CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS 1

DBG 182

TOPIC : FIBER REINFORCED CONCRETE

Building Materials
Great architecture are derived from fundamental building materials...
LEARNING OUTCOME
Upon completion of this lecture, the student will be able to:

• Explain the definition of FRC

• Describe the roles and functions of FRC

• Classify the types of fibers

• Identify the factors affecting the properties of FRC

• Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of FRC

LECTURE CONTENT
1. History
2. Definition
3. Roles of fiber
4. Types of fiber
5. Advantages of FRC
6. Disadvantages of FRC
7. Application of FRC
HISTORY
• BC: horse Hair, straw, feathers
• 1900: asbestos fibers, Hatscheck process
• 1950: Composite materials
• 1960: Fibre Reinforced Concrete (FRC)
• 1970: New initiative for asbestos cement replacement
• 1970: Steel Fibre Reinforced Concrete, Glass Fibre Reinforced Concrete,
Polypropylene Fibre Reinforced Concrete, Shotcrete
• 1990 micromechanics, hybrid systems, wood based fiber
DEFINITION
• Concrete is relatively brittle, and its tensile strength is typically only about one
tenths of its compressive strength.
• Regular concrete is therefore normally reinforced with steel reinforcing bars.
• FRC is the concrete with small, randomly distributed fibers.
• Fibers can be in form of steel fibers, glass fibers, natural fibers , synthetic
fibers, etc.
• Compared to plain concrete is FRC much tougher and more resistant to
impact.
• Their main purpose is to increase the energy absorption capacity and
toughness of the material, but also increase tensile and flexural strength of
concrete.
 ROLE OF FIBER
• Main role of fibers is to bridge the cracks that develop in concrete and increase
the ductility of concrete elements.
• There is considerable improvement in the post-cracking behavior of concrete
containing fibers due to both plastic shrinkage and drying shrinkage.
• They also reduce the permeability of concrete and thus reduce bleeding of
water.
• Some types of fibers produce greater abrasion and shatter resistance in
concrete.
• Imparts more resistance to Impact load.
ROLE OF FIBER
• Toughness is ability of a material to absorb energy and plastically deform
without fracturing.
• It can also be defined as resistance to fracture of a material when stressed.

Reference: Cement & Concrete Institute

http://www.cnci.org.za
ROLE OF FIBER

Source: P.K. Mehta and P.J.M. Monteiro, Concrete: Microstructure, Properties, and
Materials, Third Edition, Fourth Reprint 2011
TYPES OF FIBER
Steel fibers Glass fibers
TYPES OF FIBER
Steel fibers
TYPES OF FIBER
Steel fibers
TYPES OF FIBER

Carbon Fibers Cellulose Fibers

TYPES OF FIBER
Synthetic Fibers:
Polypropylene Fibers Nylon Fibers
TYPES OF FIBER
Natural Fibers:
Coir Hay
 TYPES OF FIBER
Types of Fibers
Ultimate
Types Tensile Strength Young's Modulus Elongation Specific Gravity

( Mpa ) ( 103 Mpa ) (%)

Steel 275 - 2758 200 0.5 - 35 2.50
Glass 1034 - 3792 69 1.5 - 3.5 3.20
Asbestos 551 - 965 89 - 138 0.60 1.50
Rayon 413 - 520 6.89 10 - 25 1.50
Cotton 413 - 689 4.82 3 -10 1.10
Nylon 858 - 827 4.13 16 - 20 0.50
Polypropylene 551 - 758 3.45 24 1.10
Acrylic 206 - 413 2.06 25 - 45 0.90
TYPES OF FIBER
FACTORS AFFECTING
Factors affecting the Properties of FRC
• Volume of fibers
• Aspect ratio of fiber
• Orientation of fiber
• Relative fiber matrix stiffness
• Workability and compaction of concrete
• Size of coarse aggregate
• Mixing
FACTORS AFFECTING
Volume of fibers

• Low volume fraction(less than 1%)

• Used in slab and pavement that have large exposed surface leading to
high shrinkage cracking.
• Moderate volume fraction(between 1 and 2 percent)
• Used in Construction method such as Shortcrete & in Structures which
requires improved capacity against delamination, spalling & fatigue.
• High volume fraction(greater than 2%)
• Used in making high performance fiber reinforced composites.
FACTORS AFFECTING
Aspect ratio of fiber

• It is defined as ratio of length of fiber to it’s diameter (L/d).

• Increase in the aspect ratio upto 75, there is increase in relative strength and
toughness.
• Beyond 75 of aspect ratio, there is decrease in aspect ratio and toughness.

Type of concrete Aspect ratio Relative strength Relative toughness

Plain concrete with 0 1.0 1.0

randomly
25 1.50 2.0
Dispersed fibers
50 1.60 8.0
75 1.70 10.50
100 1.50 8.50
FACTORS AFFECTING
Orientation of fiber
• Aligned in the direction of load
• Aligned in the direction perpendicular to load
• Randomly distribution of fibers

It is observed that fibers aligned parallel to applied load offered more tensile
strength and toughness than randomly distributed or perpendicular fibers.
FACTORS AFFECTING
Orientation of fiber

Typologies of fibre-reinforced composite materials:

a) continuous fibre-reinforced
b) discontinuous aligned fibre-reinforced
c) discontinuous random-oriented fibre-reinforced.
FACTORS AFFECTING
Relative fiber matrix

• Modulus of elasticity of matrix must be less than of fibers for efficient stress
transfer.
• Low modulus of fibers imparts more energy absorption while high modulus
fibers imparts strength and stiffness.
• Low modulus fibers e.g. Nylons and Polypropylene fibers.
• High modulus fibers e.g. Steel, Glass, and Carbon fibers.
FACTORS AFFECTING
Workability and compaction of concrete

• Usage of steel fibres , higher aspect ratio and non-uniform distribution of fibres
will reduce workability
• Prolonged external vibration fails to compact the concrete
• These properties can be improved by increasing water/cement ratio or by using
water reducing admixtures
FACTORS AFFECTING
Size of coarse aggregate
• Restricted to 10mm
• Friction between fibres and between fibres and aggregates controls orientation
and distribution.
FACTORS AFFECTING
Mixing
• Mixing of FRC needs careful precautions to avoid balling effect and
segregation
• Increase in aspect ratio, volume percentage and size of coarse aggregate will
increase the difficulties.
ADVANTAGES OF FRC
• High modulus of elasticity for effective long-term reinforcement, even in the
hardened concrete.
• Does not rust nor corrode and requires no minimum cover.
• Ideal aspect ratio (i.e. relationship between Fiber diameter and length) which
makes them excellent for early-age performance.
• Easily placed, Cast, Sprayed and less labour intensive than placing rebar.
• Greater retained toughness in conventional concrete mixes.
• Higher flexural strength, depending on addition rate by decreasing the
propagation of cracks
• Can be made into thin sheets or irregular shapes.
• FRC possesses enough plasticity to go under large deformation once the peak
load has been reached.
• Improves tensile strength
• Gives an alternative way to reinforce concrete other then traditional steel rebar
ADVANTAGES OF FRC
Fiber Reinforced Concrete Normal Reinforced concrete

• High Durability • Lower Durability

• Protect steel from Corrosion • Steel potential to corrosion

• Lighter materials • Heavier material

• More expensive • Economical
• With the same volume, the • With the same volume, the
strength is greater strength is less

• Less workability • High workability as

compared to FRC.
 ADVANTAGES OF FRC
• Increase in compressive strength of concrete:

 Specimens without any  Specimens with fibers

fibers after compression after compression test
test
 ADVANTAGES OF FRC
• Increase in tensile strength of concrete:

 Specimens without any  Specimens with fibers

fibers after split tensile test. after slip tensile test.
 ADVANTAGES OF FRC
• Increase in flexural strength of concrete:

 Specimens without any  Specimens with fibers

fibers after flexural test. after flexural test.
 ADVANTAGES OF FRC
• Increase in impact strength of concrete:

 Specimens without any  Specimens with fibers

fibers after compression after compression test
test
 ADVANTAGES OF FRC
• Increase in shear strength of concrete:

 Specimens without any  Specimens with fibers

fibers after shear test. after shear test.
DISADVANTAGES OF FRC
• Greater reduction of workability.
• High cost of materials.
• Generally fibers do not increase the flexural strength of concrete, and so cannot
replace moment resisting or structural steel reinforcement.
APPLICATIONS OF FRC
• Runway, Aircraft Parking, and Pavements.
For the same wheel load FRC slabs could be about one half the thickness of
plain concrete slab. FRC pavements offers good resistance even in severe and
mild environments. It can be used in runways, taxiways, aprons, seawalls,
dock areas, parking and loading ramps.

• Tunnel Lining and Slope Stabilization

Steel fiber reinforced concrete are being used to line underground openings
and rock slope stabilization. It eliminates the need for mesh reinforcement and
scaffolding.

• Dams and Hydraulic Structure

FRC is being used for the construction and repair of dams and other hydraulic
structures to provide resistance to cavitation and severe erosion caused by the
impact of large debris.
APPLICATIONS OF FRC
• Thin Shell, Walls, Pipes, and Manholes
Fibrous concrete permits the use of thinner flat and curved structural elements.
Steel fibrous shortcrete is used in the construction of hemispherical domes.

• Agriculture
It is used in animal storage structures, walls, silos, paving, etc.

• Precast Concrete and Products

It is used in architectural panels, tilt-up construction, walls, fencing, septic
tanks, grease trap structures, vaults and sculptures.

• Commercial
It is used for exterior and interior floors, slabs and parking areas, roadways, etc.
APPLICATIONS OF FRC
APPLICATIONS OF FRC
APPLICATIONS OF FRC
APPLICATIONS OF FRC
APPLICATIONS OF FRC
APPLICATIONS OF FRC
THE END……
THANK YOU