Fiber Reinforced Concrete-FRC

Advantages of concrete

Versatile man made material

Engineered materials

Improves some other Properties like

Mechanical properties
Durability
Formability
Adoptability
Fire resistance
General availability
Affordability
Disadvantages of concrete
 Low and unreliable tensile strength
 Brittleness

Result:
 Susceptibility to cracking and reduced durability.
 Little or no energy absorption capability
Reinforced cement concrete -RCC
In ordinary reinforced concrete, the steel
resists the tension and concrete the
compression

Even then, we have to rely at least indirectly on

the (low) tensile strength of the concrete
Fiber reinforced concrete-FRC
 In fiber-reinforced concrete, tension is basically
resisted by the fibers
 This implies defining a new material with
properties determined by both concrete matrix
and fibers
 This composite maintains basically isotropic
properties
 As long as the fibers assure a minimum tensile
strength of the composite, no additional
reinforcement may be necessary
 The energy required for fiber failure or pull-out is
the basis for an increase in ductility and
toughness

 By carefully tuning the fiber and matrix properties

it is possible to cause multiple cracking along the
fibers and strain hardening. As a result, the
material’s toughness can be increased by orders
of magnitude.
 Plain Concrete

 High Compressive strength: M100 - M160

 Low to medium tensile strength: 10- 20 MPa
 Brittle like glass
 Sudden failure
 No Energy Absorption Capacity

MCN
MCN
Definition of SFRC

Conventional mortar or concrete

+
Discontinuous discrete fibers (STEEL)
+
Admixtures
=
SFRC
 Introduction-General

 fibre reinforced cement - a material made from a

hydraulic cement and discrete, discontinuous fibers
(but containing no coarse aggregate)

 Fibre reinforced concrete - made with hydraulic

cement, and aggregates of various sizes, incorporating
discrete, discontinuous fibers.
 What are fibers

Introduction-General
 Use of fibres to strengthen materials - weaker in tension
than in compression goes back to ancient times.
 Oldest written account of such a composite material-
clay bricks reinforced with straw 3500 years ago, sun-
baked bricks reinforced with straw were used to build 57
m high hill of Aqar Quf (near present-day Baghdad)
Introduction-General

 The first widely used manufactured composite material

– in modern times was asbestos cement, which was
developed in about 1900

 Now, fibres of various kinds are used to reinforce a

number of different materials, such as epoxies, plastics
and ceramics hydraulic cement binders.
 Introduction-General

 Since the early use of asbestos fibres, a wide variety of

other fibers have been used with hydraulic cements

 Conventional fibers such as steel and glass; new fibers

such as carbon and low modulus fibers, either man-
made (polypropylene, nylon) or natural (cellulose,
sisal, jute).
 Introduction-General

 Different fibers vary considerably both in properties,

effectiveness and cost

 In addition to their mechanical properties, fibers may also

differ widely in their geometry.
Introduction-General

 The steel and glass fibers that were used in the early work
on FRC in the 1950s and 1960s were straight and smooth.
 Since then, however, more complicated geometries have
been developed, mainly to modify their mechanical
bonding with the cementitious matrix.
 Thus, modern fibers may have profiled shapes, hooked or
deformed ends, they may occur as bundled filaments or
they may be used in continuous form (mats, woven fabrics,
textiles)
 Here, we will deal primarily with discontinuous fibers;
 Introduction-General

 Most of the developments with FRC involve the use of

ordinary Portland cements
However, high alumina cement, gypsum and a variety of
special cements have also been used to produce FRC,
generally to improve the durability of the composite, or
to minimize chemical interactions between the fibres and
the matrix
Recent developments also include specially formulated
mortar and concrete matrices with controlled particle
size distributions.
Introduction-General

 Plain, unreinforced cementitious materials are

characterized by low tensile strengths, and low tensile
strain capacities; that is, they are brittle materials

 They thus require reinforcement before they can be

used extensively as construction materials.
 Introduction-General
 Historically reinforcement has been in the form of
continuous reinforcing bars, which could be placed in
the structure at the appropriate locations to withstand the
imposed tensile and shear stresses.
 Fibers, on the other hand, are discontinuous, and are
most commonly randomly distributed throughout the
cementitious matrix.
 They are therefore not as efficient in withstanding the
tensile stresses. However, because they tend to be more
closely spaced than conventional reinforcing bars, they
are better at controlling cracking.
 Thus, conventional reinforcing bars are used to increase
the load-bearing capacity of concrete; fibres are more
effective for crack control
Introduction-General

 Because of the differences, there are certain

applications in which fibre reinforcement is better
than conventional reinforcing bars.
 Introduction-General
 These include:
 A. Thin sheet components, in which conventional reinforcing
bars cannot be used, and in which the fibres therefore
constitute the primary reinforcement.

 In thin sheet materials, fibre concentrations can be relatively

high, typically exceeding 5% by volume.
 In these applications, the fibres act to increase both the
strength and the toughness (i.e. strain hardening) of the
composite, and can be classified as high performance FRC
(Figure 1.1).

 A new generation of high performance FRC is currently based

on advanced formulations of fibres and matrices to achieve
strain hardening behaviour even with modest fibre contents of
∼ 2% by volume (Figure 1.1).
Introduction-General
Introduction-General

 B. Components which must withstand locally high

loads or deformations, such as tunnel linings, blast
resistant structures, or precast piles which must be
hammered into the ground.
 Introduction-General
 C. Components in which fibers are added primarily to
control cracking induced by humidity or temperature
variations, as in slabs and pavements.
 In these applications, fibers are often referred to as
secondary reinforcement.
 In this case the fibers provide post-cracking ductility,
but the stresses are smaller than the first crack stress,
that is a strain softening material (Figure 1.1).
 This type of composite is referred to as conventional
FRC.
Introduction-General
 It is important to recognize that in general, fibre reinforcement is
not a substitute for conventional reinforcement.

 Fibers and steel bars have different roles to play in modern concrete
technology, and there are many applications in which both fibers
and continuous reinforcing bars should be used together.

 In applications (2) and (3), the fibers are not used to improve the
strength (either tensile or other) of concrete, though a small
improvement in strength may sometimes result from their use.

 Rather, the role of fibers is to control the cracking of FRC, and to

alter the behavior of concrete once the matrix has cracked, as shown
by the schematic load vs. deflection curves of Figure 1.1.
 Thus, the fibers improve the ‘ductility’ of the material or more
properly, its energy absorption capacity.
Introduction-General

 Indeed, if an attempt is made to optimize the FRC for

strength alone, this often leads to reduced toughness and
more brittle behavior

 In addition, there is often an improvement in impact

resistance, fatigue properties and abrasion resistance

 The applications of FRC are as varied as the types of

fibers that have been used.
 Introduction-General

 Asbestos fibers have long been used in pipes and in

corrugated or flat roofing sheets

 Glass fibers are used primarily in precast panels

(nonstructural)

 Steel fibers have been used in pavements , in shotcrete,

in dams and in a variety of other structures
 Introduction-General

 Increasingly, polypropylene fibers are being used as

secondary reinforcement, to control plastic shrinkage
cracking, and a newer generation of ‘structural polymer
fibers’ may be applied for crack control in the hardened
concrete.
 Vegetable fibers have been used in low-cost building
materials.
 New fibers and new applications seem to go hand in
hand.
 New production technologies have evolved as new fibers
have been developed, and new applications found.
Introduction-General

 Clearly, in order to produce useful FRC, the

production techniques must be compatible with the
particular fibers and matrix.

 This depends not only upon the fibre type, but also on
the fibre geometry.
 Introduction-General

 In particular, there is an inherent contradiction between

the fibre geometry required to allow easy handling of
the fresh FRC, and that required for maximum efficiency
in the hardened composite

 Longer fibers of smaller diameter will be more efficient

in the hardened FRC, but will make the fresh FRC more
difficult to handle.
Behavior of beam with and without fibers
Cross section of broken SFRC Beam
Polypropylene matrix

Fibers
Deformed Steel Fibers
Deformed Steel Fibers

Flat end hooked Round ribbed or

Polypropylene
deformed fibers
Synthetic Fibers

Carbon Fiber

Polymeric Macro-
Fiber
Fiber reinforced concrete
 Fiber reinforced concrete (FRC) is a composite
obtained by adding a single type (steel or synthetic)
or a blend (steel + synthetic) of fibers to the concrete
mix.
 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.
Codes of practices

 Fiber reinforced concrete technology is in

continuous growth and expansion, and is now
included in most relevant concrete codes around
the world.

 ACI codes- Ex. ACI 544

Factors Controlling SFRC
Definitions of terms used in SFRC
 Aspect ratio, l/d (AR)
 Volume fraction, vf
 Fiber reinforcing index, RI=l/d x vf
 Critical length, lmin
 Balling of fibers
 Good mix design: more matrix, small aggregate,
workable
 Type of fibers-size, shape, strength, modulus
AR and Vf
a a
a b
d
de

Area =πd2/4 = axa =axb

l
d= de, AR= l/de
Weight of fiber for one percent volume of
concrete
Density of steel fiber =7800 kg/cu m
Vf= 1% by volume = 78kg of fibers/cu m of
concrete
Fibers Distribution in Concrete

2-D
The distribution of
fibers in the matrix
could be either 2-D
random or 3-D
random.
3-D
 Purpose
 Steel fibers are used to reinforce the concrete adding
mechanical properties that can be used for structural design
purpose.

 Fibers include
 steel fibers, glass fibers, synthetic fibers and natural fibers.

 Within these different fibers, the character of fiber reinforced

concrete changes with varying concretes, fiber materials,
geometries, distribution, orientation and densities.
Advantages and disadvantages
 History
 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 and fiber
reinforced concrete was one of the topics of interest.
 By the 1960s, steel(SFRC), glass (GFRC), and synthetic fibers such
as polypropylene fibers were used in concrete, and research into
new fiber reinforced concretes continues today.
History of Fiber use as Reinforcement
Properties of concrete affected by fibers
Adding fibers to concrete improves mechanical properties:
 Increases toughness
 Increases ductility and flexural resistance
 Gets higher and more stable tensile strength
 Increases shear resistance
And can improve control for the following effects:
 Fatigue
 Impact
 Shrinkage
 Fire resistance
Types of natural fibers
Natural fibers

Akwara Bamboo

Sisal

Elephant grass
 Applications
The traditional sectors where the fiber reinforced concrete is applied
are:

 Lining for tunnels

 Industrial floors
 Precast elements
 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.
Applications
of
Fiber Reinforced
and
High Performance  Fiber Reinforced
Concrete
Types and Application

 Steel Fibers Reinforced Concrete (SFRC)

 Slurry-Infiltrated Fiber Concrete (SIFCON)
 Slurry Infiltrated Mat Concrete (SIMCON)
 Continuous fiber-mat High Performance
Fiber Reinforced Concrete (HPFRCs)
General Applications and Advantages Steel
Fiber Concrete
·Cost savings of 10% - 30% over conventional
concrete flooring systems.
·Reinforcement throughout the section in all
directions versus one plane of reinforcement
(sometimes in the sub-grade) in only two
directions.
·Increased ultimate flexural strength of the concrete
composite, and thus thinner sections.
Contd.
 Increased flexural fatigue endurance and
again thinner slabs.
 Increased flexural toughness, or the ability
to absorb energy.
 Increased impact resistance and thus
reduced chipping and joint spalling.
Contd.
 Increased shear strength and thus the ability
to transfer loads across joints in thin sections.

 Increased tensile strength and tensile strain

capacity thus allowing increased
contraction/construction joint spacing
Major Areas of Application

The six major areas in which Steel Fibers can

be used to achieve high-strength, durable
and economical concrete are:
a) Overlays
Examples:

Roads, Airfields, Runways, Container,

Movement and Storage Yards, Industrial
Floors and Bridges.
Advantages of using SFRC 
 Fatigue and impact resistance increased
 Wear and tear resistance increased
 Joint spacing increased
 Thinner pavements possible due to higher
flexural strength of SFRC
 Long service life with little or no maintenance
b) Pre-cast Concrete Products
 
Examples:

Manhole covers and Frames, Pipes, Break-

Water Units, Building Floor and Walling
Components, Acoustic Barriers, Kerbs, Impact
Barriers, Blast Resistant Panels, Vaults, Coffins
etc.
Advantages of using SFRC:
 Fatigue and impact resistance increased
 Thinner sections possible with SFRC reducing
handling and transportation costs.
 Reduced consumption and savings in cost of
materials makes pre-cast products competitive in
price with cast iron or reinforced concrete products.
c) Hydraulic and Marine
Structures
Examples:

 Dams, Spillways, Aprons, Boats and Barges,

Sea Protection Works.
Bridge Abutment Protection
Advantages of using SFRC:    

 Outperforms conventional materials by exhibiting

superior resistance to cavitations and impact damage
due to wave action, hydraulic heads and swirling water
currents.

 Ideally suitable for repair of hydraulic and marine

structures
d) Defence and Military Structures

Examples:

 Aircrafts Hangers, Missile and Weaponry Storage

Structures, Blast Resistant Structure, Ammunition
Production and Storage Depots, Underground Shelters
etc.
Advantages of using SFRC

 Exhibits high ductile and toughness resulting in

superior resistance to blast, impact and falling
loads and missiles.
 Fragmentation effect very less compared to other
material due to confinement effect of fibers on
concrete.
 Far superior resistance to fire and corrosion
e) Shotcreting Applications
 Examples:

 Tunnel Linings, Domes, Mine Linings, Rock-

Slope Stabilization, Repaint and Restoration
Distresses Concrete Structures etc.
 
Advantages of using SFRC:  

 Highly efficient, convenient and economical

compared to mesh and bar reinforcement used in
conventional shot crating.
 One stage operation for irregular profiles.
 High resistance to abrasion and impact loads.
 Advantages of using SFRC: 

  Improvement in ductility.
 Only high performing technique suitable for tunnel and
drainage lining, rock stabilization jobs and also for repair
of bridges, dams, storage tanks etc.
 Construction of energy-efficient domes and shell
structures possible with SFR.
f) Special Structures

Machine foundations, currency vaults and strong

rooms, impact and Fiber-protective shells and lost
forms, column-beam joints in seismic-resistant
structures, end zones of Prestressed concrete
elements, high volume steel Fiber reinforce concrete
structures made out of SIFCON and CRC (slurry
infiltrated Fiber concrete and compact reinforced
concrete)
Advantages of using SFRC:

 Improved performances under action of any kind

of loading
 High seismic-resistance in buildings due to
ductile behaviours of joints and connections
 Introduction-General
 Historically reinforcement has been in the form of continuous
reinforcing bars, which could be placed in the structure at the
appropriate locations to withstand the imposed tensile and shear
stresses.
 Fibers, on the other hand, are discontinuous, and are most
commonly randomly distributed throughout the
cementitious matrix.
 They are therefore not as efficient in withstanding the tensile
stresses. However, because they tend to be more closely spaced
than conventional reinforcing bars, they are better at controlling
cracking.
 Thus, conventional reinforcing bars are used to increase the load-
bearing capacity of concrete; fibres are more effective for crack
control
Introduction-General

 Because of the differences, there are certain

applications in which fibre reinforcement is better
than conventional reinforcing bars.
 Introduction-General
 These include:
 A. Thin sheet components, in which conventional reinforcing
bars cannot be used, and in which the fibres therefore constitute
the primary reinforcement.

 In thin sheet materials, fibre concentrations can be relatively

high, typically exceeding 5% by volume.
 In these applications, the fibres act to increase both the strength
and the toughness (i.e. strain hardening) of the composite, and
can be classified as high performance FRC (Figure 1.1).

 A new generation of high performance FRC is currently based on

advanced formulations of fibres and matrices to achieve strain
hardening behaviour even with modest fibre contents of ∼ 2%
by volume (Figure 1.1).
Introduction-General
Introduction-General

 B. Components which must withstand locally high

loads or deformations, such as tunnel linings, blast
resistant structures, or precast piles which must be
hammered into the ground.
 Introduction-General
 C. Components in which fibers are added primarily to
control cracking induced by humidity or temperature
variations, as in slabs and pavements.
 In these applications, fibers are often referred to as
secondary reinforcement.
 In this case the fibers provide post-cracking ductility,
but the stresses are smaller than the first crack stress,
that is a strain softening material (Figure 1.1).
 This type of composite is referred to as conventional
FRC.
 Introduction-General
 It is important to recognize that in general, fibre reinforcement is not a
substitute for conventional reinforcement.

 Fibers and steel bars have different roles to play in modern concrete
technology, and there are many applications in which both fibers and
continuous reinforcing bars should be used together.

 In applications (2) and (3), the fibers are not used to improve the strength
(either tensile or other) of concrete, though a small improvement in strength
may sometimes result from their use.

 Rather, the role of fibers is to control the cracking of FRC, and to alter the
behavior of concrete once the matrix has cracked, as shown by the schematic
load vs. deflection curves of Figure 1.1.
 Thus, the fibers improve the ‘ductility’ of the material or more properly, its
energy absorption capacity.
 Introduction-General
 Indeed, if an attempt is made to optimize the FRC for
strength alone, this often leads to reduced toughness and
more brittle behavior

 In addition, there is often an improvement in impact

resistance, fatigue properties and abrasion
resistance

 The applications of FRC are as varied as the types of

fibers that have been used.
 Introduction-General
 Asbestos fibers have long been used in pipes and in
corrugated or flat roofing sheets

 Glass fibers are used primarily in precast panels

(nonstructural)

 Steel fibers have been used in pavements , in shotcrete,

in dams and in a variety of other structures
 Introduction-General
 Increasingly, polypropylene fibers are being used as
secondary reinforcement, to control plastic shrinkage
cracking, and a newer generation of ‘structural polymer
fibers’ may be applied for crack control in the hardened
concrete.
 Vegetable fibers have been used in low-cost building
materials.
 New fibers and new applications seem to go hand in
hand.
 New production technologies have evolved as new fibers
have been developed, and new applications found.
 Introduction-General

 Clearly, in order to produce useful FRC, the

production techniques must be compatible with the
particular fibers and matrix.

 This depends not only upon the fibre type, but also on
the fibre geometry.
 Introduction-General
 In particular, there is an inherent contradiction between
the fibre geometry required to allow easy handling of
the fresh FRC, and that required for maximum efficiency
in the hardened composite

 Longer fibers of smaller diameter will be more efficient

in the hardened FRC, but will make the fresh FRC more
difficult to handle.
 Introduction-General
 To overcome this difficulty, there are a number of possible
alternatives:

 1 modification of the fibre geometry, to increase bonding without

an increase in length (e.g. hooked fibers, deformed fibers or
fibrillated networks);
 2 chemically treating the fibre surface to improve its dispersion in
the fresh matrix;
 3 modifying the rheological properties of the matrix, through the
use of chemical admixtures (mainly high range water reducers)
and mineral admixtures (e.g. silica fume and fly ash) as well as
optimization of the matrix particle size distribution;
 4 using special production techniques to ensure that a sufficiently
large volume of fibers can be dispersed in the mix.
 Introduction-General
 The production technologies that are currently available may be
classified as:
1 Premix process
 In this method, the fibers are combined with the cementitious
matrix in a mixer.

 They are treated simply as an extra ingredient in the most

common method of producing a cementitious mix.

 However, because the fibers reduce the workability, only up to

about 2% fibers by volume can be introduced in the mix by this
method.
 Introduction-General
2 Spray-up process
 This technique is used primarily with glass fibre
reinforced cement.
 Chopped glass fibers and cement slurry are sprayed
simultaneously on to the forming surface, to produce thin
sheets.
 With this technique, substantially higher fibre volumes, up
to about 6%, can be incorporated into the FRC.
 Introduction-General
3 Shotcreting
 Using a modification of normal shotcreting techniques, it
has been found possible to produce steel and
polypropylene fibre shotcretes, for use particularly for
lining of tunnels, and for stabilization of rock slopes.

 With this method, too, relatively high volumes of fibers

can be added to the mix.
 Introduction-General
4 Pulp type processes
 For asbestos cement replacements (cellulose or other
fibers are used as a replacement for the asbestos), the
fibers are dispersed in a cement slurry, which is then
dewatered to produce thin sheet materials

 These can be built up to the required thickness by

layering. This process yields fibre contents of typically
from 9% to over 20% by volume.
 Introduction-General
5 Hand lay up
 In this method, layers of fibres in the form of mats or
fabrics can be placed in moulds, impregnated with a
cement slurry, and then vibrated or compressed, to
produce dense materials with very high fibre contents.

 This technique can also be used with glass fibre rovings

already impregnated with a cement slurry.
 Introduction-General
Continuous production process
 Continuous production of a composite mix using
special machinery with the output being a continuous
composite which has a thin, shaped geometry.
 Such processes can be based on the use of continuous
reinforcement (fabrics, mats) or a mix with discrete
short fibres which is extruded into the desired shape.
Slurry Infiltration Process

Cement Slurry
SIFCON