ACI MATERIALS JOURNAL
Title no. 97-M50
Shrinkage Cracking in Polyolefin Fiber-Reinforced Concrete
by Nemkumar Banthia and Cheng Yan
The effectiveness of fibers in controlling plastic shrinkage and
thermal cracking in cement-based materials is well recognized.
For any cement-based composite, however, the type of fiber and its
dimensions are the two most important factors controlling such
cracking. In this investigation, four types of polyolefin fibers (Types
19/15, 25/15, 25/38, and 50/63, where in l/d, l is the length of the
fiber and d is the equivalent diameter; Type 19/15, for example is
19 mm long and 0.15 mm in equivalent diameter) were investi-
gated. A newly developed technique was employed for this pur-
pose. In this technique, fiber-reinforced concrete to be tested is laid
on top of a fully hardened base concrete that provides the bottom
restraint and this results in cracking in the freshly placed overlay.
Cracking in the overlay is then monitored as a function of time. It
was noted that while the polyolefin fibers are generally effective in
reducing the amount and size of the shrinkage cracking, the dimen-
sions of the fiber have a decisive influence on the results. For
example, cracks widths that exceeded 1 mm in plain concrete spec-
imens were reduced to less than 0.40 mm with 0.7% by volume of
the 50/63 fiber, but were completely eliminated at the same volume
fraction of Type 19/15 fiber. For a fiber, the specific fiber surface (a
parameter defined as the fiber surface area in a unit volume of the
composite) appears to be of critical importance. Along with a
description of the test procedure, analysis scheme, and the results,
this study also provides recommendations for future work.
Keywords: crack; fiber-reinforced concrete; shrinkage.
INTRODUCTION
When cement paste is in the plastic state, it undergoes a
volumetric contraction as high as 1% of the absolute volume
of dry cement. This is due to both the evaporation of mixing
water and the autogenous process of concrete hydration. If
restrained, this contraction can cause strains far in excess of
those needed to cause cracking in young pastes with poorly
developed strength. In spite of every effort, plastic shrinkage
cracking still remains a real concern, particularly in large
surface area placements like slabs-on-grade, thin surface re-
pairs, patching, and shotcrete tunnel linings. In these appli-
cations, the exposed surface area per unit volume of the
overlay material is high and the old concrete substrate or the
rock surface offers a high degree of restraint. Among the dif-
ferent solutions proposed for controlling shrinkage cracking
in such applications, the most promising is the use of ran-
domly distributed fibers of steel and polypropylene, among
others, which provide bridging forces across cracks and thus
prevents them from growing.1,2
There exists several techniques for studying shrinkage in-
duced cracking in cement-based materials. These include, for
example, a ring type specimen,3 a linear specimen with an-
chored ends,2 a linear specimen held between a movable and a
fixed grip such that a complete restraint and one-dimensional
fixity are achieved by returning the movable grip to the orig-
inal position after shrinkage,4 and a plate type specimen
where the restrain is provided in two orthogonal directions.5
While effective for laboratory measurements, most of these
432
TECHNICAL PAPER
techniques produce stress fields in the specimen that are dif-
ferent from those occurring in practical applications. A tech-
nique producing realistic shrinkage conditions was recently
developed.6,7 In this method, a layer of fresh concrete is
placed directly on a fully hardened substrate. This old sub-
strate is given an exposed aggregate finish that enhances its
roughness and, in turn, imposes a uniform restraint on the
still shrinking overlay. The whole assembly is then subjected
to a drying environment to induce cracking in the overlay.
The objective of this study was to further develop this tech-
nique and to investigate the effect of polyolefin fiber on re-
strained shrinkage cracking in concrete.
RESEARCH SIGNIFICANCE
Shrinkage induced cracking in concrete is believed to be
one of the primary causes of lack of adequate durability in
concrete construction, and fiber reinforcement is believed to
be one of the most effective ways of controlling such crack-
ing. Unfortunately, however, there are no standardized tech-
niques of conducting shrinkage tests on concrete with a
volumetric restraint, and this has led to an inability to ratio-
nally quantify the usefulness of fibers in preventing shrink-
age induced cracking in a drying environment.
Need exists, therefore, to develop rational test methods of
conducting restrained shrinkage tests on concrete and to pro-
duce useful and representative information for various fiber
types under variable conditions of drying. Such an attempt
was made herein.
EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURES
Materials
CSA Type 10 (ASTM Type I) normal portland cement
was used. The fine aggregate was a clean river sand with a
fineness modulus of approximately 2.3, and the coarse ag-
gregate was pea gravel, with a maximum size of 10 mm. To
produce high strength substrate bases, silica fume was added
at a dosage rate of 10% by weight of cement.
Four polyolefin fiber types, 19/15, 25/15, 25/38, and 50/63
(called Type A, B, C, and D, respectively), were investigated
at several volume fractions. Detailed properties of these fi-
bers are given in Appendix A. For comparative purposes,
one mixture each of polypropylene and steel fiber was also
investigated at producer recommended dosage rates.
Preparation of substrate bases
Substrate bases were prepared at least 28 days prior to the
actual test to allow them to achieve sufficient strength. The
bases were made from high-strength concrete and cured in
ACI Materials Journal, V. 97, No. 4, July-August 2000.
MS No. 99-110 received June 6, 1999, and reviewed under Institute publication pol-
icies. Copyright  2000, American Concrete Institute. All rights reserved, including
the making of copies unless permission is obtained from the copyright proprietors.
Pertinent discussion will be published in the May-June 2001 ACI Materials Journal if
received by February 1, 2001.
ACI Materials Journal/July-August 2000

ACI member Nemkumar Banthia is a professor of civil engineering at the University
of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada. He serves on various ACI and RILEM
committees and chairs the Materials Division of the Canadian Society for Civil Engi-
neering. In 1997, he received the American Concrete Institute’s Wason Medal for
Materials Research.
Cheng Yan is a research associate in the Department of Civil Engineering at the Uni-
versity of British Columbia, where he received his PhD in engineering materials. His
research interests include high-performance cementitious materials and their dynamic
behavior.
water for a period of at least 28 days. The mixture propor-
tions are given in Table 1. To reduce the chances of breakage
during handling and to enhance the linear stiffness, rein-
forcement in the form of steel bars (2 nos; 15 mm ∅) was
provided along the length of the substrate.
The bases were 40 x 95 x 980 mm in dimension. They
were deliberately left somewhat smaller than the actual size
of the overlay to be placed afterwards, to avoid curling-up at
the ends. This way, the specimen was able to wrap over the
bases and hence was restrained from upward curling.
When the substrate concrete was still fresh, 25 ± 5 mm
rounded aggregates were placed on the surface so that ap-
proximately half the aggregate remained exposed. The ap-
proximate density of aggregate on the surface was 12
aggregates over a 100 cm2 area. The bases were demolded 24
h later and placed in water at approximately 25 C for the follow-
ing 28 days. Before the day of the test, these bases were dried
overnight in air at approximately 22 C.
Shrinkage test assembly
The Plexiglas molds for the samples were assembled and
oiled, and the air-dried substrate base was placed in the
mold. A 60 mm deep layer of the mixture to be investigated
was poured over the substrate base (Fig. 1). A vibrating table
was used to compact the overlay and the surface was leveled
using a trough. The entire assembly was then transferred to
the environmental chamber. The Plexiglas environmental
chamber measuring 1740 x 350 x 380 mm circulates hot air
from one end of the chamber to the other at approximately
340 cfm. The chamber is equipped with humidity and tem-
perature sensors [±1 C; ±2% relative humidity (RH)]. Sig-
nals from these sensors are sent to a personal computer that
not only keeps a record of these parameters during a test but
also controls the power supply to the fan and the heater as
necessary. A constant temperature of 38 C and a constant RH
of 5% were chosen. Under these conditions, an approximate
rate of surface evaporation of 0.8 kg/m2/h was measured.
This measurement was carried out as follows. A tray of clean
tap water with an exposed surface area of 220 x 310 mm was
weighed and then placed in the chamber. After approximate-
ly 2.5 hours, the tray was removed and weighed again to de-
termine the loss of water. This loss was then directly related
to the rate of surface evaporation per unit area per unit time.
One hour and fifteen minutes after preparing the sample,
the mold was removed very carefully. This is the earliest that
demolding can occur without a possible specimen collapse.
The process requires an extreme care because the concrete is
still very weak. The total surface exposed to the drying envi-
ronment greatly increases after demolding, and hence the
time of demolding is critical and affects the amount and rate
of shrinkage cracking.
Choice of matrix for fiber-reinforced concrete
mixtures
Most commonly used shrinkage test techniques produce
inconsistent cracking. Under identical conditions of environ-
ACI Materials Journal/July-August 2000
Table 1—Mixture proportions of substrate bases
Ingredient Proportion kg/m3
Cement 0.9 535.5
Silica fume 0.1 59.5
Water 0.28 166.6
Sand 1.36 809.2
Aggregate 1.36 809.2
Superplasticizer 3 (mL/kg cement) 1.6 L/m3
Fig. 1—Shrinkage test setup.
ment and restraint, the same mixture may either crack sub-
stantially or not crack at all. Comparing materials, fiber
types, and restraint conditions with such shrinkage test set-
ups is, therefore, difficult. One of the objectives in this inves-
tigations was to devise mixtures that give consistent and
reproducible cracking. This way alone, one could compare
various fiber types and determine the fiber characteristics
that are of importance. The concrete mixture should also be
realistic, that is, it should be a concrete mixture that is used
in practice, and should be compactible using traditional
methods. It is also critical that the mixture does not segregate
or bleed. Mixture segregation may result in an uneven distri-
bution of fibers in the sample. After a lengthy trial and error
process, a satisfactory mixture was obtained. The mixture had
a water-cement ratio (w/c) of 0.48, a sand-cement ratio (s/c) and
aggregate-cement ratio of unity and a silica fume content of 5%
mass of cement (Table 2). The addition of silica fume mini-
mized segregation and produced a cohesive mixture.
Crack observations
A continuous recording of crack widths and lengths com-
mences once the first crack appears on the surface of the
specimen. All cracks are marked in the order they appear and
their widths and lengths are measured every hour until they
are fully stabilized, that is, they stop from growing.
Given the irregular nature of cracks and the rate at which they
appear, measurements of widths and lengths are generally not
very straightforward. Cracks appear very quickly and in a ran-
dom order. The time elapsed between the first appearance of the
crack and its growth to the maximum length and width is gen-
erally only approximately 10 min. Very often, when the first
time a crack is observed, it may have already grown to approx-
imately 80% of its final width. Also, cracks usually appear rap-
idly one after another, all in a matter of a few minutes.
The width of a crack varies along the length and measur-
ing the width of a crack at various locations along the length
is a challenge. Given the wide variation, although the 10X
microscope was capable of measuring the crack widths to an
accuracy of 10 µm (0.01 mm), widths in this investigation
were measured only to the nearest 50 µm (0.05 mm). Proce-
433
Table 2—Mixture proportions for fiber-reinforced Table 5—Results for 0.5% fiber volume
concrete overlay mixtures None Type A Type B Type C Type D ST 50/50
Ingredient Proportion Ac 477 12 36 143 170 250 mm2
Cement 1.00
Lc 750 100 215 470 620 780 mm
Silica fume 0.05
Wmax 1.1 0.15 0.26 0.60 0.60 0.70 mm
Water 0.48
Wc 4.78 0.20 0.67 1.83 2.78 3.62 mm
Sand 1.00
Aggregate 1.00 n 12 2 5 17 30 12 —
nful 5 0 0 0 0 2 —
Table 3—Results for 0.1% fiber volume nful /n 0.417 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.17 —
None Type A Type B Type C Type D PP 55
Ac 477 250 210 300 280 238 mm2 Table 6—Results for 0.7% fiber volume
Lc 750 830 690 795 640 528 mm None Type A Type B Type C Type D
Wmax 1.1 0.90 0.55 0.90 1.10 0.83 mm Ac 477 20.5 57.1 109 mm2
Wc 4.78 3.15 2.16 3.06 3.03 2.52 mm Lc 750 75 255 475 mm
n 12 23 15 18 13 8 — Wmax 1.1 0.35 0.35 0.40 mm
nful 5 2 1 2 3 3 — No
Wc 4.78 cracks 0.65 0.97 2.09 mm
nful /n 0.417 0.087 0.067 0.111 0.231 0.375 — n 8 2 15 10 —
nful 5 0 0 1 —
Table 4—Results for 0.3% fiber volume nful /n 0.625 0.000 0.000 0.100 —
None Type A Type B Type C Type D
Wmax = width of the widest crack observed;
Ac 477 122.5 95.2 180 136.7 mm2 n = total number of cracks observed physically on
Lc 750 430 530 515 490 mm the surface of the specimen; and
Wmax 1.1 0.65 0.45 0.50 0.50 mm nful = number of cracks spanning the entire width of
Wc 4.78 1.71 1.42 2.30 2.26 mm the specimen.
n 12 10 29 21 19 — Notice that there is a general decrease in total crack area
nful 5 2 1 0 1 —
Ac and in the width of the widest crack observed Wmax due to
fiber reinforcement. There is also a general decrease in the
nful /n 0.417 0.200 0.034 0.000 0.053 — cumulative crack length Lc due to fibers. This is related to the
crack arrest properties of the fibers, which is also evident
durally, after a crack was observed, up to four points were
from the lesser number of cracks spanning the entire width
marked along its length and the widths at these four points
nful noted in the fiber-reinforced specimens.
were monitored until all the cracks on the sample had
stopped growing. The lengths of the cracks were measured To clearly understand the influence of fiber type on
with the aid of a piece of string and a measuring tape. The ir- shrinkage cracking, it is necessary to relate the observed
regular and tortuous nature of the cracks meant that there ex- cracking in the specimens to some fiber geometrical parame-
isted a large margin of error in these measurements and the ter. One such parameter is the fiber aspect ratio (l/d). In Fig. 2,
lengths were measured to the closest 5 mm only. Other pa- Ac is plotted against the fiber aspect ratio l/d for all fiber
rameters recorded were the total number of cracks n, and the types at the various fiber volume fractions. Because the as-
number of cracks that fully developed over the entire width pect ratio for polypropylene fiber is not clearly defined, the
of the specimen nful. These are the actual number of cracks data for polypropylene fiber is not plotted in Fig. 2. While
seen on the surface. one notices a general decrease in the total crack area Ac, a
definite and clear trend is not seen. Also, when the maximum
crack width Wmax is plotted as a function of l/d, as in Fig. 3,
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION once again, only a weak trend emerges.
Results for the various fiber types are given in Table 3, 4, 5, Fiber aspect ratio is only a geometrical parameter and does
and 6 for 0.1, 0.3, 0.5, and 0.7% fiber volume fractions, respec- not explicitly involve the fiber volume fraction present in the
tively. Notice that in Table 3 comparative data for the 55 mm mixture. The influence of fiber volume fraction may be intro-
long fibrillated polypropylene fiber (each monofilament duced by considering the number of fibers crossing a crack. The
0.03 mm in diameter, fiber denoted as PP 55) are also given. idea of fiber count was previously proposed by Zollo.8 In Fig.
Similarly, in Table 5, the data for the 50 mm long hooked-end 4, the total crack area Ac is plotted against the number of fibers
steel fiber (diameter of 0.5 mm, fiber denoted as ST 50/50) are per unit area N for all fiber types and fiber volume fractions.
given for a comparison. Values reported in Table 3 to 6 are Note that the parameter N explicitly indicates the volume frac-
averages taken for 2 or 3 specimens. A high coefficient of tion of the fiber present in the mixture. Similarly, the maximum
variation of up to 25% was noted. The definitions of the sym- crack width Wmax is plotted as a function of N in Fig. 5. Notice
bols used are as follows: that while the correlation is significantly improved over the pa-
Ac = total cracked area of the sample measured on rameter l/d, it is still not entirely satisfactory.
the top surface of the specimen only. It is the Given that multiple cracking occurs in fiber-reinforced
summation of all individual crack areas calcu- concrete during restrained shrinkage, it is the reinforcing
lated as average width x lengths. ability of a fiber over a certain volume of the composite that is
Lc = cumulative length of all cracks wider than 0.1 mm; important rather than its stress transfer capability at an isolated
Wc = cumulative width of all cracks wider than 0.1 mm; crack only. With this mind, another interesting parameter to

434 ACI Materials Journal/July-August 2000

Fig. 2—Total crack area versus fiber aspect ratio (l/d).
Fig. 3—Maximum crack width versus fiber aspect ratio (l/d).
Fig. 4—Total crack area versus number of fibers per unit
area (N).
consider is the specific fiber surface Sf , which is defined as the
fiber surface area in a unit volume of the composite. This pa-
rameter is calculated for the various fibers in Appendix A.
Notice that like the Parameter N and the Sf is a parameter
dependent not only on the fiber geometry but also on the fi-
ber volume fraction in the mixture. Unlike N, however, Sf
also indirectly involves the length of the fiber as the calcula-
tions of Sf are valid only over a large enough composite vol-
ume involving multiples of fiber length. This parameter
therefore represents the combined influence of fiber length
ACI Materials Journal/July-August 2000
Fig. 5—Maximum crack width versus number of fibers per
unit area (N).
Fig. 6—Total crack area versus specific fiber surface (Sf).
Fig. 7—Maximum crack width versus specific fiber surface (Sf).
and fiber diameter, as well the volume fraction, and is there-
fore a better way of representing the reinforcing action of fi-
bers in a composite under shrinkage induced strains. Indeed,
in Fig. 6, when the total crack area Ac is plotted against the
Sf, a clear trend emerges for the polyolefin fiber. Similarly,
when the maximum crack width Wmax is plotted as a function
of Sf in Fig. 7, once again, a relatively better defined trend
emerges. Converting fiber number to fiber surface apparently
better represents the internal conditions in a material subject-
ed to drying and shrinkage induced strains.
435
 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Tests were performed to investigate the effectiveness of
polyolefin fibers in controlling restrained shrinkage cracking
in concrete. It was found that the fibers were very effective
in reducing the extent of shrinkage cracking and in reducing
the crack widths. While the fibers with a higher aspect ratio
are generally more effective in controlling cracking, intro-
duction of new parameter Sf appears to be a better indication
of fiber performance in controlling shrinkage cracking.
Based on this analysis, fiber Types 19/15 and 25/15 are more
effective than Types 25/38 and 50/63.
Only one concrete mixture and one set of environmental
conditions were investigated in this study. For future work,
it is recommended that additional data be generated with
variations in the environmental conditions (wind velocity,
and rate of surface evaporation) and changes in the mixture Fig. A1—Group of 10 fibrillated fibers.
parameters. Clearly, the ultimate goal is to produce design
charts where one could relate environmental conditions to Table A1—Typical physical properties of polyolefin
fibers
the type and volume fraction of fibers required to produce
crack-free concrete. Property Results
There are some interesting trends evident in the data that Specific gravity (bulk relative density) 0.91
should be further investigated through micromechanical frac- Tensile strength 275 MPa
ture modeling. Such an effort will not only improve our under- Modulus of elasticity 2647 MPa
standing of the reinforcing mechanisms in these composites in Elongation at break 15%
the early stages of concrete hydration, but also help improve fi- Ignition point 593 C (1100 F)
ber geometry and other characteristics for a better performance. Melt point 160 C (320 F)
Electrical conductivity Low
APPENDIX A
Polyolefin fibers of different geometry were investigated. Table A2—Dimension of fibers
In this Appendix, the physical properties of these fibers and Fiber Length, mm Average diameter, mm
the different ways in which the geometrical features were Polyolefin Type A (19/15) 19 0.15
characterized and quantified are described.
Polyolefin Type B (25/15) 25 0.15
Polyolefin Type C (25/38) 25 0.38
Physical properties
Polyolefin Type D (50/63) 50 0.63
The physical properties of the Polyolefin fibers as given
by the manufacturer are as given in Table A1. Polypropylene (PP 55*) 55 0.03
Steel (ST 50/50†) 50 0.50
Geometry *
Fibrillated polypropylene fiber.
†
Four fibers geometries: Type A 19/15, Type B 25/15, Type Hooked-end steel fiber.
C 25/38, and Type D 50/63 were investigated. The designa-
tion of XX/XX was given by the manufacturer; the first num- Table A3—Specific fiber surface Sf at various fiber
ber represents the length of the fiber in mm, and the second volumes
number is the effective diameter of the fiber in mm × 100. Fi-
Specific fiber surface (mm2/mm2 x m)
bers A and B are cylindrical in cross section with a diameter
Fiber volume fraction
of 0.15 mm, while Fibers C and D are oval in a cross section.
Their detailed properties are given in Table A2. In Table A2, Fiber type 0.1% 0.3% 0.5% 0.7%
the properties of the polypropylene and steel fibers investi- Type 19/15 26.67 80.0 133.3 186.7
Type 25/15
gated for a comparative evaluation are also given.
Type 25/38 10.5 31.6 52.6 73.7
Type 50/63 6.35 19.0 31.7 44.4
Specific fiber surface Sf
PP 55 76.3 — — —
The specific fiber surface Sf is defined as the total surface
ST 50/50 — — 40 —
area of all fibers within a unit volume of composite. The end
faces of the fibers are neglected and the effect of fiber orien-
tation is ignored. V
S f = -----f ⋅ P f =
The total fiber surface in a unit volume of composite is Af
given by
5 1
3 × --- πd + 7 × --- πd
Vf V 4V 6 2 2.29V
- ⋅ P ⋅ l = -----f ⋅ P f = --------f
S f = ---------- V f ⋅ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ = ---------------f
Af ⋅ l f Af d d
10 × --- πd + 9  ------- d – 3 × ------ πd 
1 2 3 2 1 2
where d is the diameter of the fiber. 4  4 24 
For fibrillated polypropylene fibers, where fibers are ag-
gregated in a bunch of 10 or so filaments, the specific fiber For the various fibers investigated, the specific surface areas
surface may be calculated as follows (Fig. A1) are given in Table A3.

436 ACI Materials Journal/July-August 2000

Table A4—Aspect ratios ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors are indebted to Wee Yee Lee of the National University of
Type 19/15 Type 25/15 Type 25/38 Type 50/63 ST 50/50 Singapore for his assistance in the laboratory. The continued financial sup-
127 167 65.8 79.3 100 port of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada
is also thankfully acknowledged.

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ACI Materials Journal/July-August 2000 437