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Chapter- 1
INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
Fibre reinforced concrete (FRC) may be defined as a composite materials made with Portland
cement, aggregate, and incorporating discrete discontinuous fibres.
Portland cement concrete is considered to be a relatively brittle material, with a low tensile
strength and a low strain capacity. When subjected to tensile stresses, non-reinforced concrete
will crack and fail. Since mid 1800's steel reinforcing has been used to overcome this
problem. As a composite system, the reinforcing steel is assumed to carry all tensile loads.
Fibre reinforced concrete (FRC) is Portland cement concrete reinforced with more or less
randomly distributed fibers. In FRC, thousands of small fibers are dispersed and distributed
randomly in the concrete during mixing, and thus improve concrete properties in all
directions. Fibers help to improve the post peak ductility performance, pre-crack tensile
strength, fatigue strength, impact strength and eliminate temperature and shrinkage cracks.
The role of randomly distributes discontinuous fibres is to bridge across the cracks that
develop provides some post- cracking ductility. If the fibres are sufficiently strong,
sufficiently bonded to material, and permit the FRC to carry significant stresses over a
relatively large strain capacity in the post-cracking stage.
The real contribution of the fibres is to increase the toughness of the concrete (defined as
some function of the area under the load vs. deflection curve), under any type of loading. That
is, the fibres tend to increase the strain at peak load, and provide a great deal of energy
absorption in post-peak portion of the load vs. deflection curve. When the fibre reinforcement
is in the form of short discrete fibres, they act effectively as rigid inclusions in the concrete
matrix. Physically, they have thus the same order of magnitude as aggregate inclusions; steel
fibre reinforcement cannot therefore be regarded as a direct replacement of longitudinal
reinforcement in reinforced and prestressed structural members. However, because of the
inherent material properties of fibre concrete, the presence of fibres in the body of the
concrete or the provision of a tensile skin of fibre concrete can be expected to improve the
resistance of conventionally reinforced structural members to cracking, deflection and other
serviceability conditions.
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The fibre reinforcement may be used in the form of three dimensionally randomly distributed
fibres throughout the structural member when the added advantages of the fibre to shear
resistance and crack control can be further utilized. On the other hand, the fibre concrete may
also be used as a tensile skin to cover the steel reinforcement when a more efficient two
dimensional orientation of the fibres could be obtained. Fibre reinforced concrete (FRC) is
concrete containing fibrous material which increases its structural integrity. Fibres include
steel fibres, glass fibres, synthetic fibres and natural fibres. Within these different fibres that
character of fibre reinforced concrete changes with varying concretes, fibre materials,
geometries, distribution, orientation and densities.
Fibre reinforced is mainly used in shotcrete, but can also be used in normal concrete. Fibrereinforced normal concrete are mostly used for on-ground floors and pavements, but can be
considered for a wide range of construction parts (beams, pliers, foundations etc) either alone
or with hand-tied rebars.
The use of fibres to reinforce and enhance the properties of construction materials goes back
at least 3500 years, when straw was used to reinforce sun-baked bricks in Mesopotamia.
Egyptians also used straw to reinforce mud bricks, but there is evidence that asbestos fiber
was used to reinforce clay posts about 5000 years ago. Cement-bound products have been
reinforced by various types of fibre at least since the beginning of the last century, and steel
and synthetic fibres have been used to improve the properties of concrete for the past 30 or 40
years. Portland cement concrete is considered to be a relatively brittle material. When
subjected to tensile stresses, non-reinforced concrete will crack and fail. Since mid 1800's
steel reinforcing has been used to overcome this problem. As a composite system, the
reinforcing steel is assumed to carry all tensile loads.
The problem with employing steel in concrete is that over time steel corrodes due to the
ingress of chloride ions. In the northeast, where sodium chloride de-icing salts are commonly
used and a large amount of coastal area exists, chlorides are readily available for penetration
into concrete to promote corrosion, which favors the formation of rust. Rust has a volume
between four to ten times the iron, which dissolves to form it. The volume expansion
produces large tensile stresses in the concrete, which initiates cracks and results in concrete
spalling from the surface. Although some measures are available to reduce corrosion of steel
in concrete such as corrosion inhibitive admixtures and coatings, a better and permanent
solution may be replace the steel with a reinforcement that is less environmentally sensitive.
Fibre Reinforced Concrete (FRC) was invented by French gardener Joseph Monier in 1849
and patented in 1867.
More recently micro fibres, such as those used in traditional composite materials have been
introduced into the concrete mixture to increase its toughness, or ability to resist crack
growth.
Several different types of fibres, both manmade and natural, have been incorporated into
concrete. Use of natural fibres in concrete precedes the advent of conventional reinforced
concrete in historical context. However, the technical aspects of FRC systems remained
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Figure2. Steel, glass, synthetic and natural fibres with different lengths and shapes can
be used in concrete
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CONCRETE
Fibre reinforced concrete is the composite material containing fibres 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 fibres. The factors are briefly
discussed below:
in tension
Plain concrete
0
1
1
With
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1.5
2.0
Randomly
50
1.6
8.0
Dispersed fibres
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1.7
10.5
100
1.5
8.5
Orientation of Fibres
One of the differences between conventional reinforcement and fibre reinforcement is that in
conventional reinforcement, bars are oriented in the direction desired while fibres are
randomly oriented. To see the effect of randomness, mortar specimens reinforced with 0.5%
volume of fibres were tested. In one set specimens, fibres 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.
It was observed that the fibres aligned parallel to the applied load offered more tensile
strength and toughness than randomly distributed or perpendicular fibres.
Workability and Compaction of Concrete
It is well known that the addition of any type of fibers to plain concrete reduces the
workability.
Incorporation of steel fibre decreases the workability considerably. This situation adversely
affects the consolidation of fresh mix. Even prolonged external vibration fails to compact the
concrete. The fibre volume at which this situation is reached depends on the length and
diameter of the fibre. Since fibres impart considerable stability to a fresh concrete mass, the
slump cone test is not a good index of workability.
For example, introduction of 1.5 volume percent steel or glass fibres to a concrete with 200
mm of slump is likely to reduce the slum of the mixture to about 25 mm, but the placeability
of the concrete and its compactability under vibration may still be satisfactory.
Therefore, the Vebe test is considered more appropriate for evaluating the workability of
fibre-reinforce concrete mixtures. Another consequence of poor workability is non-uniform
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: 0.4 to 0.6
: 10 mm
: 6 to 9%
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Structural use of SFRC As recommended by ACI Committee 544, when used in structural
applications, steel fibre reinforced concrete should only be used in a supplementary role to
inhibit cracking, to improve resistance to impact or dynamic loading, and to resist material
disintegration. In structural members where flexural or tensile loads will occur the reinforcing
steel must be capable of supporting the total tensile load. Thus, while there are a number of
techniques for predicting the strength of beams reinforced only with steel fibres, there are no
predictive equations for large SFRC beams, since these would be expected to contain
conventional reinforcing bars as well.
For beams containing both fibres and continuous reinforcing bars, the situation is complex,
since the fibres act in two ways:
They permit the tensile strength of the SFRC to be used in design, because the matrix will no
longer lose its load-carrying capacity at first crack.
They improve the bond between the matrix and the reinforcing bars by inhibiting the growth
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Carbon fibres
Carbon fibres are manufactured by carbonizing suitable organic materials in fibrous forms at
high temperatures and then aligning the resultant graphite crystallites by hot-stretching. The
fibres are manufactured as either Type I (high modulus) or Type II (high strength) and are
dependent upon material source and extent of hot stretching for their physical properties.
Carbon fibres are available in a variety of forms and have a febrile structure similar to that of
asbestos.
Carbon fibre made from petroleum and coal pitch is less expensive than the conventional
carbon fibre made from fibrous materials. The Type I and II carbon fibres produced by
carbonizing suitable organic materials other than petroleum-based materials are 20 to 40
times stronger and have a modulus of elasticity up to 100 times greater than the pitch-based
carbon fibre.
Carbon fibres from the most recent & probability the most spectacular addition to the range of
fibre available for commercial use. Carbon fibre comes under the very high modulus of
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Carbon fibre cement-matrix composites are structural materials that are gaining in importance
quite rapidly due to the decrease in carbon fibre cost and the increasing demand of superior
structural and functional properties. These composites contain short carbon fibres, typically 5
mm in length, as the short fibres can be used as an admixture in concrete (whereas continuous
fibres cannot be simply added to the concrete mix) and short fibres are less expensive than
continuous fibres. However, due to the weak bond between carbon fibre and the cement
matrix, continuous fibres [24] are much more effective than short fibres in reinforcing
concrete. Surface treatment of carbon fibre (e.g. by heating or by using ozone , silane , SiO2
particles or hot NaOH solution ) is useful for improving the bond between fibre and matrix,
thereby improving the properties of the composite. In the case of surface treatment by ozone
or silane, the improved bond is due to the enhanced wettability by water. Admixtures such as
latex methylcellulose and silica fume also help the bond
The effect of carbon fibre addition on the properties of concrete increases with fibre volume
fraction, unless the fibre volume fraction is so high that the air void content becomes
excessively high .(The air void content increases with fibre content and air voids tend to have
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Toughness
For FRC, toughness is about 10 to 40 times that of plain concrete. The toughness index of
FRC is increased up to 20 folds (for 1.5 percent hooked fibre content) indicating excellent
energy absorbing capacity.
Splitting Tensile Strength The presence of 3 percent fibre by volume was reported to increase
the splitting tensile strength of mortar about 2.5 times that of the unreinforced one.
Fatigue Strength
The addition of fibres increases fatigue strength of about 90 percent and 70 percent of the
static strength at 2 x 106 cycles for non-reverse and full reversal of loading, respectively.
Impact Resistance
The impact strength for fibrous concrete is generally 5 to 10 times that of plain concrete
depending on the volume of fibre used.
Corrosion of Steel Fibres
When well compacted and cured concretes containing steel fibers seem to possess excellent
durability as long as fibers remain protected by the cement paste. In most environments,
especially those containing chloride, surface rusting is inevitable but the fibers in the interior
usually remain uncorroded.
A l0-year exposure of steel fibrous mortar to outdoor weathering in an industrial atmosphere
showed no adverse effect on the strength properties. Corrosion was found to be confined only
to fibres actually exposed on the surface. Steel fibrous mortar continuously immerse in
seawater for 10 years exhibited a 15 percent loss compared to 40 percent strength decrease of
plain mortar.
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The uniform dispersion of fibres throughout the concrete mix provides isotropic properties
not common to conventionally reinforced concrete. The applications of fibres in concrete
industries depend on the designer and builder in taking advantage of the static and dynamic
characteristics of this new material. The main area of FRC applications are
Runway, Aircraft Parking, and Pavements
For the same wheel load FRC slabs could be about one half the thickness of plain concrete
slab. Compared to a 375mm thickness' of conventionally reinforced concrete slab, a 150mm
thick crimped-end FRC slab was used to overlay an existing asphaltic paved aircraft parking
area. FRC pavements are now in service in severe and mild environments.
Tunnel Lining and Slope Stabilization
Steel fibre reinforced shotcrete (SFRS) are being used to line underground openings and rock
slope stabilization. It eliminates the need for mesh reinforcement and scaffolding.
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.
Thin Shell, Walls, Pipes, and Manholes
Fibrous concrete permits the use of thinner flat and curved structural elements. Steel fibrous
shotcrete is used in the construction of hemispherical domes using the inflated membrane
process. Glass fibre reinforced cement or concrete (GFRC), made by the spray-up process,
have been used to construct wall panels. Steel and glass fibres addition in concrete pipes and
manholes improves strength, reduces thickness, and diminishes handling damages.
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1). An increase in compressive strength and tensile strength has been observed for both
standard concrete and fibre reinforced standard concrete when exposed to a temperature of
500C.
2). In the range of 50 to 800C the split tensile strength of both standard concrete and fibre
reinforced standard concrete is same.
3). Flexural strength of standard concrete is equal to that of the fibre reinforced standard
concrete in range of 500C-800C.
4). Beyond 500C, both standard concrete and fibre reinforced standard concrete are found to
loose compressive strength gradually.
5). Fibre reinforced standard concrete is found to exhibit more compressive strength split
tensile strength and flexural strength than standard concrete at all temperatures.
6). The difference between compressive strength of fibre reinforced standard concrete and
standard concrete varies in the range of 6-10percentage.
7). The difference between split tensile strength of fibre reinforced standard concrete and
standard concrete varies in the range of 0-12 percentage.
8). The difference between flexural strength of fibre reinforced standard concrete and
standard concrete varies in the range of 0-20 percentage.
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The process of incorporating fibres into the cement matrix is labor intensive and costlier than
the production of the plain concrete.
The real advantages gained by the use of Fibre Reinforced Concrete overrides this
disadvantage.
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