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FIBRE REINFORCED CONCRETE- A CASE STUDY

Conference Paper · November 2017

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 FIBRE REINFORCED CONCRETE- A CASE STUDY

S.RAGAVENDRA1, I.PRAVEEN REDDY 2, Dr.ARCHANAA DONGRE 3

1
Assistant Professor, Vidya Jyothi Institute of Technology, Hyderabad, 500081,

e-mail:raghava4167@gmail.com
2
Assistant Professor, Vidya Jyothi Institute of Technology, 500081,

e-mail:praveenibrahimpally@gmail.com
3
Professor, Vidya Jyothi Institute of Technology, 500081,  e-­‐mail:archanaa@vjit.ac.in

ABSTRACT: The usefulness of fiber reinforced concrete (FRC) in various civil

engineering applications is indisputable. Fiber reinforced concrete has so far been successfully
used in slabs on grade, architectural panels, precast products, offshore structures, structures in
seismic regions, thin and thick repairs, crash barriers, footings, hydraulic structures and many
other applications. Fiber Reinforced Concrete (FRC) is gaining attention as an effective way to
improve the performance of concrete. Fibers are currently being specified in tunneling, bridge
decks, pavements, loading docks, thin unbonded overlays, concrete pads, and concretes
slabs. These applications of fiber reinforced concrete are becoming increasingly popular and are
exhibiting excellent performance.

Fiber-reinforced concrete (FRC) is concrete containing fibrous material which increases its
structural integrity. It contains short discrete fibers that are uniformly distributed and randomly
oriented. Fibers include steel fibers, glass fibers , synthetic fibers and natural fibers

This study presents understanding srength of fibre reinforced conceret. Mechanical

properties and durability of fiber reinforced concrete.

KEYWORDS: Steel Fibre Reinforced Concrete, tensile strength, compressive strength

1. INTRODUCTION
1.1 GENERAL

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 arectangular beam or column in a high rise
building. The advantages of using concrete include high compressive strength, good
fireresistance,high water resistance, low maintenance, and long service life.

Thedisadvantages ofusing concrete include poor tensile strength, low strainof fracture
and formwork requirement. The major disadvantage is that concrete develops micro cracks
during curing. It is the rapid propagationof these micro cracks under applied stress that is
responsible for the lowtensile strength of the material. Hence fibres are added to concrete to
overcome these disadvantages.

The addition of fibres in the matrix has manyimportant effects. Most notable among
theimproved mechanicalcharacteristics of Fibre Reinforced Concrete (FRC) are its
superiorfracture strength, toughness, impact resistance, flexural strength resistance to fatigue,
improving fatigue performance is one of the primaryreasons 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
itslifetime.

The main reasons for adding steel fibres to concrete matrix is to improvethe post-
cracking response of the concrete, i.e., to improve its energyabsorption capacity and apparent
ductility and to provide crack resistanceand crack control. Also, it helps to maintain structural
integrityandcohesiveness in the material. The initial researches combined with thelarge volume
offollow up research have led to the development of a widevariety of material formulations that
fit the definition of Fibre ReinforcedConcrete.

Steel fibre’s tensile strength, modulus of elasticity, stiffnessmodulus and mechanical

deformations provide an excellent means of internalmechanical interlock. This provides a user
friendly product withincreased ductility that can be used in applications of high impact
andfatigue loading without the fear of brittle concretefailure.Thus, SFRC exhibits better
performance not only under static and quasi-statically applied loads but also under fatigue,
impact, and impulsiveloading.

1.2 HISTORY OF REINFORCED CONCRETE :

A French gardener by name Joseph Monier first invented the reinforced concrete in the year
1849. If not for this reinforced concrete most of the modern buildings would not have been
standing today. Reinforced concrete can be used to produce frames, columns, foundation, beams
etc. Reinforcement material used should have excellent bonding characteristic, high tensile
strength and good thermal compatibility. Reinforcement requires that there shall be smooth
transmission of load from the concrete to the interface between concrete and reinforcement
material and then on to reinforcement material. Thus the concrete and the material reinforced
shall have the same strain.

1.3 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 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.

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.

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 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.

1.3.1 STEEL FIBER REINFORCED CONCRETE

o 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.

FIG 1.1STEEL FIBERS

1.3.2GLASS REINFORCED CONCRETE

o 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.

FIG 1.2 GLASS FIBRES

ü Very high tensile strength 1020 to 4080 N/mm2.

ü Shows comparable improvement indurability to conventional E-glass fiber.
1.3.3 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.

FIG1.3 SYNTHETIC FIBRES

1.3.4 NATURAL FIBRE 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.

1.3.5 ASBESTOS FIBER REINFORCED CONCRETE

ü Mineral fiber, most successful of all as it can be mixed with portland cement.

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

ü Asbestos cement paste has considerably higher flexural strength than Portland cement
paste.
 ü For unimportant concrete work, organic fibers like coir, jute and canesplits are also used.

FIG 1.4 ASBESTOS FIBRES

1.3.6 CARBON FIBER REINFORCED CONCRETE

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

ü Cement composite consisting of carbon fibers show very high modulus of elasticity and
flexuralstrength.

FIG 1.5 CARBON FIBRES

2. EXPERIMENTAL STUDY:

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

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.

Fig. 1.6 Steel fibres used in the experiment

2.2 CASTING OF SPECIMENS

The materials were weighed accurately using a digital the mixture machine and mixed
thoroughly for threeminutes. Steel fibres were mechanically sprinkled inside the mixturemachine
after thorough mixing of the ingredients of concrete.For preparing the specimen for compressive,
tensile, and flexure strengthpermanent steel moulds were used.
 Fig. 1.7 Casting of cubes

Steel moulds

Wooden moulds were fabricated to cast the test specimens for paneltesting. Six wooden
moulds were fabricated to facilitate simultaneouscasting of test panels. Two different thicknesses
were adopted for thepanels; the panel sizes adopted were 500×500×50mm and500×500×100mm.
Before mixing the concrete the moulds were kept ready. The sides andthe bottom of the
all the mould were properly oiled for easy demoulding.The panel was kept at an angle of 45° and
then the concrete was splashedover the panel from a distance of one meter. Then the top surface
wasgiven a smooth finish.

Fig. 1.8 Casting by wooden pane

SFRC using hooked fibre

 Fig. 1.9 SFRC using corrugated fibre
2.3 CURING OF SPECIMENS

The test specimens were stored in place free from vibration and kept at atemperature of
27˚±2˚C for 24 hours ± ½ hour from the time of additionof water to the dry ingredients. After
this period, the specimen weremarked and removed from the moulds and immediately
submerged inclean fresh water and kept there until taken out prior to test. Thespecimens were
allowed to become dry before testing. The panels werecured by dry curing method, i.e. moist
gunny bags were covered over thepanels.

Fig. 1.10 Use of Admixture

2.4CUBE COMPRESSION TEST

M25 cube made ofsteelfiber reinforced concrete is used in compression test.
Fig. 1.11Cube before test Fig. 1.12 Cube after test

TABLE 1: COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH

AVERAGE COMPRESSION
STRENGTH IN KN/ SqMM
Specimen 3 days 7days 28 days
type

PCC 25.27 39.59 59.89

HSFRC 24.50 37.29 58.24

0.5%
CSFRC 27.38 39.76 58.43
0.5%
HSFRC 1% 26.32 38.48 59.01
CSFRC 1% 40.35 32.17 60
TABLE 2: TENSILE STRENGTH

AVERAGE TENSILE STRENGTH IN

KN/SqMM
PCC 2.55 3.54 4.81

HSFRC 0.5% 2.9 4.76 5.19

CSFRC 0.5% 3.4 5.02 4.83

HSFRC 1% 4.01 5.66 6.37

CSFRC 1% 3.82 5.29 6.27
1
2

Fig. 1.13 shows compressive strength for fibre reinforced concrete. It can be clearly seen that
strength at 28 days for CSFRC 1% is better than other cases hence recommended.

Fig.  1.13  Graphical  represntation  of  Compressive  Strength  of  fibre  reinforced  concrete    

Fig  1.14  Graphical  represntation  of  Tensile  Strength  of  fibre  reinforced  concrete    

 
Fig. 1.14 shows tensile strength for fibre reinforced concrete. It can be clearly seen that strength
at 28 days for HSFRC 1% is better than other cases hence recommended. HSFRC seen to given
better strength at 3rd day and 7th day as well.

BAR CHART FOR COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH

70  

60  

50  
PCC  

40   HSFRC  0.5%  

CSFRC  0.5%  
30  
HSFRC  1%  
20  
CSFRC  1%  

10  

0  
3  DAYS   7  DAYS   28  DAYS  

CHART 2

BAR CHART FOR SPLIT TENSILE STRENGTH

7  

6  

5   PCC  

4   HSFRC  0.5%  

CSFRC  0.5%  
3  
HSFRC  0.5%2  
2  
CSFRC  1%  
1  

0  
3  DAYS   7  DAYS   28  DAYS  
 ACKNOLEDGEMENT:

I   am   thankful   to   B.tech   students     P.ALEKHYA   ,   D.LAXMI   ,   D.PRANATHI   for   carrying   out   this  
experimental   work.   I   would   also   thank     Dr.   ARCHANAA   DONGRE   Head   of   the   Department   of  
Civil  Engineering  who  has  been  an  excellent  guide  and  also  a  great  source  of  inspiration  to  my  
work.  

                             

CONCLUSION

A brief state-of-the-art report on fiber reinforced concrete is presented.Our understanding of

fiber-matrix interaction, reinforcement mechanisms and performance characteristics is fairly
advanced. Fiber reinforced concrete is a promising material to be used in the Middle-East for
sustainable and long-lasting concrete structures. Its performance has already been proven in
other hot and arid climates and in other chemically deleterious environments.

Fiber reinforced concrete pavements prove to be more efficient than conventional RC

pavements, in several aspects
Compressive strength for fibre reinforced concrete is seen to be improved. It can be clearly seen
that strength at 28 days for CSFRC 1% is better than other cases hence recommended.

Tensile strength for fibre reinforced concrete is increased. Strength at 28 days for HSFRC is
better than other cases when compared. HSFRC seen to given better strength at 3rd day and 7th
day as well.

REFERENCES:

1. 1. R.N. Swamy, “Testing and Test methods of Fiber Cement Composites”, Published
1978, (pp 42-43).

2. Surendra P. Shah , James I. Daniel, Darmawan Ludirdja, “Toughness of Glass Fiber

reinforced concrete panels subjected to accelerated aging”, PCI Journal, September-
October 1987, (pp 83-88).
3. Arnon Bentur and Sidney mindess , “ Fiber reinforced cementetious composites” ,
Second edition 2007, chapter 8
4. Amit rana “ some studies on steel fibre reinforced concrete” , Vol 3,2013.
5. Abdul Ghaffar, Amit S.Chavan, Dr.R.S. Tatwawadi, “ Steel Fibre Reinforced Concrete “,
International Journal of Engineering Trends and Technology (IJETT).
6. Alan J,Bookes, “ Cladding of Buildings”, Third Edition published 2002.

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