Fiber Reinforced

Concrete
Trade Name: Wirand Concrete
What is a Fiber?
Small piece of reinforcing material
possessing certain characteristic
properties.
Can be circular or flat.
Parameter used to describe fiber
Aspect ratio.
Aspect ratio is ratio of its length to its
diameter.
Typical aspect ratio for fibers ranges from
30 to 150.
What is Fiber Reinforced Concrete
(FRC)?
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.
Within these different fibers that character of
fiber reinforced concrete changes with varying
concretes, fiber materials, geometries,
distribution, orientation and densities.
History of FRC
The concept of using fibers as reinforcement is not new.
Fibers have been used as reinforcement since ancient
times.
Historically, horsehair was used in mortar and straw in
mud bricks.
In the early 1900s, asbestos fibers were used in
concrete, and in the 1950s the concept of composite
materials came into being.
There was a need to find a replacement for the asbestos
used in concrete and other building materials due to the
health risks associated with the substance were
discovered.
By the 1960s, steel, glass (GFRC), and synthetic fibers
such as polypropylene fibers were used in concrete, and
research into new fiber reinforced concretes continues
today.
Fibers used
Although every type of fiber has been tried out in
cement and concrete, not all of them can be
effectively and economically used. Each fiber has
some characteristic properties and limitations.
Fibers used are-
Steel fibers
Polypropylene, nylons
Asbestos, Coir
Glass
Carbon
 Steel Fiber Reinforced Concrete

Most commonly used fiber.

Round fiber of diameter 0.25 to
0.75mm.
Enhances flexural, impact and fatigue
strength of concrete.
Used for-overlays of roads, airfield
pavements, bridge decks.
Thin shells and plates have also been
constructed using stell fibers.
Polypropylene/Nylon Fiber
Reinforced Concrete

Suitable to increase impact strength of

concrete.
Possess high tensile strength but their low
modulus of elasticity and higher elongation
do not contribute to the flexural strength.
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.
Glass Fiber Reinforced Concrete

Recent introduction.
Very high tensile strength 1020 to 4080
N/mm2.
Alkali resistant glass fiber has been
developed.
Shows comparable improvement in
durability to conventional E-glass fiber.
Carbon Fiber Reinforced Concrete

Posses very high tensile strength 2110 to

2815 N/mm2 and Youngs modulus.
Cement composite consisting of carbon
fibers show very high modulus of elasticity
and flexural strength.
Used for cladding, panels and shells.
Factors affecting properties of Fiber
Reinforced Concrete
Transfer of stress between matrix and
fiber.
Type of fiber.
Fiber geometry.
Fiber content.
Orientation and distribution of fibers
Mixing and compaction technique of
concrete.
Size and shape of aggregates.
Relative Fiber Matrix Stiffness
Modulus of elasticity of matrix must be much
lower than that of fiber for efficient stress transfer.
Nylon and propylene fiber impart greater degree
of toughness and resistance to impact.
Steel, glass and carbon impart strength and
stiffness to the composite.
Interfacial bonds also determine the degree of
stress transfer.
Bonds can be improved by larger area of contact,
improving frictional properties and degree of
gripping and by treating steel fibers with sodium
hydroxide or acetone.
Volume Of Fiber
Strength largely depends upon the quantity of
fibers used.
Tensile strength and toughness of the
composite linearly increase with increase in
volume of fibers.
Higher percentage of fibers is likely to cause
segregation and harshness of concrete and
mortar.
Aspect Ratio Of Fiber
One of the important factor affecting the
properties and behavior of composite.
Increase in aspect ration upto 75, increase the
ultimate strength of concrete linearly.
Beyond 75 relative strength and toughness is
reduced.
Orientation Of Fibers
One of the major difference in
conventional reinforcement and fiber
reinforcement.
Specimens with 0.5% volume of fiber were
tested and it showed that when fibers were
aligned parallel to the load applied, more
tensile strength toughness was seen as
compared to randomly distributed and
perpendicular fibers.
Workability and Compaction of
Concrete
Use of steel fibers decrease the
workability.
External vibration fails to compact the
concrete.
Poor workability is also result of non
uniform distribution of fibers.
Fiber volume at which this situation is
reached depends on the length and
diameter of fiber used.
Workability and compaction standard
can be improved with help of water
reducing admixture.
Size Of Coarse
Aggregates
Maximum size of aggregates should be
restricted to 10 mm.
Fibers also act as aggregate.
The interparticle friction and between
fibers and between fibers and
aggregates controls the orientation and
distribution of fibers which affect the
properties of composite.
Friction reducing admixtures and
admixtures improving the cohesiveness
can significantly improve the mix.
Mixing
Mixing is important to avoid balling of
aggregates, segregation and to obtain
uniform composite.
Increase in aspect ration, volume
percentage, size and quantity of
aggregates intensify the balling
tendencies.
A steel fiber content in excess of 2% by
volume and an aspect ratio of more than
100 are difficult to mix.
Addition of fibers before addition of
water is important to get uniform
dispersion of fibers in concrete mix.
Typical Proportions For FRC
Ingredients Proportions Fiber Content:

Cement 325 to 550 Fiber Percentag

content kg/m3 e
W/C Ratio 0.4 to 0.6
Steel 1% for
Sand/Total 50-100% 78Kg/m3
aggregates
Glass 1% for
Max 10 mm
aggregate
25Kg/m3
size
Nylon 1% for
Air content 6-9%
11Kg/m3
Advantages Of FRC Over
Conventionally Reinforced Concrete
Increased static and dynamic tensile strength.
Energy absorbing characteristics and better
fatigue strength.
Uniform dispersion of fibers throughout the
concrete provides isotropic properties.
Applications
Overlays of air-fields.
Road pavements.
Industrial flooring.
Bridge decks.
Canal lining.
Explosive resistant structure.
Refractory lining.
Fabrications of precast products like pipes,
boats, beams, staircase steps, wall panels, roof
panels, manhole covers etc.
Manufacture of prefabricated formwork moulds
of U shape for casting lintels and small
beams.
Precast canal lining Road pavement

Manhole cover Bridge decks

Applications
Applications

Fire place made out of GFRC

Air field runway
Current development in FRC:-
High fibre volume micro-fibre system.
Slurry infiltrated fibre concrete(SIFCON).
Compact reinforced composites.
High fibre volume micro-fibre
system:-
Can replace asbestos fibre.
Improves toughness and impact strength.
These properties make it attractive for thin
precast products such as roofing sheets
,cladding panels.
Cement composites are useful for repair &
rehabilitation works.
Slurry infiltrated fibre concrete:-
SIFCON was invented by Lankard in 1979.
Steel fibre bed is prepared and cement slurry
is infiltrated.
Micro-fibre contents up to about 20% by
volume can be achieved.
Increase in both flexural load carrying capacity
and toughness.
High compressive strength is achieved.
Used for blast resistant structures & burglar
proof safe vaults.
Compact reinforced
composites(CRC):-
Consist of an extremely strong ,dense cement
matrix.
Extremely expensive.
Exhibits flexural strength up to 260Mpa
& compressive strength of about 200Mpa.
As strong as structural steel.
Can be moulded and fabricated at site.
Polymer concrete:-
Concrete is porous due to air voids
,water voids.
Impregnation of monomer &
subsequent polymerization is the
latest technique adapted to reduce
porosity and improves strength.
Types: -
Polymer impregnated concrete(PIC).
Polymer cement concrete(PCC).
Polymer concrete(PC).
Polymer impregnated & surface coated
polymer concrete.
Polymer impregnated concrete:-
Precast conventional concrete ,cured & dried in
oven.
Polymerization carried out by using radiation
,application of heat or by chemical initiation.
Monomers used are methylmethacrylate ,styrene
,acrylonitrile ,t-butyl styrene.
Amount of monomer loading depends on quantity
of water and air that has occupied the total void
space.
Monomer loading time can be reduced by
application of pressure.
Polymer cement
concrete:-
Made by mixing cement ,aggregates ,water &
monomer.
Monomers used in PCC are polyster-styrene
,epoxystyrene ,furans ,vinylidene chloride.
A superior PCC made by furfuryl alcohol
aniline hydrochloride in the wet mix is claimed
to be specially dense ,non-shrinking ,high
corrosion resistance ,low permeability & high
resistance to vibrations and axial extension.
Polymer concrete:-
Aggregate bound with a polymer binder.
Minimizes void volume in the aggregate mass.
Strength obtained is 140 Mpa with a short
curing period.
The graded aggregates are prepacked &
vibrated in mould.
Tend to be brittle & it is reported that
dispersion of fibre reinforcement would
improve the toughness & tensile strength of
material.
Partially impregnated & surface
coated concrete:-
Significant increase in strength of original
concrete.
Polymerisation can be done by thermal
catalytic method.
Depth of monomer penetration depend upon
pore structure of hardened & dry concrete
,duration of soaking & viscosity of monomer.
Excellent penetration can be achieved by
ponding the monomer on concrete surface.
Properties of PIC:-
Tensile strength:-
Impregnated concrete is observed to be 3.9 times
that of the control specimen using radiation
process of polymerization.

FLEXURAL STRENGTH:-

PIC with polymer loading of 5.6% MMA

shows flexural strength 18.8 Mpa as

compared to 5.2Mpa of the control
specimen.
Stress-strain relationship:-

Has linear stress-strain relationship to failure.

Very little departure from linearity up to 90% of
ultimate strength.
No abrupt change at the proportional limit.

Compressive strength:-

Using MMA as monomer & with polymer loading of

6.4% ,144 Mpa strength is obtained using radiation
technique & 130 Mpa using thermal catalytic
process.
Higher strengths are obtained with MMA
impregnated sample than with polyster styrene.
Creep:-

After typical initial movement during load application

,these concretes expand under sustained
compression.
Creep deformation generally stabilises after 2-3
months.

Shrinkage:-

Occurs through two stages i.e. initial drying & through

polymerisation.
Several times greater than the normal drying shrinkage.
Shrinkage is less for higher modulus of elasticity.
Water absorption:-

Maximum reduction of 95% in water absorption has been

observed with concrete containing 5.9% polymer loading.
Co-efficient of thermal expansion:-

PIC has higher co-efficient of thermal expansion than

conventional concrete.
Radiation polymerised concrete has co-efficient of
thermal expansion of 5.63 *10-6 and styrene
impregnated specimens have shown a value of
5.1*10-6
Resistance to abrasion:-

PIC shows appreciable improvement in resistance to

abrasion.
5.5% MMA impregnated concrete has been found to be
50 to 80% more resistant to abrasion than the control
speciman.

Wear & skid resistance:-

On actual wear track test ,the treated surfaces

show excellent skid resistance than the
unimpregnated surfaces.
The wear after 50,000 simulated vehicular passes
has been less than 0.025 cm.
Fracture of PIC:-
Applications of PIC:-
Prefabricated structural elements:-

For solving problems of urban housing storage

,maintaining quality ,economy & speed ;prefabricated
techniques of construction are used.
Can be used in high rise building due to easy handling
and erection.
Prestressed concrete:-

PIC provides high compressive strength of 100-140

Mpa ,hence useful for larger spans and heavier loads.
Low creep properties of PIC make it good material for
prestressed concrete.
Marine works:-

PIC possessing high surface hardness ,very low

permeability & greatly increased resistance to chemical
attack ,is a suitable material for marine works.
Desalination plants:-

Material used in construction of flash distillation vessels in

desalination of water has to withstand corrosive effects of
distilled water ,brine and vapour at temp. of 143 C.
It is seen that there is a saving in construction of cost over
that of conventional concrete by the use of PIC.
Nuclear power plants:-

Nuclear container vessels are required to withstand high

temp. & provide shield against radiations.
PIC having high permeability ,durability and strength are
thus used.
Sewage disposal works:-

Concrete sewer pipes deteriorate due to attack of

effluents.
Concrete structures are subjected to attack from
corrosive gases in sludge digestion tanks.
PIC due to its high sulphate and acid resistance is
suitable for such works.
Water proofing of structures:-

Seepage and leakage of water through bathroom slabs

has not been fully overcome by conventional water
proofing methods.
Use of polymer impregnated mortar provides better
water proofing,
Industrial
applications:-

Concrete has been used for floor in tanneries .chemical

factories ,dairy farms and in similar situations for
withstanding the chemical attack ,but performance is
unsatisfactory.
PIC provides a permanent solution for durable flooring in
such situations.
Impregnation of ferrocement products:-

Ferrocement construction techniques are extensively

used in manufacture of boats ,fishing trawlers
,domestic water tanks ,grain storage tanks ,manhole
cove ,etc.
Ferrocement products are generally thin & as such are
liable to corrode.
Application of polymer impregnated techniques should
improve the functional efficiency of ferrocement
products.
Thank
you