FIBRE

REINFORCED
CONCRETE
PAVEMENT
SUBMITTED BY:
ABHIMANYU KUMAR

2K14/CE/004

DEEPANSHU RAJORIA

2K14/CE/033

KONYA MALIK

2K14/CE/047

PRACHI SINGHAL

2K14/CE/068

TABLE OF CONTENTS

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
HISTORY
EFFECTS OF FIBRE IN CONCRETE
TYPES OF FIBRE USED
STEEL FIBRE REINFORCED CONCRETE
POLYPROPYLENE FIBRE REINFORCED CONCRETE
CAARBON FIBRE REINFORCED CONCRETE

FACTORS AFFECTING PROPERTIES OF FRC

RELATIVE FIBRE MATRIX

VOLUME OF FIBRES
ASPECT RATIO OF FIBRE
ORIENTATION OF FIBRES
WORKABILITY & COMPACTION OF CONCRETE
SIZE OF COARSE AGGREGATE
MIXING

DEVELOPMENTS IN FRC
HIGH FIBRE VOLUME MICRO FIBRE SYSTEM
SLURRY INFILTRATED FIBRE CONCRETE (SIFCON)
SLURRY INFILTRATED MAT CONCRETE (SIMCON)

APPLICATIONS OF FRC

 REFERENCES

INTRODUCTION:
Fibre Reinforced Concrete can be defined as a composite material consisting
of mixtures of cement, mortar or concrete and discontinuous, discrete,
uniformly dispersed suitable fibres. Continuous meshes, woven fabrics and
long wires or rods are not considered to be discrete fibres.

HISTORY:
The concept of using fibres or as reinforcement is not new. Fibres have been
used as reinforcement since ancient times. Historically, horsehair was used
in mortar and straw in mudbricks. In the 1900s, asbestos fibres were used
in concrete. In the 1950s, the concept of composite materials came into
being and fibre-reinforced concrete was one of the topics of interest. Once
the health risks associated with asbestos were discovered, there was a need
to find a replacement for the substance in concrete and other building
materials. By the 1960s, steel, glass (GFRC), and synthetic fibers such
as polypropylene fibres were used in concrete. Research into new fiberreinforced concretes continues today.

EFFECT OF FIBRES IN CONCRETE:

Fibres are usually used in concrete to control plastic shrinkage cracking and
drying shrinkage cracking. They also lower the permeability of concrete and
thus reduce bleeding of water. Some types of fibres produce greater impact,
abrasion and shatter resistance in concrete. Generally fibres do not increase
the flexural strength of concrete, so it cannot replace moment resisting or
structural steel reinforcement. Some fibres reduce the strength of concrete.

TYPES OF FIBRES USED:

STEEL FIBRE REINFORCED CONCRETE:

The use of steel fibers has led to the improvement of the concrete's
mechanical properties such as material toughness in tension and also
durability. It is now well established that one of the important properties of
steel fibre reinforced concrete (SFRC) is its superior resistance to cracking
and crack propagation. As a result of this ability to arrest cracks, fibre
composites possess increased extensibility and tensile strength, both at first
crack and at ultimate, particular under flexural loading; and the fibres are
able to hold the matrix together even after extensive cracking. The net result
of all these is to impart to the fibre composite pronounced post cracking
ductility which is unheard of in ordinary concrete. The transformation from
a brittle to a ductile type of material would increase substantially the energy
absorption characteristics of the fibre composite and its ability to withstand
repeatedly applied, shock or impact loading.

POLYPROPYLENE FIBRE REINFORCED CONCRETE:

Concrete modification by using polymeric materials has been studied for the
past four decades. Polypropylene fibres were first suggested as an admixture
to concrete in 1965 for the construction of blast resistant buildings for the
US Corps of Engineers. The fibre has subsequently been improved further
and at present it is used either as short discontinuous fibrillated material
for production of fibre reinforced concrete or a continuous mat for
production of thin sheet components. Since then the use of these fibres has
increased tremendously in construction of structures because addition of
fibres in concrete improves the toughness, flexural strength, tensile strength
and impact strength as well as failure mode of concrete. Polypropylene twine
is cheap, abundantly available, and like all manmade fibres of a consistent
quality.

CARBON FIBRE REINFORCED CONCRETE:

Carbon fibers form the most recent & probability the most spectacular
addition to the range of fiber available for commercial use. Carbon fiber
comes under the very high modulus of elasticity and flexural strength.

These are expensive. Their strength & stiffness characteristics have been
found to be superior even to those of steel. But they are more vulnerable to
damage than even glass fiber, and hence are generally treated with resign
coating.It has higher strength than steel with quarter of its weight.

FACTORS AFFECTING PROPERTIES OF FRC:

Fiber reinforced concrete is the composite material containing fibers in the
cement matrix in an orderly manner or randomly distributed manner. Its
properties would obviously, depends upon the efficient transfer of stress
between matrix and the fibers. The factors are briefly discussed below:
1. Relative Fiber Matrix Stiffness
The modulus of elasticity of matrix must be much lower than that of fiber for
efficient stress transfer. Low modulus of fiber such as nylons and
polypropylene are, therefore, unlikely to give strength improvement, but the
help in the absorbsion of large energy and therefore, impart greater degree of
toughness and resistance to impart. High modulus fibers such as steel,
glass and carbon impart strength and stiffness to the composite.
Interfacial bond between the matrix and the fiber also determine the
effectiveness of stress transfer, from the matrix to the fiber. A good bond is
essential for improving tensile strength of the composite.
2. Volume of Fibers
The strength of the composite largely depends on the quantity of fibers used
in it. Fig 1.1 and 1.2 show the effect of volume on the toughness and
strength. It can see from Fig 1.1 that the increase in the volume of fibers,
increase approximately linearly, the tensile strength and toughness of the
composite. Use of higher percentage of fiber is likely to cause segregation
and harshness of concrete and mortar.

Fig. 1 Effect of volume of fibres in flexure.

Fig. 2 Effect of volume of fibers in tension.

3. Aspect Ratio of the Fibre

Another important factor which influences the properties and behavior of

the composite is the aspect ratio of the fiber. It has been reported that up to
aspect ratio of 75, increase on the aspect ratio increases the ultimate
concrete linearly. Beyond 75, relative strength and toughness is reduced.
Table 1.1 shows the effect of aspect ratio on strength and toughness.

Table 1.1 Aspect ratio of the fiber

Type of concrete

Aspect

Relative strength

Relative toughness

ratio
Plain concrete

With

25

1.5

2.0

Randomly

50

1.6

8.0

Dispersed fibers

75

1.7

10.5

100

1.5

8.5

4. Orientation of Fibers
One of the differences between conventional reinforcement and fiber
reinforcement is that in conventional reinforcement, bars are oriented in the
direction desired while fibers are randomly oriented. To see the effect of
randomness, mortar specimens reinforced with 0.5% volume of fibers were
tested. In one set specimens, fibers were aligned in the direction of the load,
in another in the direction perpendicular to that of the load, and in the third
randomly distributed.
5. Workability and Compaction of Concrete
Incorporation of steel fiber decreases the workability considerably. This
situation adversely affects the consolidation of fresh mix. Even prolonged

external vibration fails to compact the concrete. The fiber volume at which
this situation is reached depends on the length and diameter of the fiber.
Another consequence of poor workability is non-uniform distribution of the
fibers. Generally, the workability and compaction standard of the mix is
improved through increased water/ cement ratio or by the use of some kind
of water reducing admixtures.
6. Size of Coarse Aggregate
Maximum size of the coarse aggregate should be restricted to 10mm, to
avoid appreciable reduction in strength of the composite. Fibers also in
effect, act as aggregate. Although they have a simple geometry, their
influence on the properties of fresh concrete is complex. The inter-particle
friction between fibers and between fibers and aggregates controls the
orientation and distribution of the fibers and consequently the properties of
the composite. Friction reducing admixtures and admixtures that improve
the cohesiveness of the mix can significantly improve the mix.
7. Mixing
Mixing of fiber reinforced concrete needs careful conditions to avoid balling
of fibers, segregation and in general the difficulty of mixing the materials
uniformly. Increase in the aspect ratio, volume percentage and size and
quantity of coarse aggregate intensify the difficulties and balling tendency.
Steel fiber content in excess of 2% by volume and aspect ratio of more than
100 are difficult to mix.

DEVELOPMENTS IN FRC:
1. HIGH FIBRE VOLUME MICRO FIBRE SYSTEM
The dimensions and specifications of the fibre used in such type of concrete
is:
length 3mm

 Diameter 25 microns
Specific surface > 200 cm2/gram
Mixing of FRC needs careful conditions to avoid balling effect
Sand particles of size not exceeding 1mm
Low sand to cement ratio.
Requires large dosage of super plasticizers
Omni mixer is used for mixing
2. SLURRY INFILTRATED FIBRE CONCRETE(SIFCON)
This concrete was invented by Lanklard in 1979. The process of preparing
SIFCON is pre placing of fibres and then infiltrating it with a slurry of
cement. The maximum limit of volume of fibres in SIFCON is 20% of the
total. It helps in increasing the flexural capacity and the toughness of the
structure and mainly used in blast furnace buildings and anchorage bars.
3. SLURRY INFILTRATED MAT CONCRETE(SIMCON)
In this type of FRC, stainless steel fibre mats are prepared first and then
they are infiltrated with cement slurry. The advantage of SIMCON over
SIFCON is that it helps in attaining same strength with less volume of fibre
usage. It results in small cracks and low seepage of the concrete.

BEHAVIOUR OF SFRC UNDER COMPRESSION

By adding the steel fibre to the compression mix, the strength increases to
about 25%. Usually the quantity of steel fibre used in concrete is limited to
60kg/m3. The SFRC can also absorb much more energy prior to failure as
compared to plain concrete(around 13-40%). This is due to change in strain
at peak load and ductility beyond ultimate load as shown.

BEHAVIOUR OF FRC UNDER TENSION

There are two types of tension tests used for concrete, namely, direct tension
and splitting tension. Based on previous researches, dog bone shaped
specimens are subjected to axial tension. From the figure below, it can be
seen that there is an increase in tensile strength of concrete to the tune of
20%-27%, 26%-51%, 30%-59% for FRC mixes of 1%, 1.5%, 2% volume
fraction of fibres respectively.

Response of FRC in tension (based on FRC or SIFCON)

Stage1: before cracking the composite elastic- (elastic stage)

Stage2: after cracking fibres tend to pull out sudden change in

elongation curve.

load

- if maximum post cracking stress cracking stress (multiple cracking

stage)
Stage 3: beyond the peak point - failure and/or pull out of fibres across
single critical crack.

APPLICATIONS OF FRC:
Residential: including driveways, sidewalks, pool construction with
shortcrete, basements, colored concrete, foundations, drainage, etc.
Commercial: exterior and interior floors, slabs and parking areas, roadways
and
Warehouse / Industrial: light to heavy duty loaded floors and roadways
Highways / Roadways / Bridges: conventional concrete paving, SCC,
white-toppings, barrier rails, curb and gutter work, pervious concrete,
sound attenuation barriers, etc.
Blast Resistant Structures: When plain concrete slabs are reinforced
conventionally, tests showed that there is no reduction of fragment velocities
or number of fragments under blast and shock waves. Similarly, reinforced
slabs of fibrous concrete, however, showed 20 percent reduction in velocities,
and over 80 percent in fragmentations.
Ports and Airports: runways, taxiways, aprons, seawalls, dock areas,
parking and loading ramps.
Waterways: dams, lock structures, channel linings, ditches, storm-water
structures, etc.
Mining and Tunnelling: Precast segments and shortcrete, which may
include tunnel lining, shafts, slope stabilization, sewer work, etc.
Elevated Decks: including commercial and industrial composite metal deck
construction and elevated formwork at airports, commercial buildings,
shopping centres, etc.

Agriculture: farm and animal storage structures, walls, silos, paving, etc.
Precast Concrete and Products: architectural panels, tilt-up construction,
walls, fencing, septic tanks, burial vaults, grease trap structures, bank
vaults and sculptures.

REFERENCES:
http://www.fiberreinforced.org/pages/applications.aspx
http://www.ijera.com/papers/Vol4_issue5/Version%201/V4501123131.pdf
http://link.springer.com/article/10.1617%2Fs11527-006-9091-2#close
https://tspace.library.utoronto.ca/handle/1807/29523
http://heronjournal.nl/45-4/2.pdf
https://repositorium.sdum.uminho.pt/bitstream/1822/13212/1/CB_6_1.p
df
https://sites.google.com/site/engineeringmbaproject/civil-engineeringproject-report-on-fiber-reinforced-concrete

http://www.academia.edu/4262332/Fracture_behaviour_of_concrete_and_F
RC_in_tension
https://caementitium.wordpress.com/2008/01/24/historic-developmentof-fibre-reinforced-concrete/
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0958946596000467
http://www.slideshare.net/VenkateshCa/fibre-reinforced-concrete
http://www.slideshare.net/shoaibwani/development-of-long-carbon-fibrereinforced-concrete-for-dynamic-strengthening?qid=12f400c6-6f44-43c78caf-22e421d2d1e4&v=&b=&from_search=2