Theory and applications of Fibre Reinforced Concrete (FRC)

Concrete as a construction material has been popular since ancient times. Be it

the Pyramids of Egypt or the Roman Pantheon, that concrete was a structural
material of choice for the mighty civilizations of the yore is well known. In
modern times, concrete is used extensively in various kinds of buildings,
pavements, stadia, bridges, dams, tanks, pipes, tunnels etc. In fact, concrete is
the most used man-made material in the world.

Concrete has high compressive strength, but is remarkably weak in tension

(about one-tenth its compressive strength), and as such is usually reinforced
with materials that are strong in tension (often steel). Reinforcement solutions
to plain concrete in the form of steel bars have existed and been studied for a
long time now. A relatively new development however has been the advent of
use of fibres as reinforcement to improve the tensile properties of plain concrete
and cater to a host of various specific applications of structural concrete.
Tremendous research has been done and many projects of varying sizes have
been executed in various countries around the globe including India.

Milled from blocks

 Straight Fibres

End hooked

Glued and Hooked end fibres

Figure 1 Different types of steel fibres

Specifically, fibres tend to increase post crack strength, ductility and durability
of concrete. Fibres dispersed homogeneously and oriented randomly in the
concrete mix work as three dimensional reinforcements. Commonly available
fibres include steel fibres, synthetic fibres, glass fibres, aramid fibres and
natural fibres. It is to be noted that use of different kinds of fibres are
application specific and don’t work as a single pill for all ailments. Of these
fibres, steel and synthetic command greater technical and commercial
acceptability as compared to others in terms of usage in the field and hence are
the primary focus of this article as well.

1.Steel Fibre Reinforced Concrete (SFRC)

Steel Fibre Reinforced Concrete (SFRC) is defined as a concrete, containing

discontinuous discrete steel fibres, which when incorporated in concrete
improve its crack resistance, ductility, energy absorption and impact resistance
characteristics and offer a long term post crack tensile strength. Particularly
under flexural loading, fibres are able to hold the matrix together even after
extensive cracking. Thus, steel fibres transform the brittle concrete into a
ductile material. Also, unlike traditional steel reinforcement, steel fibres are
discontinuous and 3-dimensionally orientated in the concrete matrix.  As the
concrete cracks they transfer the tension across the crack and guarantee a post
crack load bearing capacity while bridging the cracks (See Figure 2). The fibres
should be sized in such a way that they cover at least 2 major aggregates of the
concrete.

Owing to the enlisted advantages, SFRC is widely used for applications such as
industrial floors, foundation slabs, shotcreting, tunnelling and precast elements.
Relating to these applications, SFRC is a well established building material and a
meaningful alternative to plain or reinforced concrete. Furthermore, a
discontinuous form of reinforcement in SFRC aids in resistance to corrosion
which is a major problem in conventional reinforced concrete elements.

Figure 2 Transfer of tension across the crack (Redistribution of Stresses)

However, the effect of fibres on concrete properties varies to a great extent
based on the fibre type. A variety of fibre types are available (Figure 1) based
on the choice of materials (high carbon, low carbon), shapes (hooked, crimped)
and different sizes. Therefore steel fibre reinforced concrete should never be
simplified as a “concrete with steel fibres”. SFRC has to be seen as an
engineered material which when added to an appropriate concrete composition
according to a suitable fibre type and corresponding dosage meets the given
requirements.

1.1 Applications of SFRC

Generally, in structural applications, SFRC should only be used in a

supplementary role to inhibit cracking, to improve resistance to impact, to resist
dynamic loading and material disintegration. In structural members where
considerable flexural and axial tensile stresses occur, such as in beams,
columns, suspended/roof slabs etc., steel fibres alone are insufficient and
should never be wholly used to replace traditional steel reinforcements. Some of
the more appropriate examples (Figure 3) of general structural and non-
structural uses of SFRC are listed as follows:-

1. Hydraulic structures — Dams, spillways, stilling basins, and sluiceways

as new or replacement slabs or overlays to resist cavitation damage
2. Airport and highway paving and overlays – Particularly where a
thinner-than-normal slab is desired
3. Industrial floors — For impact resistance and resistance to thermal
shock
4. Refractory concrete — Using high-alumina cement in both castable and
shotcrete applications
5. Foundation slabs for residential buildings
6. Bridge decks — As an overlay or topping where the primary structural
support is provided by an underlying reinforced concrete deck
7. In shotcrete linings — For underground support in tunnels and mines,
usually with rock bolts 
8. In shotcrete coverings — To stabilize above ground rock or soil slopes,
e.g., highway and railway cuts, and embankments
9. Thin shell structures — shotcrete “foam domes”
10. Explosion-resistant structures — Usually in combination with
reinforcing bars
11. A possible future use in seismic-resistant structures
Joint-less Floor
 Shell structures

Figure-3: Various applications of SFRC

1.2 Performance characterization for SFRC

One needs to understand that although all the different types of steel fibres
mentioned above work in improving the properties of concrete in some way,
they do so with varying degrees of performance. For example, not all of them
fulfil the requirements on field and lack technical details that a designer needs
to assess the fibre performance in the structure. The idea is to have an
“engineered fibre” not just any alternative to make the solution work in a
manner it is envisioned to in the structure. Some of the important parameters
are listed below:-

 Shape (straight, hooked, undulated, crimped, Twisted, coned)

 Length (12.7 to 63.5 mm)
 Diameter (0.4 to 1.0 5mm)
 Tensile Strength (1000 – 2500 N/mm²)

Effect of Fibre Parameters

There are several ways in which one can quickly ascertain the performance of
various fibre types. According to Shape, hooked end fibres have been time
tested and have proved to be the most economical form of anchorage improving
the fibre performance compared to straight fibres and of various other shapes.
Also, collated or glued fibres have been specially developed by some
manufacturers to enable a homogenous fibre distribution in concrete and
prevent balling of fibres while mixing with concrete.

Another one of the most important performance parameters for fibres happens
to be Aspect Ratio. Aspect ratio in a layman’s term is the ratio of Fibre Length
to Diameter. As length of the fibre increases, the region covered by fibre in the
concrete also increases. Similarly, with the reduction of fibre diameter, the
number of fibres per unit weight increases, thereby increasing the network of
wires per unit volume of concrete. Refer following typical data (Table 1), which
compares three different types of fibres of a particular manufacturer based on
aspect ratio. These properties will vary from one steel fibre manufacturer to
manufacturer.

3D 45/50BL – l/d = 45 L = 147 m / kg

3D 65/60BG – l/d = 65 L = 200 m / kg

3D 80/60BG – l/d = 80 L = 276 m / kg

Table 1 Aspect ratio and wire network

This simply means that a higher aspect ratio has a larger network of fibres
compared to lower aspect ratio fibres for the same level of performance. This in
essence would also translate to lower dosages for higher aspect ratio fibres. The
usual amount of steel Fibres ranges from 10 kg/m³ for higher aspect ratios
(80), to 80 kg/m³ for lower aspect ratio (50). Thus, simply comparing a fibre
dosage with another fibre dosage would not lead to the right conclusions as it
would depend on a number of variables. Conversely, performance for the same
quantity of different fibres would be different, as illustrated in Figure 3.

Figure 3 Fibre dosage [kg/m³]

Tensile strength of fibres also plays a major role in pinning the performance
of SFRC. The strength should be large enough to undergo substantial yielding
and not snap at the crack interface. More important then becomes the tolerance
levels of fibre components as it is essential to guarantee the minimum tensile
strength for each and every fibre strand to achieve the required performance.

Table 2 gives a comparison on the performance of SFRC Slab on grade using

various fibre geometries, loadings 3 T to 7 T UDL on a 5 % CBR sub-base. The
dosage of fibres varies depending on the aspect ratio, tensile strength,
anchorage etc. Please note that these are case specific results and presented for
ease of understanding of the concept only.

S Aspect Ratio Length Diameter Length Dosage

Type
No. ( L/D) mm mm (m/kg) (kg/m3)

1 48 Loose 50 1.05 147 31.5

2 67 Glued 60 0.9 200 20

3 80 Glued 60 0.75 276 15

Table 2 Sample Dosage of Steel fibres for SFRC slab on grade

1.3 Practical aspects of SFRC

One of the basic concerns in SFRC is to introduce sufficient volume of fibres to

be uniformly dispersed  (Figure 5 ) to achieve the desired improvements in
mechanical behaviour, while retaining sufficient workability in the fresh mix to
permit proper mixing, placing and finishing. Several procedures for
proportioning SFRC mixes are available, which emphasize the workability of the
resulting mix. Smaller dosages of Steel fibres in concrete usually do not entitle
too many changes in the design mix as the workability of concrete is not
severely affected by fibre addition. However, there are some considerations that
are particular to SFRC. In general, SFRC mixes contain higher ratios of fine to
coarse aggregates than in ordinary concrete, and so the mix proportioning
procedures that apply to conventional concrete may not be entirely applicable to
SFRC. In addition, to improve the workability of higher fibre volume dosages,
super-plasticizers are often used, in conjunction with air entrainment. 
 

Figure:5 Homogeneous dispersion of fibres: X ray image & fresh state

Most commonly, when using a transit mixer or revolving drum mixer, the fibres
should be added last to the wet concrete. The concrete alone, typically, should
have a slump of 15-25 mm greater than the desired slump of the SFRC or 50-
60 mm in case of SFRS. The use of collated/Glued fibres held together by a
water-soluble component which dissolves during mixing largely eliminates the
problem of clumping/Balling. The finishing operations with SFRC are essentially
the same as for ordinary concrete, though perhaps more care must be taken
regarding workmanship.

1.4 Concluding remarks on SFRC

Steel fibres have been in prevalence elsewhere in the world for over 3 decades
in various applications.  Consequently a lot of international guidelines exist
which detail the technical design aspects of SFRC structures. Reduced
construction time, simplified reinforcement drawings, no stockyard, enhanced
job safety and increased durability and ductility are only some main benefits of
SFRC, which are mentioned in that context. At the same time it needs some
special knowledge to understand, design and execute this special building
material.

2.Synthetic Fibre Reinforced Concrete (SYNFRC)

Synthetic fibres are artificial fibres resulting from petrochemical and textile
industries. Various types of fibres that have been tried in concrete include
acrylic, aramid, carbon, nylon, polyester, polyethylene and polypropylene. It
should be noted that polypropylene fibres have found commercial applications
and have been the subject of extensive reporting. These fall under the category
of micro synthetic fibres.

About a decade back, suppliers started to offer macro synthetic fibres. Some
applications for mining and Precast-elements were executed with this quite new
construction material. Macro synthetic fibres sometimes have dimensions
comparable to steel fibres but are nevertheless very different in material
properties. Still, there are some definite applications where plastic fibres
supersede other materials in terms providing benefits to the concrete.

2.1 Micro SYNFRC and its applications

Micro fibre concrete with polypropylene fibres are mainly used to reduce plastic
shrinkage in fresh concrete. During the hardening process of concrete,
dissipation of heat of hydration of concrete coupled with evaporation of water
induces tensile stresses. Beyond a threshold limit of these stresses, micro
cracks start developing in the concrete. Micro fibre concrete with polypropylene
fibres reduces effective the early shrinkage behaviour in the first 10 hours of
pouring. The reason is that these types of fibres are able to hold back some
water and slow down the evaporation process. They also are able to pick up
some limited tensile stresses especially in the early age. These types of fibres
work better to reduce plastic shrinkage cracks and are often added in addition
to the reinforcement of concrete.

Another application of these fibres lies in improving the fire resistance behaviour
of concrete structures at very high temperatures. Concrete as such in itself is a
good fire resistant material. However, under extremely high temperatures,
concrete tends to spall off due to entrapped vapours pushing their way out of
dense pore structure of concrete in a fire event. Addition of micro fibres in the
concrete ensures that as these fibres melt, they create open channels in the
concrete pore structure which allows the built up vapours to escape, thereby
releasing the internal pressures and preventing the spalling.

2.2 Macro SYNFRC and its applications

Macro fibre concrete with polypropylene fibres are mainly used in lightly loaded
applications where the concrete behaviour is calculated as un-cracked concrete
just to improve the concrete in terms of their crack behaviour and to improve
the resistance against the thermal shrinkage process.

The reason that these fibres are mainly used in lightly loaded structures is that
in the case of heavily loaded structures, these fibres tend to creep and hence a
design in the cracked state under long term loadings does not save the
structure in the event of a failure. Macro synthetic fibres do not corrode. Hence
in case of macro fibres, no rusty spots appear at the surface. Additionally macro
synthetic fibres can be effectively used in applications like temporary linings
such as for mines when larger deformations are allowed and acceptable.
However, it should be noted that due to low Young’s Modulus of macro synthetic
fibres, crack widths are very significant (> 0.5 mm) before fibres start to work.


 Figure 6 Micro and Macro Synthetic Fibres

2.3 Comparison between SYNFRC and SFRC

Material Properties

Unit Elastic Tensile Melting

Material / Fibre Length Diameter
weight modulus strength Point
Type (mm) (mm)
(gm/cc) (GPa) (MPa) (oC)

Steel Micro
0.5-1 500-2000
Synthetic Macro 7.85 0.91 30-60 6- 210 3-10 1500
0.015- 200-600
Synthetic 0.91 1.8- 20 30- 3-10 10- 165 165
0.030 0.5-1 200-600 2-
Hardened 2.4 65 – 45 –
– 4
concrete

Table 3 Fibre material properties

Table 3 illustrates the main differences in terms of the material and the material
properties of steel and plastic fibres.  In general, the young’s modulus of these
plastic fibres is lower than that of hardened concrete, which limits their use in
permanent structures and structural applications unless of course if higher
deformations are acceptable for the structure. When the concrete is in fresh
state, it’s young’s modulus is less or comparable to those of micro synthetic
fibres and hence such fibres work well as plastic shrinkage reinforcement.
However, beyond the fresh state, such fibres add no significant value (Figure 7).

Figure:7 Young’s modulus: Synthetic Fibres vs Steel Fibres

It is to be noted that macro synthetic fibres start losing their mechanical
properties at 50°C which has also to be taken into consideration when fire
resistance is a given requirement. Furthermore, their long term behaviour
shows a high tendency to creep behaviour (Figure 8) owing to their visco-elastic
behaviour. Creep is the increase in extension of a material under constant load.
The deformation of the fibre is not only time-dependant, but also temperature-
dependant.

Figure:8 Creep Behaviour: Synthetic Fibres vs Steel Fibres

Application areas
 Table:4 Appropriate application areas for various fibres

2.4 Concluding remarks on SYNFRC

Synthetic fibres hold on their own in terms of the benefits they provide to
concrete at various stages of construction and application types. Micro fibres
provide excellent solution to plastic shrinkage problem in concrete and improve
the fire resistance of concrete while macro fibres find appropriate applications
with higher structural deformations and lighter loads. While a number of options
are available on the type of fibre to be used, it is very important to choose the
right fibres for the appropriate application. Care should be taken to design the
structure for the appropriate load coming over it fully understanding the
limitations of the fibres that are involved. Though the right design of the
structure is done and the fibre is chosen, much lies in the hands of the engineer
that executes the job.

References

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ACI JOURNAL, Proceedings, Vol. 68, No. 2, Feb. 1971, pp. 126-135
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J., Jr., “Performance Characteristics of Steel Fibre Reinforced
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Superplasticizers, SP-68, American Concrete Institute, Detroit, 1981,
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„Stahlfaserbeton“.  Fassung Oktober 2001
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Faserbeton“ Fassung Juli 2008
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19. Bekaert, brochure: Recommendations for handling, dosing and
mixing