Welcome to GRCA About GRC Uses of GRC Technical GRCA Members GRC Projects Congress

About GRCA Manufacturing GRC / GFRC

40 Years of the GRCA
GLASSFIBRE REINFORCED CONCRETE (GRC) /
The International Glassfibre
Reinforced Concrete Association GLASS FIBER REINFORCED CONCRETE (GFRC)
(GRCA) was formed over 40 years
ago, in 1975 ... Glassfibre Reinforced Concrete (GRC), also known as Glass
Read more about the GRCA Fiber Reinforced Concrete (GFRC) is generally manufactured
by either the "sprayed" process or the "premix" process.
GRCA Membership Premix GRC can either be vibration compacted, or
GRCA Full Members manufactured using a self compacting GRC mix. The method
GRCA Full Member membership, chosen is normally dictated by factors such as strength
previously referred to as Approved requirements, size of mould, architects specification etc.
Manufacturer Scheme (AMS)
membership, is available to all GRC
manufacturing Members who have As a general rule, larger items, such as building cladding
been audited by an independent panels, are normally "sprayed" whereas small items are
certifying body, appointed by the manufactured using a "premix" GRC method.
GRCA.
See list of GRCA Full Members
Sprayed GRC is generally stronger than premix vibration cast GRC. The reasons for this are firstly that with
GRC Association Members sprayed GRC it is possible to achieve a fibre content of 5% - 6% whereas premix GRC is limited to around 3% -
GRCA Members' Details 3.5%. Secondly, sprayed GRC usually has a lower water content than premix GRC.
Full details of all the GRCA
Members, including the GRC Typical mix designs for Sprayed and Premix GRC materials are as follows:
manufacturing members of the
GRCA Approved Manufacturer
Scheme AMS) are available here ...
see GRCA Membership details

Sprayed GRC
The water and admixture (and polymer if used) are placed in a "high shear mixer" and the sand/cement
are slowly added until a smooth creamy slurry is achieved. The consistency of the slurry can be checked
using a simple slump test kit. Mixing time is about 1 - 2 minutes.

When ready the mix is transferred to a "pump/spray unit". The pump conveys the slurry at a regulated
rate of flow to the spray gun. At the spray gun fibre, in the form of a roving, is chopped to a length of
approximately 32mm and added to the slurry. The two materials are projected onto the mould surface
using an air supply from a compressor.

The GRC material is sprayed and built up in thin layers until the required thickness is achieved -
normally 10 - 15mm. Simple hand rollers are used to compact the material between layers.

The product is left in the mould and covered with polythene to prevent moisture loss until the next day.
The product is then demoulded.

After demoulding the units are covered with polythene and allowed to cure for approximately 7 days.
Alternatively, if a polymer curing compound is used in the mix the units can be exposed to the
atmosphere immediately although it is advisable to keep them protected from direct sunlight or severe
external conditions for a day or two. Reference should be made to the Polymer Supplier's instructions.
 Premix GRC
The sand and cement are mixed dry and then the water/admixture and polymer (if used) are added.
Generally a two speed slurry/fibre blender mixer is used. With this type of mixer, the fast speed is
designed to create a smooth creamy slurry. This takes about 1 - 2 minutes. The mixer is then switched
to slow speed and fibre in the form of chopped strand (length approximately 13mm) is added slowly. The
fibre is blended into the mix for approximately 1 minute.

Once the mix is ready, it is poured into moulds which are vibrated using a vibrating table.

The product is left in the mould and covered with polythene to prevent moisture loss until the next day.
The product is then demoulded.

After demoulding the products are cured under polythene sheets to maintain moist conditions for
approximately 7days. Alternatively a polymer curing compound can be used as described for the
sprayed process.

For more information about manufacturing GRC

View on-line, the GRCA Specification for GRC

Download, GRCA Specification for GRC

CE Marking of GRC/GFRC
A CE Mark is a logo and Declaration of Conformity which is affixed by a manufacturer to a product to
indicate that the product conforms to certain safety requirements in the Building Regulations in the
country where the products are intended to be used.

CE marking is now mandatory in Europe for certain construction products which are covered by
harmonised European Standards (hEN), where the Annex Z of the relevant harmonised European
Standard (hEN) details the specific requirements for CE marking.

It is illegal to CE Mark a product where the requirements are not detailed in an Annex Z of a harmonised
European Standard (hEN).

As far as the International Glassfibre Reinforced Concrete Association (GRCA) is aware, there is no
harmonised European Standard (hEN) for any GRC/GFRC products, and in fact no European Standard
for GRC/GFRC products, other that the GRCA’s own requirements which you cannot CE Mark against.
As a consequence:
it is currently not possible to CE mark a product made from GRC/GFRC.

The only other possible way to be able to CE Mark GRC/GFRC products in the future would be to go
down the European Assessment Document (EAD) / European Technical Assessment (ETA) route,
where a type approval document would need to be produced for each GRC/GFRC product. The type
approval documents would then need to be submitted to the European Organisation for Technical
Assessment (EOTA) and assessed and approved by them. The GRC/GFRC products would also need
to be assessed by EOTA against the approved type approval documents.

Type approval documents would normally be required for each distinct product, and it is not usually
possible to produce a single type approval document which would cover all generic GRC/GFRC
material.

The type approval document route to CE Marking is an expensive process and is likely to take many
years before a document could be approved, which a product could be CE Marked against, with no
guarantee that the document would be approved at the end of the process.

™ "GRCA" & GRCA logo are used as Trade Marks of The International GRCA | © 2015-18 GRCA | Follow GRCA: on on
GRCA uses cookies on this web site to allow us to assess visitor usage and ensure that we are providing the content that you are seeking. If you continue to use this site without changing
your settings we will assume that you are happy with this. If you want to find out more about changing cookie settings then you can do that here - www.aboutcookies.org