FibreReinforcedConcrete

IntroductionPlainPortlandcementconcreteisabrittlematerial.Thestrengthofconcreteintensionis
muchlowerthanincompression.Agrowingtensilecrackinplainconcretecanverysoonleadto
failure.Inthepresenceofreinforcement,thetensileloadistransferredtothesteel.Analternativeto
increasingtheloadcarryingcapacityofconcreteintensionistheadditionoffibres.Welldispersed
fibresintheconcreteacttobridgethecracksthatdevelopinconcrete.Theincorporationoffibresina
cementmatrixleadstoanincreaseinthetoughnessandtensilestrength,andanimprovementinthe
crackinganddeformationcharacteristicsoftheresultantconcrete.
Asignificantamountofresearchhasbeenconductedonfibrereinforcedconcreteoverthepastthirty
tofortyyears.However,thenumberofstructuralapplicationsworldwide,andmoresoinIndia,have
beenlimited.Inorderforfibrereinforcedconcrete(FRC)tobeaviablematerial,itmustbeableto
competeeconomicallywithexistingreinforcingsystems.Continuedstudiesonthissubjectare
necessaryinordertoincreasetheusageofFRC.
PropertiesofconcreteaffectedbyfibrereinforcementHardenedconcreteFibresaregenerally
distributedthroughoutagivencrosssectionoftheconcrete,unlikereinforcingbars,whichare
providedatspecificlocationsonly.Fibresarealsorelativelyshortandcloselyspacedcomparedto
reinforcingbars.Theoverallamountoffibresinconcreteissmall(0.10.5%byvolume)comparedto
reinforcingsteel.Inanycase,substantialenhancementofconcretepropertiescanbeachievedbythe
useoffibres,providedthesearerandomlyanduniformlydistributedovertheentirevolumeof
concrete.Theparameterscontrollingtheoverallperformanceoffibresare:
Typeoffibre,i.e.,thematerial,andthetexture
Volumeconcentrationofthefibre
Aspectratioofthefibre
Orientationofthefibreinthematrix.
Thetypeoffibreinfluencesthestrengthofthebondbetweenthefibreandthecementpastematrix.
Theaspectratioofthefibreistheratioofthelengthofthefibretoitsdiameter.
Fibresinconcreteprimarilyacttobridgethegrowingcracks,thusrestrictingtheirfurthergrowthand
propagation.Formaximumeffectiveness,thepulloutstrengthofthefibreintheconcretematrix
shouldbehigherthanthetensilefracturestrengthofthefibre.Insimpleterms,thefibreshouldbreak
beforepullingoutofthecementmatrix.Inaddition,formaximumeffectiveness,theoptimum
orientationofthefibreshouldbeat90otothecrack.Athighervolumeconcentrations,itispossibleto
findahigherpercentageoffibresintherightorientation.Theeffectofslowingdownofthecrack
propagationleadstoanenhancedductilityoftheconcrete.Inotherwords,fibrereinforcedconcrete

canundergomuchlargerdeformationsbeforefailureascomparedtoplainconcrete.Thetoughness
(definedasthetotalareaunderthestressstraindiagram)ofconcreteisenhancedbytheuseoffibres.
Figure1depictstheactionoffibresinconcrete.
Conventionalfibres,thataretypicallyaslongasthesizeofcoarseaggregateparticlesinconcrete,do
notaffectthecompressivestrengthofconcretesignificantly.Ontheotherhand,ultimatetensile
strengthsofconcretecanbegreatlyenhancedbytheuseoffibres.Recentresearchhasshownthat
compressivestrengthandmodulusofruptureofconcretecanalsobeenhancedbytheuseofahigh
volumeoffinemicrofibers.Thesehavetheabilitytoprovidereinforcingmechanismsatthemicrolevel
suchthatcracksincementmatrixarearrestedandstabilizedbeforetheybecomeunstable.Such
microfibresaremorecommonlyavailableinmaterialssuchaspolymersandcarbon.

Figure1.Whilerelativestrengthsaresimilarforplainandfibrereinforcedconcrete,thetoughnessforFRCis
muchgreaterFreshconcreteTheinclusionoffibresinconcretegenerallycausesadecreaseinthe
workabilityofconcrete.Regardlessofthefibretype,thelossofworkabilityisproportionaltothe
volumeconcentrationofthefibresinconcrete.Sincefibresimpartconsiderablestabilitytoafresh
concretemass,theslumptestisnotagoodmeasureoftheworkability.Somehighlyplaceable
concretesmightshowlowslumps.TheVebetestisconsideredmoreappropriateforFRC.ASTMhas
alsodevelopedaspecializedtestmethodASTMC995usinganinvertedslumpconethatgivesa
goodindicationoftheworkabilityofFRC.FibrepropertiesDimensionoffibresThefibreshouldbe
embeddedinthematrixforaminimumlengthforeffectivestrengtheningandstiffeningofthe
compositematerial.

Figure2.LengthofembedmentofafibreFromtheaboveschematic,thecriticalfibrelengthcanbe
calculatedas:lc= fd/(4c),where f=ultimatetensilestrengthofthefibre,
d=diameteroffibre,
andc=shearyieldstrengthofmatrix(orthefibrematrixbondstrength).
Thefibresforwhichlengthisgreaterthanlcarecalledcontinuous(l>15lc).Discontinuousfibres
haveshorterlengthsthan15lc.Ifthelengthofthefibreislessthanlc,thematrixdeformsaroundthe
fibresuchthatthereisnostresstransferenceandlittlereinforcementbythefibre.Forgood
effectiveness,thefibreshouldhavesufficientlengthtoensurethatfailureoccursbycompletepullout
ofthefibrefromthematrixbeforetheruptureofthefibreduetotensileforces.TypeoffibreAnumber
oftypesoffibreshavebeenusedtoreinforcecementconcrete.Table1showsthepropertiesofsome
selectedfibres.Thedatainthetableindicatethatvarioustypesoffibresshowawiderangeintheir
properties.Carbonfibrespossessthehigheststrengthandstiffnessamongstallfibres.However,the
strainatfailureforcarbonfibresisverysmall.Inotherwords,carbonfibresareextremelybrittle.On
theotherhand,polymericfibres(especiallypolyesterandpolyethylene),whichpossesslowstiffness
andmoderatestrength,candeformasmuchas5080%atfailure,andexhibitaductilebehaviour.
Theotherimportantfactorrelatedtothetypeoffibreisthestrengthofthebondbetweenthefibreand
thecementitiousmatrix.Asstatedintheprevioussection,theembedmentlengthofthefibresrequired
woulddependonthefibrepropertiesaswellasthebondstrength.Figure3showsasnapshotofthe
differentfibrematerials.
Thetextureoffibreisimportantasfarastheuseofsteelfibresisconcerned.Steelfibrescanbeused
invariousforms,varyingfromsmoothwirestobundledfibres.Crimping(deforming)causesabetter
interlocktodevelopbetweenthefibreandthematrix,andimprovestheperformanceofthecomposite.
Table1.Selectedfibresandtheirproperties
Fibretype

Steel
Hightensile
Stainless

Diameter

Specific

Youngs

Tensilestrength

Strainat

(mm)

gravity

modulus(GPa)

(MPa)

failure(%)

7.80

200

3451700

3.5

7.80

160

2070

3.0

0.101.0
0.01
0.30

Glass
E

0.01

2.50

72

3450

4.8

Alkaliresistant

0.01

2.70

80

2480

3.6

0.10

0.90

450

18

Polymeric

Monofilament

0.20

0.96

5170

2003000

380

polypropylene

0.031.0

0.96

1017

5501170

1050

Polyethylene

0.01

1.44

60

3600

3.6

Polyester

0.10

Kevlar29

0.01

0.03

2.60

165

3450

23

IHighmodulus

0.008

1.90

380

1790

0.50.7

IIHighstrength

0.009

1.90

230

2620

1.01.5

1.50

1040

300900

1.121.15

1926

117200

1025

1.021.04

2632

250350

1.51.9

Asbestos
Chrysotile
Carbon

Natural
Woodcellulose
Coir
Jute

0.02
0.11
0.10
0.40
0.10
0.20

Figure3.VarioustypesoffibresSummaryFibres,addedindosagesof0.10.5%byvolumeofconcrete,
enhanceprimarilytheductilityofconcrete,enablingittoundergolargedeformationsatfailure.The
compressivestrengthandfirstcrackingtensilestrengthofconcretearenotaffectedbythepresence
offibres.However,theloadcarryingcapacityinflexureisincreased.
Theperformanceoffibrereinforcedconcretedependsonthepropertiesofthefibre,whichincludethe
dimensionofthefibre,andthetypeofthefibre.Polymericfibres,despitetheirlowstrengthsand
moduli,areusefulowingtotheirhighductility.
ListofReferences
1.ACICommittee544,FiberReinforcedConcrete,PublicationSP44,AmericanConcreteInstitute,
Detroit,1974.
2.V.S.Ramachandran,R.F.Feldman,andJ.J.Beaudoin,Chapter6:FiberReinforcedCement
Systems,ConcreteScience,HeydenandSonsLtd.,London,1981,pp.169223.
3.Mehta,P.K.,andMonteiro,P.J.M.,Concrete:Structure,Properties,andMaterials,SecondEdition,
PrenticeHall,Inc.,NJ,1993.
4.N.BanthiaandJ.Sheng,FractureToughnessofMicroFiberReinforcedCementComposites,
CementandConcreteCompositesVol.18,1996,pp.251269.
5.ASTMC99594,StandardTestMethodforTimeofFlowofFiberReinforcedConcreteThrough
InvertedSlumpCone,AmericanSocietyforTestingandMaterials,Philadelphia,PA,2002.
6.PortlandCementAssociation,FibreReinforcedConcrete,USA,1991.

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