeter-thick

(9) 100-millimeter

(27) 200-millimeter-thick

(10) 10 to 19 millimeters

(28) 9-millimeter-thick

(11) $43 to $86 per square meter

(29) 200-millimeter-square

(12) 3.05 by 6.55 meters

(30) 16- by 380- by 915-millimeter

Specifying GFRC

(13) 150 millimeters

(31) 8.5-meter-diameter

A performance approach to specifying GFRC building

components is appro p ri a t e. Specifiers should tolerate
preferences in production, structural design, anchorage
and erection techniques. This may be done by stating
s t ru c t u ral and aesthetic results to be achieved and by
requiring complete details in shop drawings. Required
submittals should also include range-bracketing samples for color and texture. Load tests on each typical
panel or similar GFRC component should be required.
The panel specification section should include cast-in
anchors, related loose anchorage parts, cast-in lifting inserts if required, and erection as responsibilities of the

(14) 6.4-megagram

(32) 910 kilograms

(15) 30 meters

(33) 760-millimeter

(16) 6 to 13 millimeters

(34) 52-kilogram

(17) 125 millimeters

(18) 13 to 25 millimeters

PUBLICATION#C780644
Copyright 1978, The Aberdeen Group
All rights reserved