SYNOPSIS

ON
FIBER
REINFORCED
CONCRETE
Submitted By :
Antriksh Rai
Akash Sharma
Abhimanyu Mittal
Agraj Pratap Singh
Abhishek Kr. Rajput
B.Tech(CE-1 3yr)

INTRODUCTION
Fiber reinforced concrete is concrete containing fibrous material
which increases its structural integrity. It contains short discrete
fibers that are uniformly distributed and randomly oriented.
Fibers include steel fibers, glass fibers, synthetic fibers and
natural fibers-each of which lend varying properties to the
concrete. In addition, the character of fiber reinforced concrete
changes with varying concretes, fiber materials, geometries,
distributions, orientations and densities.
HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE :
Fibers have been used as reinforcement since ancient times.
Historically, horse hair was used in mortar and straw in mud
bricks. In the 1900s asbestos fibers were used in concrete. In the
1950s the concept of composite material came into being and
fiber reinforced concrete was one of the topics of interest. Once
the health risks associated with asbestos by the 1960s steel,
glass, synthetic fibers such as polypropylene fibers were used in
concrete.

EFFECTS OF FIBERS IN CONCRETE

Fibers are usually used in concrete to control cracking due to
plastic shrinkage and drying shrinkage. They also reduce the
permeability of concrete and thus reduce bleeding of concrete.
Some types of fibers produce greater impact, abrasion and

shatter resistance in concrete. Generally fibers do not increase

the flexural strength of concrete, and so cannot replace moment
resisting or structural steel reinforcement. Indeed, some fibers
actually reduce the strength of concrete.
The amount of fibers added to the concrete mx is expressed as a
percentage of the total volume of the composite termed as
volume fraction ranges from 0.1%-3%. Increasing the aspect
ratio of the fiber usually segments the flexural strength and
toughness of the matrix.

BENEFITS
Polypropylene and nylon fibers can :
1. Improve mix cohesion, improving pumpability over long
distances.
2. Improve freeze-thaw resistances.
3. Improve resistance to explosion in case of a severe fire.
4. Increase resistance to plastic shrinkage during curing.
Steel fibers can :
1. Improve structural strength.
2. Reduce steel reinforcement.
3. Improve ductility.
4. Reduce crack width and control the crack width tightly, thus
improving durability.
5. Improve impact and abrasion resistance.

In certain specific circumstances, steel fibers can entirely

replace traditional steel reinforcement bar in reinforced concrete.
This is most common in industrial flooring and in some other
precasting applications.

MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF FRC

1. Flexural Strength was reported to be increased by
2.5times by using 4% fibers.
2. For FRC, toughness is about 10-40times that of PCC.
3. The addition of fibers increase fatigue strength of about
90% and 70% of the static strength at 2x10^6 cycles for
non-reverse and full reversal of loading respectively.
4. Impact strength for FRC is generally 5-10times that of
PCC depending on the volume of fibers used.

APPLICATIONS
The uniform dispersion of fibers throughout the concrete mix
provides isotropic properties not common to conventionally
reinforced concrete. The applications of fibers in concrete
industries depend on the designer and builder in taking the
advantage of the static and dynamic characteristics of this
material. The main area of applications of FRC are :
RUNWAY, AIRCRAFT PARKING AND PAVEMENTS :
For the same wheel load FRC slab could be about the

thickness of the PCC slab. Compared to a 375mm thickness

of a conventionally reinforced slab, a 150mm thick FRC slab
can be used.
TUNNEL LINNING AND SLOPE STABILIZATION :
Steel FRC are being used to line underground opening and
rock slope stabilization. It eliminates the need for mesh
reinforcement and scaffolding.
OTHER APPLICATION : Thin shells, walls, pipes,
manholes, dams and hydraulics structures and corrosion
control.

CONCLUSION
Fiber reinforced concrete is a promising material to be used for
sustainable and long lasting concrete structures. Its performance
has already been proven in hot and arid climates and in other
chemically deleterious environments.