Fiber Reinforced

Concrete (FRC)

Contents
Introduction
Benefits of FRC
Toughening Mechanism
Factor affecting the properties of FRC
Comparison of Mix Proportion of FRC and Plain Concrete
Type of fibers
Steel Fiber Reinforced Concrete (SFRC)
Structural behavior & Durability of SFRC
Problems with SFRC
Application Of FRC
Conclusion

Introduction to Fiber Reinforced

Concrete
Concrete containing a hydraulic cement, water ,
aggregate, and discontinuous discrete fibers is
called fiber reinforced concrete.
Fibers can be in form of steel fiber, glass fiber,
natural fiber , synthetic fiber.

Benefits of FRC
Main role of fibers is to bridge the cracks that develop
in concrete and increase the ductility of concrete
elements.
Improvement on Post-Cracking behavior of concrete
Imparts more resistance to Impact load
controls plastic shrinkage
shrinkage cracking

cracking

and

drying

Lowers the permeability of concrete matrix and thus

reduce the bleeding of water

Toughening mechanism
Toughness is ability of a material to absorb energy
and plastically deform without fracturing.

It can also be defined as resistance to fracture of a

material when stressed.

Contd.

Reference: Cement & Concrete Institute

http://www.cnci.org.za

Contd.

Source: P.K. Mehta and P.J.M. Monteiro, Concrete: Microstructure, Properties,

and Materials, Third Edition, Fourth Reprint 2011

Factors affecting the Properties of

FRC
Volume of fibers
Aspect ratio of fiber
Orientation of fiber
Relative fiber matrix stiffness

Volume of fiber
Low volume fraction (less than 1%)
Used in slab and pavement that have large exposed
surface leading to high shrinkage cracking
Moderate volume fraction(between 1 and 2 percent)
Used in Construction method such as Shortcrete &
in Structures which requires improved capacity
against delamination, spalling & fatigue
High volume fraction(greater than 2%)
Used in making high performance fiber reinforced
composites (HPFRC)

Aspect Ratio of fiber

It is defined as ratio of length of fiber to its diameter
(L/d).
Increase in the aspect ratio up-to 75,there is increase
in relative strength and toughness.
Beyond 75 of aspect ratio there is decrease in aspect
ratio and toughness.

Orientation of fibers
Aligned in the direction of load
Aligned in the direction perpendicular to load
Randomly distribution of fibers
It is observed that fibers aligned parallel to applied
load offered more tensile strength and toughness
than randomly distributed or perpendicular fibers.

Relative fiber matrix

Modulus of elasticity of matrix must be less than of
fibers for efficient stress transfer.
Low modulus of fibers imparts more energy absorption
while high modulus fibers imparts strength and
stiffness.
Low modulus fibers e.g. Nylons and Polypropylene
fibers
High modulus fibers e.g. Steel, Glass, and Carbon
fibers

Comparison of Mix Proportion between

Plain Concrete and Fiber Reinforced
Concrete
Material

Plain concrete

Fiber reinforced
concrete

Cement

446

519

Water (W/C=0.45)

201

234

Fine aggregate

854

761

Coarse aggregate

682

608

--

157

Fibers (2% by volume)

The 14-days flexural strength, 8 Mpa, of the fiber reinforced was about 20% higher
than that of plain concrete.
Source: Adapted from Hanna, A.N., PCA Report RD 049.01P, Portland cement Association, Skokie,
IL, 1977

Types of fiber used in FRC

Steel Fiber Reinforced Concrete
Polypropylene Fiber Reinforced (PFR) concrete
Glass-Fiber Reinforced Concrete
Asbestos fibers
Carbon fibers and Other Natural fibers

Contd.
Type of fiber

Tensile strength
(Mpa)

Youngs
modulus
(x103Mpa)

Ultimate
elongation
(%)

Steel

275-2757

200

0.5-35

Polypropylene

551-690

3.45

~25

Glass

1034-3792

~69

1.5-3.5

Nylon

758-827

4.14

16-20

Source: ACI Committee 544, Report 544.IR-82, Concr. Int., Vol. 4, No. 5, p. 11,
1982

Steel Fiber Reinforced Concrete

Diameter Varying from 0.3-0.5 mm (IS:280-1976)
Length varying from 35-60 mm
Various shapes of steel fibers

Advantage of Steel fiber

High structural strength
Reduced crack widths and control the crack widths
tightly, thus improving durability
less steel reinforcement required
Improve ductility
Reduced crack widths and control the crack widths
tightly, thus improving durability
Improve impact and abrasionresistance

Structural Behavior of Steel Fiber

Reinforced Concrete
Effect on modulus of rupture
Effect of compressive strength
Effect on Compressive strength & tensile Strength at
fire condition i.e. at elevated temperature

Durability
Resistance against Sea water (In 3% NaCl by weight of
water)
Maximum loss in compressive strength obtained was
about 3.84% for non-fibered concrete and 2.53% for
fibered concrete

Resistance against acids (containing 1% of sulfuric

acid by weight of water)
Maximum loss in compressive strength obtained was
found to be about 4.51% for non-fibered concrete and
4.42% for fiber concrete

Problems with Steel Fibers

Reduces the workability;
loss of workability is proportional to volume
concentration of fibers in concrete
Higher Aspect Ratio also reduced workability

Application of FRC in India & Abroad

More than 400 tones of Steel Fibers have been used
recently in the construction of a road overlay for a project
at Mathura (UP).
A 3.9 km long district heating tunnel, caring heating
pipelines from a power plant on the island Amager into the
center of Copenhagen, is lined with SFC segments without
any conventional steel bar reinforcement.
steel fibers are used without rebars to carry flexural loads
is a parking garage at Heathrow Airport. It is a structure
with 10 cm thick slab.
Precast fiber reinforced concrete manhole covers and frames are
being widely used in India.

Conclusion
The total energy absorbed in fiber as measured by the area
under the load-deflection curve is at least 10 to 40 times
higher for fiber-reinforced concrete than that of plain
concrete.
Addition of fiber to conventionally reinforced beams
increased the fatigue life and decreased the crack width
under fatigue loading.
At elevated temperature SFRC have more strength both in
compression and tension.
Cost savings of 10% - 30% over conventional concrete
flooring systems.