CONSTRUCTION COMPANY PVT LTD

BANGALORE

ADVANTAGES & BENEFITS OF

SYNTHETIC FIBRES IN CONCRETE FLOORING &
PLASTERING APPLICATIONS

BY
T.S. RAJAGOPALAN
DIRECTOR TECHNICAL
19th August 2004
INTRODUCTION TO SECONDARY REINFORCEMENT OF
CONSTRUCTION BY FIBRES
 The idea of using fibers in concrete materials dates back to Roman and Egyptians period
 Romans included bits of horsehair in the construction of
 ROMAN COLISEUM which was built in 80 AD
 The Egyptians used straw in their bricks used for constructions
 There are other historical references like TIPU Palace at Sriranganapatna and GOL GUMBAZ
at Bijapur, where fiber reinforcement have been used in mortar
DRAW BACKS IN CONCRETE FLOORING WORKS

 Plastic shrinkage and plastic settlement cracks

 Less abrasion resistance and impact resistance of floors
 Weak construction joints
 Periodic maintenance of floors due to less durability
 Faster wearing of top floor surface
DRAW BACKS IN PLASTERING WORKS
 Development of plastic shrinkage cracks in the initial stage of plastering
 High rebound loss of mortar
 High water and moisture absorption from external environment
 Less cohesive mix due to segregation
 Development of thermal and drying shrinkage cracks at the hardened surface
of plastering
 More maintenance of the walls required in terms of frequent waterproofing and painting
of the buildings
 Ugly crack patches
DEVELOPMENT OF FIBER REINFORCEMENT

 Generation 1 - Vegetable Fibers - Straw, Jute and Cotton, Coconut

Fiber / Coir
 Generation 2 - Horse hair, Sheep’s Wool
 Generation 3 - Glass, Polyester, Nylon, Polypropylene and Steel
COMPARISON WITH VARIOUS TYPES OF FIBERS

 Glass - Expensive, Causes itching, Hazardous

 Steel - Corrosion, Dead Weight, Expensive, Mixing Problem

 Nylon - Very Expensive

WHAT FIBRE DOES?
 Holds aggregates & does not allow separation of coarse aggregate due to
vibration /gravity
 Results move uniform concrete to concrete

Fiber allows slow transfer of water to surface, resulting in reduction of cracks
ACCEPTANCE CRITERIA FOR CONCRETE WITH SYNTHETIC FIBERS
 Synthetic fibers are added to concrete to reduce plastic shrinkage cracking
of reinforced concrete and structural plain concrete and/or to reduce
shrinkage and temperature cracking in structural plain concrete slabs on
grade
 Consideration to be given to the volume, size and type of fibers used
 The fibers are regarded as an admixture and are used in addition to any
structural reinforcement, shrinkage and temperature reinforcement and
joints as required in the applicable code
 The fibers may be used in concrete over steel deck construction
 The fibers may be used in fire-resistive construction on steel decks
BIND / HOLD CEMENT PARTICLE
M/s CALIBER CONSTRUCTIONS CO PVT LTD EXPERIENCE IN USING
SYNTHETIC FIBERS IN PLASTERING APPLICATIONS

 We have started using locally manufactured polyester synthetic fibers for

plastering and flooring applications for the last TWO years
 Our experiences with fibers are very much useful, encouraging with
advantages and hidden benefits
 We immensely feel that using of fibers as secondary reinforcement in all
construction applications should be adopted by construction industry
PROJECTS OF M/S CALIBER CONSTRUCTIONS
 In the following projects we have used synthetic fibers for plastering applications

FIBER REINFORCED PLASTERING IN OUR PROJECTS

SL NO PROJECT NAME BUILT UP AREA APPLICATIONS PLACE

Internal & External Electronics City,
1 M/s Shreetronics Enterprises 17000 Sft plastering Bangalore
Internal & External Electronics City,
2 M/s Velankani Information Systems Ltd 135000 Sft plastering Bangalore
Internal & External Avalahalli,
3 M/s Impact Safety Glass Works Pvt Ltd 40000 Sft plastering Bangalore
Kodihalli,
4 M/s Bhupathi Tennis Academy Pvt Ltd 23000 Sft External plastering Bangalore
Internal & External Lavelle Road,
5 Apartment for Mr. Kiron Shah 7000 Sft plastering Bangalore
Common Amenity Centre for Electronics Internal & External Electronics City,
6 City Industries Association 12500 Sft plastering Bangalore
SYNTHETIC FIBERS USED FOR CONCRETE FLOORING AT OUR PROJECTS

CONCRETE FLOORING WORKS

SL NO PROJECT NAME BUILT UP AREA APPLICATIONS
Concrete industrial flooring and
1 Impact Safety Glass Works Pvt Ltd 40000 Sft road pavement

2 Bhupathi Tennis Academy Pvt Ltd 23000 Sft Concrete Tennis Courts

3 Mt. Meru Apartments, Hyderabad 7000 Sft Concrete Tennis Court

VELANKANI TECH PARK
VELANKANI TECH PARK
 TENNIS COURTS
NIKE - BHUPATHI TENNIS VILLAGE
Tennis Court at Mt. Meru Apartments, Hyderabad
Tennis Court at Mt. Meru Apartments, Hyderabad
IMPACT SAFETY GLASS WORKS PVT LTD
ELCIA COMMON AMENITY CENTER
SHREETRONICS
RESIDENTIAL APARTMENT AT LAVELLE ROAD
ADVANTAGES & BENEFITS OF USING FIBERS IN PLASTERING
AT OUR PROJECTS
 Fibers were instrumental in reducing shrinkage cracks
 Rebound loss of the mortar has been reduced to 10 % instead of 30 to 40 % with out fibers in the mortar
 There is no Dampness and leakage of plastered walls
 Better finish of wall surface
 Increased strength of mortar due to which more durable and long lasting constructions
 Savings due to economic mix designs and more durable plastered surface
 Compressive strength of plaster was increased by over 15-20%
 Results in Cement savings up to 3%
 Increase in labour productivity by over 5%
ADVATAGES & BENIFITS OF USING FIBERS IN CONCRETE FLOORING WORKS

 The use of fibers has improved the abrasion resistance of concrete floors to
moving loads
 No appearance of plastic shrinkage and plastic settlement cracks on the concrete
floor surface
 Service life of the floor is enhanced due to high durable concrete produced with
synthetic fibers
 Improved impact resistance of floors to point loads
 Concrete mix with fibers was cohesive with better workability
 Compressive strength of plaster was increased by over 8-10%
CONCLUSION AND PATH FORWARD

 Use of Synthetic Fibers in all construction applications should be encouraged by

the construction industry
 Different types of fibers should be developed to address each specific need of
construction applications
 Construction industry should encourage new technologies like fibers
reinforcement in construction to a larger extent for improving the durability and
serviceability of the building and structures
We look forward to cementing a relationship with you.

Thank you

CONTACT
No. 43, Electronics City Phase II,
Hosur Road, Bangalore-560 100.
Phone: +91-80-2501 4008, Fax: +91-80-2852 3934
Email: info@calibercompany.com