CHAPTER 2

CONCRETE MATERIALS

2.1 Mix Design of Fiber-Reinforced Concrete

Mix designs of fibre reinforced concrete generally include the specified features: a

great cement content, a low utmost aggregate size, a high fine aggregate material, and water-
reducing admixtures. The goal of creating a structurally fibre concrete mix is to provide
appropriate reliability, convenience of placement, and effective utilisation of fibres as crack
arrestors, in addition to the usual goals of any regular concrete.

2.1.1 Steel Fiber Reinforced Concrete (SFRC)

Steel fibre reinforced concrete (SFRC) mixtures have greater cement concentrations and fine-
to-coarse aggregate proportions over regular concretes, therefore the mix design techniques
used for common concrete may not be completely relevant to SFRC. In most cases, up to
35% of the cement can be substituted by fly ash to minimise the amount of cement used.
Reinforcement using steel fibres Concrete is a complex element composed of cement
concrete mix and steel fibres for reinforcement. Steel fibres that are evenly dispersed in the
cementation solution. Fibres with modest amount portion (1%) in fibre reinforced concrete
have a negligible influence on both compressive and tensile strength. In contrast, liquid
additives and superplasticizers are frequently employed in combination with air entrainment
to enhance the flowability of larger fibre number blends. With a certain fibre type, alignment,
and proportion of fibres, the workability of the mix declined as the size and number of
aggregate particles larger than 5 mm grew; The addition of aggregate particles fewer than 5
mm in size had minimal influence on the mix's compressing properties. Cement with a
density of 360 kg/m3, sand with a density of 584 kg/m3, aggregate with a density of 1224
kg/m3, and water with a density of 180.42 l/m3 are the materials used in glass fiber
reinforced concrete. Steel fibers with a diameter of xxx mm were utilized. Tensile strength
for steel fibres is in the amount of 275-2757 MPa, and maximum elasticity is in the range of 0
percent to 0.5% by volume of concrete.
2.1.2 Glass Fiber Reinforced Concrete (GFRC)

Glass fibre reinforced concrete (GFRC) is a type of concrete consisting contains fine sand,
cement, polymer, liquid, various admixtures, and alkali-resistant glass fibres. GFRC is a
cementitious complex material strengthened with individual glass fibers of various lengths
and sizes. Superplasticisers and admixtures designed for self-compacting concrete are used in
the mix design of typical GRC matrix. Once solidified, extremely usable new mixtures are
generated with little loss of strength. Permeability is essential for efficient manufacturing, and
it is closely checked and managed under strict parameters. Cement (340.25 kg/m3), sand (873
kg/m3), aggregate (1122.82 kg/m3), and water (170.125 l/m3) are the materials used in glass
fiber reinforced concrete. The alkali resistance of glass fibers is 0 percent and 0.25 percent by
weight of cement. The fiber is AR Glass, with an elastic modulus of 72 Gpa, tensile strength
ranging from 1034 to 3792 MPa, and a 14-micron diameter. When 0.33 % fiber content is
added, compressive strength increases by up to 37%.

2.1.3 Carbon Fiber Reinforced Concrete (CFRC)

Carbon fibres have several potential advantages compare other fibers, like greater strength,
modulus, and durability. Carbon fibres have such a poor mass, strong thermal energy, good
chemical cohesion, and great scrap resistance, and they may be utilized to minimize cracking
and shrinking. The fibers boost structural characteristics including tensile and flexural
strength, flexural firmness, and impact support. Due to its superior heat transmission, low
weight, and great modulus of elasticity, carbon fiber reinforced concrete has act employed in
numerous applications. The mix design for carbon fiber reinforced concrete is cement with
360.416 kg/m3, sand with 520 kg/m3, aggregate with 770 kg/m3 and water for 173 l/m3. The
ratio of water added to the cement was w/c is 0.48. The glass fiber used in the concrete is
0.75% to 1.25% by total weight of mix. Next, the carbon fibers length are 20mm. The tensile
strength for the carbon fibers is 4900 MPa. The percent grow in compressive strength of
various classes of this carbon fiber concrete combined when contrasted to the compressive
strength after 28 days is 37.24 %.
2.1.4 Polypropylene Fiber Reinforced Concrete (PFRC)

Polypropylene fiber is made from a synthetic hydrocarbon polymer using extrude techniques
that include heat pulling the component via a press. Copolymerization with the monomers is
essential in the manufacturing method to produce the eagerness characteristics. It is used for
its tensile and flexural strength in preventing plastic shrinkage fractures. The insertion of
oddly dispersed polypropylene fibres to stiff cement-based composites has been shown to
improve crack firmness, flexibility, and impact resistance. The impact of polypropylene
fibers on the behaviour of lightweight cementitious materials has been investigated using
varied quantities and widths of fibers. The fibers used has different lengths (6 mm and 12
mm) while the fiber proportions were 0.15% and 0.35% by cement weight in the mixture
design. The mix design for polypropylene fiber reinforced concrete is cement with 350
kg/m3, sand with 597 kg/m3, aggregate with 860 kg/m3 and water for 175 l/m3. The ratio of
water added to the cement was w/c is 0.50. Next, the polypropylene fibers length are 19 mm.
The tensile strength for the polypropylene fibers is 44.61%.

Types of Fiber
Reinforced Steel Fiber Glass Fiber Carbon Fiber Polypropylene
Concrete Reinforced Reinforced Reinforced Fiber
(FRC) Concrete Concrete Concrete Reinforced
(SFRC) (GFRC) (CFRC) Concrete
Materials (PFRC)
Cement (kg/m3) 360 340.25 360.416 350
Sand (kg/m3) 584 873 520 597
Aggregate 1224 1122.82 770 860
(kg/m3)
Water (l/m3) 180.42 170.125 173 175
Diameter (mm) 1.2 14 20 19
Tensile Strength 275-2757 1034-3792 4900 551-690
(MPa)
Compressive 20.85% 37% 37.24% 44.61%
Strength

2.2 Preparation of Constituent Materials

2.2.1 Cement
Ordinary Portland cements, as shown in figure 2.1, are often used in industrial concrete
building industry due to their widespread accessibility and broad application. Ordinary
Portland cement has a variety of characteristics that render it a valuable substance. These
characteristics are smoothness, consistency limits, sound, particular gravity, and compressive
strength. Concrete that has been well planned and treated has a high strength and durability.
The cement can be either white or grey in colour. Fiber reinforced concrete (FRC) substances
have been developed because of improvements in cement-based technology, like concrete
technology. The incorporation of fibres into cementitious mix enhances the mechanical and
dynamical characteristics of reinforced concrete components significantly. The
greatest significant effect of fibre connected with concrete is the interruption and
management of tensile cracking in composite materials. The cement should be evaluated for
the act required for its usage prior to becoming evaluated in the design mix. Table 1 above,
for instance, shows the cement needed in each kind of fiber reinforced concrete in kg/m3. A
good concrete mix design is essential for profitable construction. The M30 grade is a mix
design concrete because M stands for mix and 30 represents the necessary strength in MPa.

Figure 2.1: Mixing cement

(Source: knowledge4civil.wordpress.com, 2016)

2.2.2 Sand (Fine Aggregates) and Coarse Aggregates

Fine aggregates (Fig. 2(a)) are typically made up of natural sand or crushed stone, with the
majority of the atoms being under 5 mm in size. Coarse aggregates (Fig. 2(b)) are made up
with one or more gravels or crushed stone with elements that are mainly bigger than 5 mm
and typically around 9.5 mm and 37.5 mm in size. Typical coarse aggregate is gravel or
broken stone, and normal fine aggregate is sand. Concrete mixes made with a strong-graded
aggregate mixture likely to use less water, offer and retain enough flowability, require little
finishes, and solidify the solution avoiding separation. These features tend to increase both
fresh concrete qualities like flow-ability and separation, and hard concrete qualities like
performance and toughness. Concrete mixes made using huge disparity aggregates likely to
segregation greater quickly, include higher particles, need additional water, and are more
susceptible to shrinkage. Aggregates account for 60 to 75 percent of the entire volume of
concrete; thus, their choice is critical in the mix design phase. The workability of concrete is
influenced by the grade, form, permeability, and surface roughness of particles. Aggregates
must be well graded to provide the appropriate workability since fine aggregates demand a lot
of water due to its superior particle size, and an insufficient quantity of fine aggregate leads
mixes to stiffen and separate. Due to the size of aggregate in concrete varies from that of
other cement-water-aggregate mixes, every material is filtered to guarantee correct size
gradation. Removal with a list of guideline sieves determines aggregate atom size
distribution. The six standard sieves for fine aggregate are Nos. 4, 8, 16, 30, 50, and 100.
Coarse aggregate sieves come in three sizes: one-half inch, one-half inch, one-half inch, one-
half inch, one-half inch, one-half inch.

(a)
(b)

Figure 2.2: (a) Fine Aggregate (b) Coarse

Aggregate
(Source: civilengineeringsolution.com, 2005)

2.2.3 Water
Water suitable for drinking is evaluated for combining the components, and it must be clear
of dissolved pollutants and irrelevant materials like acids and alkalis. Inside a concrete mix,
water serves two purposes. For starters, it chemically interacts with cement components to
produce slurry, which retains aggregates in dispersion till the paste solidifies. Secondly, it
serves as a coating in the combining of components. It is critical to identify between short-
term and long-term impacts when examining the influence of mixing water on the
endurance of concrete. It is also necessary to evaluate the impurity level of the mixing water
in relation to the impurity level of the other ingredients of the concrete. Rising the water
capacity for a particular cement filling will create the mixture extra liquid. Water capacity is
the better essential component for workability, therefore expanding the water content in
concrete will enhance workability. As w/c drops, the porous of the slurry reduces, and the
concrete turn into less permeability, limiting the flow of water and hostile chemicals such as
chlorides and sulphates.

Figure 2.3: Water in concrete

(Source: concretetrends.com, 2020)

2.2.4 Steel Fibers

Steel fibre reinforced concrete (SFRC) in figure 2.4 is quickly turning into a popular kind of
concrete reinforcement because of the various benefits it provides. Steel fibers get a tensile
strength that is generally two to three times that of standard fabric reinforcement, as well as a
significantly larger surface range to form a connection with the concrete matrix. Steel fiber
reinforcement may considerably improve concrete structures' compression, tension, flexible,
pressure and roughness, shear and punch endurance, energy dissipation capacity, and
longevity. The presence of fibers has an impact on compressive strength, which ranges from
0 to 15%. Blunt stress, on the other hand, increases the proportion of fibers by 30–40%.
Furthermore, steel fibre has a significant influence on balance tensile strength and flexural
strength, with increases of higher than 100% recorded. It was discovered that increasing the
fibre volume proportion enhances flexural tensile strength. The fracture energy boost with
fibre dose and is greater for hooked end steel fibres than straight ones. Steel fibers decide to
hold pressures following matrix collapse. It was discovered that SFRC having hook-ended
stainless-steel wires had superior tangible characteristics than SFRC with linear fiber.
Furthermore, the high tensile pressures concentrated at fissures demand steel fibers with high
tensile strength. Young's modulus is 205 MPa, prospect proportion is from 30 to 100,
maximum tensile strength ranges from 275 to 2757 MPa, and diameter is 1.2 mm for the
corresponding fibers.

Figure 2.4: Steel Fiber Reinforced Concrete

(Source: theconstructor.com)
2.2.5 Polypropylene fibres

Polypropylene fibers are often utilized in concrete to reduce plastic shrinkage cracking and
plastic resolution crack. The polypropylene fibers had no effect on the compressive strength
or elastic modulus of the concrete; nevertheless, using these fibers at the highest % capacity
boosted the tensile and flexural strength of the concrete. Polypropylene fibre is utilised in the
formulation of concrete mixes for a variety of function such as stiff paving, self-compacting
concrete, and others. Concrete's mechanical characteristics are improved by the inclusion of
polypropylene fibers. The strong tensile strength of fibers can enhance concrete capability
and regulate volumetric fluctuations over period. The fiber proportion is around 100 and 200,
that is excessively lengthy and will result in a "lump" in the combination, that might cause
workability issues. During concrete hardening and tightening, the volumetric amount is 5%.
Following that, the volume content of polypropylene in other uses is small, only around 0.3
percent by volume, and is designed to function largely as a supplementary reinforcing for
crack management. The diameter for the polypropylene fibers is 19 mm. Tensile strength in
the Table 1 is 551-690 MPa and weight for polypropylene 0.9 kg/m3.

Figure 2.5: Polypropylene Fiber Reinforced Concrete

(Source: textilevaluechain.com)
2.2.6 Glass Fibers

Glass fibre is primarily made of a mix of cement, sand, water, and additives wherein tiny size
glass fibers get distributed. Glass fibers are commonly utilized in low-cost polymer matrix
standard solution. There's many numerous varieties of glass fiber accessible for
different purposes, such as "A" or "AR" glass for alkaline resistant, "C" glass for corrosion
resistance, "E" glass with increased electrical characteristics, "S" and "R" glass for superior
properties, and other specific formulations. E-glass has a high tensile strength and great
endurance; therefore it is utilized as a particular class of glass fiber and is the most often used
form of glass. GFC flat have good flexibility as shear reinforcement. The toughness of
hybrids, flatness, or rods is determined by fiber direction and fiber to material proportion,
with more fiber content resulting in increased tensile strength. Glass fiber not only improves
the properties of concrete, but it also aids in the reuse and recycling of glass waste products.
The flexural strength of the beam was increased by 30% despite the inclusion of only 1.5
percent glass fiber. The diameter for the polypropylene fibers is 14 mm. Tensile strength in
the Table 1 is 1034-3792 MPa and weight for polypropylene 1.8 – 7 kg/m3.

Figure 2.6: AR Glass Fiber

(Source: civilengineeringbible.com)

2.2.7 Carbon Fibers

Carbon fibers have seen relatively universal applicability in building when opposed to glass
fibers. Carbon fibres have a high strength, a high stiffness, and a high price; a first two
characteristics makes such fibers excellent for ultralight uses like aircraft. Depending on the
fundamental carbon concentration, this fiber is categorized as graphene or carbon. Graphite
fibres have % or greater elemental carbon, while carbon fibres include 80% –90% elemental
carbon—the latter being considerably more common. Carbon fibres with contrasting volume
part not only enhance mechanical feature, increase deformity size, and handle crack gain, but
they also broaden the potential utilization of cement-based components by adding practical or
smart functionalities to carbon fiber reinforced cement composites (CFRC). The diameter of
carbon fiber in table 1 is 20 mm with 4900 MPa tensile strength.

Figure 2.7: Carbon Fiber

(Source: mdpi.com, 2019)

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