STUDY ON FIBER REINFORCED CONCRETE

TECHNICAL SEMINAR
Submitted by

G.Premchand (18695A0109)
In partial fulfilment for the award of the degree of

BACHELOR OF TECHNOLOGY
IN

Department of Civil Engineering

Under the guidance of

Dr Sudheer Kumar Y

Sr Assistant Professor

MADANAPALLE INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY & SCIENCE

[UGC-Autonomous]
Approved by AICTE, New Delhi and Accredited by NBA
Affiliated to JNTU Anantapur,
Post Box No: 14, Kadiri Road, Angallu,
Madanapalle- 517325, Andhra Pradesh, JUNE 2021

i
 DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING

BONAFIDE CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that the project work entitled “STUDY ON FIBER REINFORCED
CONCRETE ” is a bonafide work carried out by

G. Premchand - (18695A0109)

Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award of degree Bachelor of
Technology in the stream of CIVIL Engineering in Madanapalle Institute of
Technology & Science, Madanapalle, affiliated to Jawaharlal Nehru Technological
University Anantapur, Ananthapuramu during the academic year 2017-2021.

Guide Head of the Department

Dr. Sudheer Kumar Y Dr.D. Dipankar Roy

Sr Assistant Professor Professor and Head
Department of CIVIL Department of CIVIL
Submitted for the University examination held on:

Internal Examiner External Examiner

ii
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Any achievement, be it scholastic or otherwise does not depend solely on the individual
effort but on the guidance, encouragement and cooperation of intellectuals, elders and
friends. I would identical to this opportunity to thank them all. I feel myself honoured to
place my warm salutation to management Madanapalle institute of science and
technology, Madanapalle, which give me the opportunity to obtain a strong base in B.
Tech and profound knowledge.

I am greatly indebted to Dr. N. Vijaya Bhaskar Chowdary, correspondent of MITS,

Madanapalle for providing me an opportunity by means of excellent academic
infrastructure Facilities to carry out my PG program successfully.

I express my sincere thanks to Dr. C. Yuvraj, Ph.D., my beloved principal for his
encouragement and suggestions during my course of study. By means of deep sense of
gratitude.

I acknowledge Dr. Dipankar Roy, Ph.D., Head and Associate professor, Department of
civil engineering for his valuable support and help in completing my project
successfully.

I express my sincere thanks to my project Guide Dr. Sudheer Kumar Y , Sr Assistant

Professor of civil engineering, for his valuable suggestions and guidance in completing
the project work successfully

iii
 DECLARATION

We hereby declare that the Project report entitled “Study On Fiber Reinforced
Concrete” which is being submitted to the Madanapalle Institute of technology and
Science, Madanapalle for the award of the Degree of Bachelor of Technology in CIVIL
ENGINEERING is a bonafide report of the work carried out by us. The material
contained in this Project work Report has not been submitted to any University or
Institution for the award of any degree.

1. G.Premchand (18695A0109) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS
Abstract……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………1

CHAPTER 1.....................................................................................................................................................1
INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................................................1
1.1 INTRODUCTION:.............................................................................................................................1
1.2 WHY WE NEED FRC?......................................................................................................................2
1.3. HISTORY OF REINFORCED CONCRETE.....................................................................................3
1.4 MIXTURE COMPOSITIONS AND PLACING.................................................................................4
1.4.1 STEEL FIBER REINFORCED CONCRETE..................................................................................9
1.4.2 GLASS FIBER REINFORCED CONCRETE...............................................................................10
1.4.3 SYNTHETIC REINFORCED CONCRETE..................................................................................10
1.4.4 NATURAL FIBER REINFORCED CONCRETE.........................................................................11
1.4.5 ASBESTOS FIBER REINFORCED CONCRETE........................................................................11
1.4.6 CARBON FIBER REINFORCED CONCRETE...........................................................................12
CHAPTER 2...................................................................................................................................................13
MATERIALS USED......................................................................................................................................13
2.1 MATERIALS USED..................................................................................................................13
2.1.1 CEMENT:......................................................................................................................................13
2.1.2 FINE AGGREGATE:....................................................................................................................13
2.1.3 COARSE AGGREGATE:.............................................................................................................13
2.1.4 WATER:........................................................................................................................................13
2.1.5.1. HOOKED END STEEL FIBRES..............................................................................................13
2.2 CASTING OF SPECIMENS......................................................................................................14
2.3 FACTORS AFFECTING PROPERTIES OF FRC...................................................................................14
2.4 EFFECTS OF FRC...........................................................................................................................17
2.5 USES OF FRC............................................................................................................................18
2.6 BENEFITS OF FRC...................................................................................................................18
2.7 APPLICATION OF FRC IN INDIA...........................................................................................20
CHAPTER 3...................................................................................................................................................22
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................................22
REFERENCES……………………………………………………………………….29

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LIST OF FIGURE

Figure 1.1 Effect of Fiber reinforcement on stress and strain.....................14

Figure 1.2 Impact of Reinforced fiber during cracking..............................15
Figure 1.3 Steel fibers.................................................................................15
Figure 1.4 Glass fibers................................................................................16
Figure 1.5 Synthetic fibers..........................................................................17
Figure 1.6 Asbestos fiber............................................................................18
Figure 1.7 Carbon Fibers.............................................................................18
Figure 2.1 Uses of FRC...............................................................................24
Figure 2.2 FRC in Road..............................................................................26
Figure 2.3 FRC in Tunnel and Airport........................................................27

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 ABSTRACT

In conventional concrete, micro-cracks develop before structure is loaded

because of drying shrinkage and other causes of volume change. When the
structure is loaded, the micro cracks open up and propagate because of
development of such microcracks, results in inelastic deformation in
concrete. Fibre reinforced concrete (FRC) is cementing concrete reinforced
mixture with more or less randomly distributed small fibres. In the FRC, a
number of small fibres are dispersed and distributed randomly in the
concrete at the time of mixing, and thus improve concrete properties in all
directions. The fibers help to transfer load to the internal micro cracks.
FRC is cement based composite material that has been developed in recent
years. It has been successfully used in construction with its excellent
flexural-tensile strength, resistance to spitting, impact resistance and
excellent permeability and frost resistance. It is an effective way to increase
toughness, shock resistance and resistance to plastic shrinkage cracking of
the mortar. These fibers have many benefits. Steel fibers can improve the
structural strength to reduce in the heavy steel reinforcement requirement.
Freeze thaw resistance of the concrete is improved. Durability of the
concrete is improved to reduce in the crack widths. Polypropylene and
Nylon fibers are used to improve the impact resistance. Many
developments have been made in the fiber reinforced concrete.

Key words: Fiber Reinforced Concrete; Steel Fiber; Glass Fiber; Natural
Fiber; Aspect Ratio; Mechanical and Structural Properties.

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 CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION
1.1 Introduction:
Compared to other building materials such as metals and polymers,
concrete is significantly more brittle and exhibits a poor tensile strength.
Based on fracture toughness values, steel is at least 100 times more
resistant to crack growth than concrete. Concrete in service thus cracks
easily and this cracking creates easy access routes for deleterious agents
resulting in early saturation, freeze-thaw damage, scaling, discoloration and
steel corrosion. The concerns with the inferior fracture toughness of
concrete are alleviated to a large extent by reinforcing it with fibers of
various materials. The resulting material with a random distribution of
short, discontinuous fibers is termed fiber reinforced concrete (FRC) and is
slowly becoming a well accepted mainstream construction material.
Significant progress has been made in the last thirty years towards
understanding the short and long-term performances of fiber reinforced
cementitious materials, and this has resulted in a number of novel and
innovative applications. Concrete is one of the most versatile building
materials. It can be cast to fit any structural shape from a cylindrical water
storage tank to a rectangular beam or column in a high rise building. The
advantages of using concrete include high compressive strength, good fire
resistance, high water resistance, low maintenance, and long service life.
The disadvantages of using concrete include poor tensile strength, low
strain of fracture and formwork requirement. The major disadvantage is
that concrete develops micro cracks during curing. It is the rapid

1
propagation of these micro cracks under applied stress that is responsible
for the low tensile strength of the material. Hence fibres are added to
concrete to overcome these disadvantages. The addition of fibres in the
matrix has many important effects. Most notable among the improved
mechanical characteristics of Fibre Reinforced Concrete (FRC) are its
superior rfracture strength, toughness, impact resistance, flexural strength
resistance to fatigue, improving fatigue performance is one of the primary
reasons for the extensive use of Steel Fibre Reinforced Concrete(SFRC)in
pavements, bridge decks, offshore structures and machine foundation,
where the composite is subjected to cyclically varying load during its
lifetime. The main reasons for adding steel fibres to concrete matrix is to
improve the post cracking response of the concrete, i.e., to improve its
energy absorption capacity and apparent ductility and to provide crack
resistance and crack control. Also, it helps to maintain structural integrity
and cohesiveness in the material. The initial researches combined with the
large volume of follow up research have led to the development of a wide
variety of material formulations that fit the definition of Fibre Reinforced
Concrete. Steel fibre’s tensile strength, modulus of elasticity, stiffness
modulus and mechanical deformations provide an excellent means of
internal mechanical interlock. This provides a user friendly product with
increased ductility that can be used in applications of high impact and
fatigue loading without the fear of brittle concrete failure. Thus, SFRC
exhibits better performance not only under static and quasi-statically
applied loads but also under fatigue, impact, and impulsive loading.

2
1.2 Why we need FRC?
Plain unreinforced concrete is a brittle material with a low tensile strength
and low strain capacity .so when they are exposed to heavy load cracks
appear and they collapse. But it has been recognised that the addition of
small, closely spaced and uniformly dispersed fibres to concrete would act
as crack arrester and would substantially improves its static and dynamic
properties. The uniformly/randomly distributed discontinuous fibres
bridges across the cracks that develop provides some post cracking
ductility and protect it from sudden collapse. According to Griffith theory
the concrete has low tensile strength due to existence of cracks. So, the
reinforced fibre helps in increasing the tensile strength of concrete by
bridging the cracks with the fibre.

Figure1.1. fiber reinforced concrete

1.3. History of reinforced concrete

Fibers have been used for concrete reinforcement since prehistoric times
though technology has improved significantly, as is applicable for other
fields. In the early age, straw and mortar were used for producing mud
bricks, and horsehair was used for their reinforcement. As the fiber

3
technology developed, cement was reinforced by asbestos fibers in the
early twentieth century. During the middle of the twentieth century,
extensive research was in progress for the use of composite materials for
concrete reinforcement. Later, the use of asbestos for concrete
reinforcement was discouraged due to the detection of health risks. New
materials like steel, glass, and synthetic fibers replaced asbestos for
reinforcement. Active research is still in progress on this important
technology. Fiber Reinforced Concrete is considered to be one of the
greatest advancements in the construction engineering during the twentieth
century.

1.4 Mixture Compositions and Placing.

Mixing of FRC can be accomplished by many methods [2]. The mix should
have a uniform dispersion of the fibers in order to prevent segregation or
balling of the fibers during mixing. Most balling occurs during the fiber
addition process. Increase of aspect ratio, volume percentage of fiber, and
size and quantity of coarse aggregate will intensify the balling tendencies
and decrease the workability. To coat the large surface area of the fibers
with paste, experience indicated that a water cement ratio between 0.4 and
0.6, and minimum cement content of 400 kg/m[3] are required. Compared
to conventional concrete, fiber reinforced concrete mixes are generally
characterized by higher cement factor, higher fine aggregate content and
smaller size coarse aggregate. A fiber mix generally requires more
vibration to consolidate the mix. External vibration is preferable to prevent
fiber segregation. Metal trowels, tube floats, and rotating power floats can
be used to finish the surface. Mechanical Properties of FRC Addition of
fibers to concrete influences its mechanical properties which significantly

4
depend on the type and percentage offiber. Fibers with end anchorage and
Properties and Applications ofFiber Reinforced Concrete.High aspect ratio
were found to have improved effectiveness. It was shown that for the same
length and diameter, crimped-end fibers can achieve the same properties as
straight fibers using 40 percent less fibers[S]. In determining the
mechanical properties of FRC, the same equipment and procedure as used
for conventional concrete can also be used. Below are cited some
properties of FRC determined by different researchers.

Compressive Strength: The presence of fibers may alter the failure mode
of cylinders, but the fiber effect will be minor on the improvement of
compressive strength values (0 to 15 percent). Modulus ofElasticity :
Modulus of elasticity of FRC increases slightly with an increase in the
fibers content. It was found that for each 1 percent increase in fiber content
by volume there is an increase of 3 percent in the modulus of elasticity.

Flexure : The flexural strength was reported to be increased by 2.5 times

using 4 percent fibers. Toughness : For FRC, toughness is about 10 to 40
times that of plain concrete.

Splitting Tensile Strength : The presence of 3 percent fiber by volume

was reported to increase the splitting tensile strength of mortar about 2.5
times that of the unreinforced one.

Fatigue Strength : The addition offibers increases fatigue strength of

about 90 percent and 70 percent of the static strength at 2 x 106 cycles for
non-reverse and full reversal of loading, respectively.

5
Impact Resistance : The impact strength for fibrous concrete is generally
5 to 10 times that of plain concrete depending on the volume of fiber.

Corrosion ofSteel Fibers: A lyear exposure of steel fibrous mortar to

outdoor weathering in an industrial atmosphere showed no adverse effect
on the strength properties. Corrosion was found to be confined only to
fibers actually exposed on the surface. Steel fibrous mortar continuously
immerse in seawater for 10 years exhibited a 15 percent loss compared to
40 percent strength decrease of plain mortar.

Structural Behavior of FRC Fibers combined with reinforcing bars in

structural members will be widely used in the future. The following are
some of the structural behaviour Flexure The use of fibers in reinforced
concrete flexure members increases ductility, tensile strength, moment
capacity, and stiffness. The fibers improve crack control and preserve post
cracking structural integrity of members.

Torsion : The use of fibers eliminate the sudden failure characteristic of

plain concrete beams. It increases stiffness, torsional strength, ductility,
rotational capacity, and the number of cracks with less crack width.

Shear : Addition of fibers increases shear capacity of reinforced concrete

beams up to 100 percent. Addition of randomly distributed fibers increases
shear-friction strength, the first crack strength, and ultimate strength.

Column : The increase of fiber content slightly increases the ductility of

axially loaded specimen. The use of fibers helps in reducing the explosive
type failure for columns.

6
High Strength Concrete : Fibers increases the ductility of high strength
concrete. The use of high strength concrete and steel produces slender
members. Fiber addition will help in controlling cracks and deflections.

Cracking and Deflection : Tests have shown that fiber reinforcement

effectively controls cracking and deflection, in addition to strength
improvement. In conventionally reinforced concrete beams, fiber addition
increases stiffness, and reduces deflection.

Necessity : The use of concrete as a structural material is limited to certain

extent by deficiencies like brittleness, poor tensile strength and poor
resistance to impact strength, fatigue, low ductility and low durability. It is
also very much limited to receive dynamic stresses caused due to
explosions. The brittleness is compensated in structural member by the
introduction of reinforcement (or) pre-stressing steel in the tensile zone.
However it does not improve the basic property of concrete. It is merely a
method of using two materials for the required performance. The main
problem of low tensile strength and the requirements of high strength still
remain and it is to be improved by different types of reinforcing materials.
Further concrete is also deficient in ductility, resistance to fatigue and
impact. The importance of rendering requisite quantities in concrete is
increasing with its varied and challenging applications in pre-cast and pre-
fabricated building elements. The development in the requisite
characteristics of concrete will solve the testing problems of structural
engineers by the addition of fibers and admixtures. The role of fibers are
essentially to arrest any advancing cracks by applying punching forces at
the rack tips, thus delaying their propagation across the matrix. The
ultimate cracking strain of the composite is thus increased to many times

7
greater than that of unreinforced matrix. Admixtures like fly ash, silica
fume, granulated blast furnace slag and metakaolin can be used for such
purposes. However addition of fibers and mineral admixtures posses
certain problems regarding mixing, as fibers tends to form balls and
workability tends to decrease during mixing.

Toughening mechanisms :

• Toughness is the ability of a material to absorb energy and plastically

deformed without fracturing.

• It can also be defined as resistance to fracture of a material when stressed.

• Plain concrete fails suddenly once the deflection corresponding to the

ultimate flexural strength is exceeded; on the other hand, fiber-reinforced
concrete continue to sustain considerable loads even at deflections
considerably in excess of the fracture deflection of the plain concrete.

• Examination of fractured specimens of fiberreinforced concrete shows

that failure takes place primarily due to fiber pull-out or debonding. Thus,
unlike plain concrete, a fiber-reinforced concrete specimen does not break
immediately after initiation of the first crack.

• This has the effect of increasing the work of fracture, which is referred to
as toughness and is represented by the area under the load-deflection curve.

• In FRC crack density is increased, but the crack size is decreased.

8
 Figure 1.0.1 Effect of Fiber reinforcement on stress and strain

Figure 1.0.2 Impact of Reinforced fiber during cracking

1.4.1 STEEL FIBER REINFORCED CONCRETE

Steel fiber-reinforced concrete is basically a cheaper and easier to use

form of rebar reinforced concrete. Rebar reinforced concrete uses steel bars
that are laid within the liquid cement, which requires a great deal of prep
work but make for a much stronger concrete. Steel fiber-reinforced
concrete uses thin steel wires mixed in with the cement. This imparts the
concrete with greater structural strength, reduces cracking and helps
protect against extreme cold. Steel fiber is often used in conjunction with
rebar or one of the other fiber types.

9
 Figure 1.0.3 Steel fibers

1.4.2 GLASS FIBER REINFORCED CONCRETE

Glassfiber-reinforced concrete uses fiberglass, much like you would find in
fiberglass insulation, to reinforce the concrete. The glass fiber helps
insulate the concrete in addition to making it stronger. Glass fiber also
helps prevent the concrete from cracking over time due to mechanical or
thermal stress. In addition, the glass fiber does not interfere with radio
signals like the steel fiber reinforcement does.

10
 Figure 1.0.4 Glass fibers

Very high tensile strength 1020 to 4080 N/mm2.

Shows comparable improvement indurability to conventional

E-glass fiber.

1.4.3 SYNTHETIC REINFORCED CONCRETE

Synthetic fiber-reinforced concrete uses plastic and nylon fibers to improve

the concrete's strength. In addition, the synthetic fibers have a number of
benefits over the other fibers. While they are not as strong as steel, they do
help improve the cement pumpability by keeping it from sticking in the
pipes. The synthetic fibers do not expand in heat or contract in the cold
which helps prevent cracking. Finally synthetic fibers help keep the
concrete from spalling during impacts or fires.

11
 Figure 1.0.5 Synthetic fibers

1.4.4 NATURAL FIBER REINFORCED CONCRETE

Historically, fiber-reinforced concrete have used natural fibers, such as hay

or hair. While these fibers help the concrete's strength they can also make
it weaker if too much is used. In addition if the natural fibers are rotting
when they are mixed in then the rot can continue while in the concrete.
This eventually leads to the concrete crumbling from the inside, which is
why natural fibers are no longer used in construction.
1.4.5 ASBESTOS FIBER REINFORCED CONCRETE

Mineral fiber, most successful of all as it can be mixed with portland

cement.

Tensile strength of asbestos varies between 560 to 980 N/mm2.

Asbestos cement paste has considerably higher flexural strength than

Portland cement paste.

For unimportant concrete work, organic fibers like coir, jute and canesplits
are also used.

12
 Figure 1.0.6 Asbestos fiber

1.4.6 CARBON FIBER REINFORCED CONCRETE

Posses very high tensile strength 2110 to 2815 N/mm2 and Young’s
modulus.

Cement composite consisting of carbon fibers show very high modulus of

elasticity and flexural strength.

Figure 1.0.7 Carbon Fibers

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 CHAPTER 2

MATERIALS USED
2.1 MATERIALS USED

The materials used and their specifications are as follows

2.1.1 CEMENT: Ordinary Portland cement was used and its specific
gravity is 3.15*.The brand used was “UltraTech” with P53 grade.The
cement was confirming to IS 269-1976
.

2.1.2 FINE AGGREGATE: River sand was used and tests were conducted
as per IS 2386 (PART I).Specific gravity offine aggregate is 2.65.Water
absorption 0.99%Dry loose bulk density 1502 Kg/m3

2.1.3 COARSE AGGREGATE: Crushed granite stone aggregates of

maximum size of 20 mm was usedtests were conducted as per IS 2386 (part
III) of 1963.Specific gravity of coarse aggregate is 2.73.Water absorption
0.25%. Dry loose bulk density 1500 Kg/m3

2.1.4 WATER: As per IS 456-2000 recommendations, potable water was

used for mixingof concrete.
2.1.5 STEEL FIBRES

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2.1.5.1. HOOKED END STEEL FIBRES

Hooked end steel fibres commercially called as Dramix steel

fibresmanufactured by Bekaert Corporation were used which had a length
of 30 mm and a diameter of 0.55 mm resulting in an aspect ratio of about55
and conforms to American standard ASTM A820 and Belgium standard
1857. The tensile strength of fibre is in the range of 1100 N/mm2

2.1.5.2.CORRUGATED STEEL FIBRES

Corrugated steel fibres from Stewols & Co were used which had a lengthof
25 mm and a diameter of 0.45 mm resulting in an aspect ratio of about55
and conforms to American standard ASTM A820.The tensile strength of
fibre is in the range of 1200 N/mm2.
2.2 CASTING OF SPECIMENS

The materials were weighed accurately using a digital the mixture machine
and mixed thoroughly for three minutes. Steel fibres were mechanically
sprinkled inside the mixture machine after thorough mixing of the
ingredients of concrete .For preparing the specimen for compressive,
tensile, and flexure strength permanent steel moulds were used.

2.3 FACTORS AFFECTING PROPERTIES OF FRC

Factors affecting the properties of FRC Fiber reinforced concrete is the
composite material containing fibers in the cement matrix in an orderly

15
manner or randomly distributed manner. Its properties would obviously,
depends upon the efficient transfer of stress between matrix and the fibers.
The factors are briefly discussed below:

1. Relative Fiber Matrix Stiffness: The modulus of elasticity of matrix

must be much lower than that of fiber for efficient stress transfer. Low
modulus of fiber such as nylons and polypropylene are, therefore, unlikely
to give strength improvement, but the help in the absorption of large energy
and therefore, impart greater degree of toughness and resistance to impart.
High modulus fibers such as steel, glass and carbon impart strength and
stiffness to the composite. Interfacial bond between the matrix and the fiber
also determine the effectiveness of stress transfer, from the matrix to the
fiber. A good bond is essential for improving tensile strength of the
composite.

2. Volume of Fibers: The strength of the composite largely depends on the

quantity of fibers used in it. Fig show the effect of volume on the toughness
and strength. It can see from Fig. that the increase in the volume of fibers,
increase approximately linearly, the tensile strength and toughness of the
composite.12 Use of higher percentage of fiber is likely to cause
segregation and harshness of concrete and mortar.

3. Aspect Ratio of the Fiber: Another important factor which influences

the properties and behaviour of the composite is the aspect ratio of the
fiber. It has been reported that up to aspect ratio of 75, increase on the
aspect ratio increases the ultimate concrete linearly. Beyond 75, relative
strength and toughness is reduced. Table 1.1 shows the effect of aspect
ratio on strength and toughness.

16
4. Orientation of Fibers: One of the differences between conventional
reinforcement and fiber reinforcement is that in conventional
reinforcement, bars are oriented in the direction desired while fibers are
randomly oriented. To see the effect of randomness, mortar specimens
reinforced with 0.5% volume of fibers were tested. In one set specimens,
fibers were aligned in the direction of the load, in another in the direction
perpendicular to that of the load, and in the third randomly distributed. It
was observed that the fibers aligned parallel to the applied load offered
more tensile strength and toughness than randomly distributed or
perpendicular fibers.

5. Workability and Compaction of Concrete: Incorporation of steel fiber

decreases the workability considerably. This situation adversely affects the
consolidation of fresh mix. Even prolonged external vibration fails to
compact the concrete. The fiber volume at which this situation is reached
depends on the length and diameter of the fiber. Another consequence of
poor workability is non-uniform distribution of the fibers. Generally, the
workability and compaction standard of the mix is improved through
increased water/ cement ratio or by the use of some kind of water reducing
admixtures.14

6. Size of Coarse Aggregate: Maximum size of the coarse aggregate

should be restricted to 10mm, to avoid appreciable reduction in strength of
the composite. Fibers also in effect, act as aggregate. Although they have a
simple geometry, their influence on the properties of fresh concrete is
complex. The inter-particle friction between fibers and between fibers and
aggregates controls the orientation and distribution of the fibers and
consequently the properties of the composite. Friction reducing admixtures

17
and admixtures that improve the cohesiveness of the mix can significantly
improve the mix.

7. Mixing Mixing of fiber: reinforced concrete needs careful conditions to

avoid balling of fibers, segregation and in general the difficulty of mixing
the materials uniformly. Increase in the aspect ratio, volume percentage and
size and quantity of coarse aggregate intensify the difficulties and balling
tendency. Steel fiber content in excess of 2% by volume and aspect ratio of
more than 100 are difficult to mix. It is important that the fibers are
dispersed uniformly throughout the mix; this can be done by the addition of
the fibers before the water is added. When mixing in a laboratory mixer,
introducing the fibers through a wire mesh basket will help even
distribution of fibers. For field use, other suitable methods must be
adopted.

2.4 EFFECTS OF FRC

Fibers are usually used in concrete to control cracking due to plastic
shrinkage and to drying shrinkage. They also reduce the permeability of
concrete and thus reduce bleeding of water. Some types of fibers produce
greater impact–, abrasion–, and shatter–resistance in concrete. Generally
fibers do not increase the flexural strength of concrete, and so cannot
replace moment– resisting or structural steel reinforcement. Indeed, some
fibers actually reduce the strength of concrete. The amount of fibers added
to a concrete mix is expressed as a percentage of the total volume of the
composite (concrete and fibers), termed "volume fraction" (Vf). Vf
typically ranges from 0.1 to 3%. The aspect ratio (l/d) is calculated by
dividing fiber length (l) by its diameter (d). Fibers with a non-circular cross
section use an equivalent diameter for the calculation of aspect ratio. If the

18
fiber's modulus of elasticity is higher than the matrix (concrete or mortar
binder), they help to carry the load by increasing the tensile strength of the
material. Increasing the aspect ratio of the fiber usually segments the
flexural strength and toughness of the matrix. Some recent research
indicated that using fibers in concrete has limited effect on the impact
resistance of the materials. This finding is very important since
traditionally, people think that ductility increases when concrete is
reinforced with fibers. The results also indicated that the use of micro fibers
offers better impact resistance to that of longer fibers.[1] As for pavements,
the most prevalent use for FRC is at toll plazas where non-metallic fibers
are used in lieu of metallic reinforcement since they can disrupt electronic
toll readers signals.

2.5 USES OF FRC

It is used on account of the advantages of increased static and dynamic
tensile strength and better fatigue strength. It has been tried on overlays of
air-field, road pavements, industrial footings, bridge decks, canal lining,
explosive resistant structures, refractory linings,etc. Used for the
fabrication of precast products like pipes, boats, beams, stair case steps,
wall panels, roof panels, manhole covers etc. It is also being tried for the
manufacture of prefabricated formwork moulds of “U” shape for casting
lintels and small beams.

19
 Figure 2.0.8 Uses of FRC

2.6 BENEFITS OF FRC

Polypropylene and Nylon fibers can :

• Improve mix cohesion, improving pumpability over long

distances

• Improve freeze-thaw resistance

• Improve resistance to explosive spalling in case of a severe fire

• Improve impact resistance– and abrasion–resistance

20
• Increase resistance to plastic shrinkage during curing

• Improve structural strength

• Reduce steel reinforcement requirements

• Improve ductility

• Reduce crack widths and control the crack widths tightly, thus
improving durability

Steel fibers can:

• Improve structural strength

• Reduce steel reinforcement requirements

• Reduce crack widths and control the crack widths tightly, thus
improving durability

• Improve impact– and abrasion–resistance

• Improve freeze-thaw resistance

Blends of both steel and polymeric fibers are often used in

construction projects in order to combine the benefits of both
products; structural improvements provided by steel fibers and the

21
resistance to explosive spalling and plastic shrinkage improvements
provided by polymeric fibers.

In certain specific circumstances, steel fiber or macro synthetic fibers can

entirely replace traditional steel reinforcement bar ("rebar") in reinforced
concrete. This is most common in industrial flooring but also in some other
precasting applications. Typically, these are corroborated with laboratory
testing to confirm that performance requirements are met. Care should be
taken to ensure that local design code requirements are also met, which
may impose minimum quantities of steel reinforcement within the concrete.
There are increasing numbers of tunnelling projects using precast lining
segments reinforced only with steel fibre.

2.7 Application of FRC in India

 More than 400 tons of Steel Fibers have been used recently in
the construction of a road overlay for a project at Mathura
(UP).
 A 3.9 km long district heating tunnel, caring heating pipelines
from a power plant on the island Amager into the center of
Copenhagen, is lined with SFC segments without any
conventional steel bar reinforcement.
 Steel fibers are used without rebars to carry flexural loads is a
parking garage at Heathrow Airport. It is a structure with 10
cm thick slab.
 Precast fiber reinforced concrete manhole covers and frames are
being widely used in India.

22
Figure 2. 0.9 FRC in Road

23
Figure 2.10 FRC in Tunnel and Airport

24
 CHAPTER 3

CONCLUSION

The efficient utilisation of fibrous concrete involves improved static

and dynamic properties like tensile strength, energy absorbing
characteristics, Impact strength and fatigue strength. Also provides a
isotropic strength properties not common in the conventional
concrete. It will, however be wrong to say that fibrous concrete will
provide a universal solution to the problems associated with plain
concrete. Hence it is not likely to replace the conventional structural
concrete in total. Superior crack resistance and greater ductility with
distinct post cracking behavior are some of the important static
properties of FRC. The enormous increase in impact resistance and
fatigue resistance allow the new material to be used in some specified
applications where conventional concrete is at a disadvantage. A
new approach in design and in the utilization of this material, to
account for both increase in performance and economics is therefore,
needed.

25
REFERENCES

K.Srinivasa Rao, S.Rakesh kumar, A.Laxmi Narayana, Comparison

of Performance of Standard Concrete and Fibre Reinforced Standard
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03, 2013, pp-20-26.

Abid A. Shah, Y. Ribakov, Recent trends in steel fibered

highstrength concrete, Elsevier, Materials and Design 32 (2011), pp
4122–4151.

ACI Committee 544. 1990. State-of-the-Art Report on Fiber

Reinforced Concrete.ACI Manual of Concrete Practice, Part 5,
American Concrete Institute, Detroit,MI, 22 pp.

P.K. Mehta and P.J.M. Monteiro, Concrete: Microstructure,

Properties, and Materials, Third Edition, Fourth Reprint 2011, pp
502-522.

ACI Committee 544, Report 544.IR-82, Concr. Int., Vol. 4, No. 5, p.

11, 1982.

Hanna, A.N., PCA Report RD 049.01P, Portland Cement

Association, Skokie, IL, 1977.

26
Ezio Cadoni ,Alberto Meda ,Giovanni A. Plizzari, Tensile behaviour
of FRC under high strain-rate,RILEM, Materials and Structures
(2009) 42:1283–1294.

Marco di Prisco, Giovanni Plizzari, Lucie Vandewalle, Fiber

Reinforced Concrete: New Design Prespectives, RILEM, Materials
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