Progress in Concrete Technology

Progress in Concrete
Technology
Fiber Reinforced
Concrete
(FRC)
Fiber-Reinforced Concrete (FRC)
 Concrete is relatively brittle, and its tensile

strength is typically only about one tenths of its
compressive strength.
 Regular concrete is therefore normally
reinforced with steel reinforcing bars.
 For many applications, it is becoming
increasingly popular to reinforce the concrete
with small, randomly distributed fibers.
 Their main purpose is to increase the energy
absorption capacity and toughness of the
material, but also increase tensile and flexural
strength of concrete.
FRC - Historical Perspective
 BC horse Hair
 1900 asbestos fibers, Hatscheck process
 1920 Griffith, theoretical vs. apparent strength
 1950 Composite materials
 1960 FRC
 1970 New initiative for asbestos cement replacement
 1970 SFRC, GFRC, PPFRC, Shotcrete
 1990 micromechanics, hybrid systems, wood based
fiber systems manufacturing techniques, secondary
reinforcement, HSC ductility issues, shrinkage crack
control.
 New products.
Areas of Application of FRC
materials
 Thin sheets
 shingles
 roof tiles
 pipes
 prefabricated shapes
 panels
 shotcrete
 curtain walls
 Slabs on grade
 precast elements
 Composite decks
 Vaults, safes.
 Impact resisting structures
 Concrete containing a hydraulic cement, water, fine or

fine and coarse aggregate, and discontinuous discrete
fibers is called fiber-reinforced concrete (FRC).
 It may also contain pozzolans and other admixtures
commonly used in conventional concrete.
 Fibers of various shapes and sizes produced from steel,
plastic, glass, and natural materials are being used;
 however, for most structural and nonstructural purposes,
steel fiber is the most commonly used of all the fibers.
 There is considerable improvement in the post-

cracking behavior of concretes containing fibers.
Although in the fiber-reinforced concrete the
 ultimate tensile strengths do not increase
appreciably, the tensile strains at rupture do.
 Compared to plain concrete, fiberreinforced
 concrete is much tougher and more resistant to
impact.
 Typical fiber types used in concrete: (a) straight,

smooth, drawn wire steel fibers; (b) deformed (crimped)
wire steel fibers; (c) variable-crosssection steel fibers;
(d) glued bundles of steel fibers with crimped ends.
 Plain concrete fails suddenly once the deflection

corresponding to the ultimate flexural strength is
exceeded; on the other hand, fiber-reinforced concrete
continue to sustain considerable loads even at
 deflections considerably in excess of the fracture
deflection of the plain concrete.
 Examination of fractured specimens of fiber-

reinforced concrete shows that failure takes
place primarily due to fiber
 pull-out or debonding. Thus unlike plain
concrete, a fiber-reinforced concrete specimen
does not break immediately after initiation of the
first crack.
 This has the effect of increasing the work of
fracture, which is referred to as toughness .
 In FRC crack density is increased, but the crack
size is decreased.
 The failure mechanism is by pull-out.

 you never exceed the tensile strength of the
fiber. Bond is much weaker.
 Steel fiber in terms of durability is the best.
 The addition of any type of fibers to plain
concrete reduces the workability.
 Concrete mixtures containing fibers posses very
low consistencies; however, the placeability and
compactability of concrete is much better than
reflected by the low consistency.
 Strength
 The most important contribution of fiberreinforcement
 in concrete is not to strength but to the flexural
toughness of the material. When flexural strength is the
main consideration, fiber reinforcement of concrete
 is not a substitute for conventional reinforcement.
 The greatest advantage of fiber reinforcement of
concrete is the improvement in flexural toughness (total
energy absorbed in breaking a specimen in flexure).
 Durability
 Fiber-reinforced concrete is generally made with
a high cement content and low water/cement
ratio.
 When well compacted and cured, concretes
containing steel fibers seem to possess excellent
durability as long as fibers remain protected by
cement paste.
 Ordinary glass fiber cannot be used in portland
cement mortars and concretes because of
chemical attack by the alkaline cement paste.
 Mix Proportions:
 High cement content
 W/R admixtures (superplasticizers)
 small MSA
 Fibers (1-2% by volume)
 Properties:
 Workability: tougher
 The f’c in compression and tension is not

increased much.
 Fibers do not do anything to stop the first crack,
it slows down the propagation of cracks.
 Toughness of material can be increased
 (15-30%)
 Creep results don’t show much difference.
 Drying shrinkage show some difference.
 They use it for cavitation damage.
 Aspect Ratio = Length / Diameter

 Aspect ratio= l/d 50 - 100
 For steel:
 d = 0.01 in.
 l = 1”
 Typical aspect ratios range from about 30
to 150.
 Maximum usage: 2% by volume.
 Polymeric and synthetic fibers alter the

energy absorption properties of the
composites significantly.
 Uniform fiber distribution at various size
scales improves composite Small
microfibers stabilize the microcracks and
increase the strength − reducing the
porosity of the cement paste as well
increases the strength.

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Progress in Concrete

 Concrete is relatively brittle, and its tensile

 Concrete containing a hydraulic cement, water, fine or

 There is considerable improvement in the post-

 Typical fiber types used in concrete: (a) straight,

 Plain concrete fails suddenly once the deflection

 Examination of fractured specimens of fiber-

 The failure mechanism is by pull-out.

 The f’c in compression and tension is not

 Aspect Ratio = Length / Diameter

 Polymeric and synthetic fibers alter the

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