A

PAPER PRESENTATION

ON TOPIC

“BENEFITS OF STEEL FIBER REINFORCED

CONCRETE”

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 CONTENTS
1. ABSTRACT
2. INTRODUCTION
3. FIBER REINFORCED CONCRETE
4. WHY USE STEEL FIBER
5. BENEFITS OF STEEL FIBER
REINFORCED CONCRETE
6. NEED FOR THE USE OF SFRC
7. APPLICATION OF SFRC
8. EFFECTS OF STEEL FIBER IN CONCRETE
9. PROPERTIES OF SFRC
10. CONCLUSION
11. SFRC CONCLUSION
12. REFERENCES

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 1. ABSTRACT

The word concrete comes from the Latin

word "concretus" which means "to harden"
Concrete- the world’s most widely used structural
material cracks for a variety of reasons. These
reasons may be attributed to structural,
environmental factors etc. But most of the cracks are
formed due to the inherent weakness of concrete to
restrain tension. Shrinkage and restrains create crack
in concrete.

Extensive Research and

Development to overcome the weakness of concrete
led to the introduction of Steel Fiber Reinforcement
as a viable solution to the problem of cracking by
making concrete tougher and more ductile.
Comprehensive field trialaover three decades have
proved that addition of steel fibers to conventional
plain or reinforced and pre-stressed concrete
members at the time of mixing/ production imparts

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higher strength, improves performance and durability
of concrete

2. INTRODUCTION

Portland cement concrete is considered to

be a relatively brittle material. When subjected to
tensile stressed, unreinforced concrete will crack and
fail. Since the 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. When fiber reinforcing is added to the
concrete mix, it too can add to the tensile loading
capacity of the composite system. In fact, research
has shown that the ultimate strength of concrete can
be increased as much as 5 times by adding fiber
reinforcing.

The main properties influencing toughness

and maximum loading of fiber reinforced concrete
are;

• Type of fibers used.

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 • Volume percent of fiber.
• Aspect ratio (the length of a fiber divided by
its diameter).
• Orientation of the fibers in the matrix.

Materials used in fiber reinforcing

including acrylic, asbestos, cotton, glass, nylon,
polyester, polyethylene, polyperpylane, rayon,
rockwool and steel. Of these, steel fiber have
received the most attention. The percent of fiber in
the concrete mix is based on volume and is expressed
as a percent of the mix. Tests ranging from 1.7% to
2.7% are common.

3. WHAT IS FIBER REINFORCED

CONCRETE

Plain cement concrete is considered to be

a brittle material because of its low tensile strength
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and impact resistance. Now it has established that by
addition of small diameter, short length, and
randomly distributed fibers it is possible to bring
about marked improvements in the tensile strength
and impact resistance properties of concrete.
Concrete with fiber is termed as fiber reinforced
concrete. The improvements in the properties
depends upon various factors like material of fiber,
their shape, size, pattern of distribution and
magnitude in the concrete mix.

In other words Fiber reinforced concrete is a

mixture of A
Conventional Concrete (cement, water, rock and
sand) + Fibers.
.
Types of Fibers

• Steel fibers
• Synthetic organic polymer fibers such as
polypropylene, nylon, polyester, polythylene,
cellulose acetate.
• Carbon fibers
• Natural fibers
• Asbestos fibers
• Glass fibers

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 4 .WHY USE STEEL FIBER

1. Steel Fibres are generally distributed throughout a

given cross section whereas reinforcing bars or wires
are placed only where required

2. Steel fibres are relatively short and closely spaced

as compared with countinuous reinforcing bars of
wires.

3. It is generally not possible to achieve the same

area of reinforcement to area of concrete using steel
fibres as compared to using a network of reinforcing
bars of wires.

Steel Fibers are typically added to concrete in

low volume dosages (often less than 1%), and have
been shown to be effective in reducing plastic
shrinkage cracking.

Steel Fibers typically do not significantly alter free

shrinkage of concrete, however at high enough
dosages they can increase the resistance to cracking
and decrease crack width (Shah, Weiss, and Yang
1998).

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STEEL FIBERS IN CONCRETE MAY IMPROVE:
• Crack, Impact and Fatigue Resistance
• Shrinkage Reduction
• Toughness- by preventing/delaying crack
propogation from micro-cracks to macro-
cracks.

5. BENIFITS OF STEEL FIBER

REINFORCED CONCRETE

• SFRC distributes localized stresses.

• Reduction in maintaince and repair cost.

• Provides tough and durable surfaces.

• Reduces surface permeability, dusting and

wear.

• Cost saving

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 • They act as crack arrestor.

• Increases tensile strength and toughness.

• Resistance to impact.

• Resistance to freezing and thawing

6. NEED FOR THE USE OF

STEEL FIBER REINFORCED
CONCRETE

The two main disadvantages of

reinforced concrete beams are the potential
corrosion of the reinforcement and the high self
weight. The latter in particular is an important issue
given the fact that 75-80% of the material that
contributes to the weight (concrete in the tensile
zone) does not directly contribute to the overall load
carrying capacity. The low cost of concrete is
probably the main reason that this has not been a
major issue in the past.
It is now well established that one of
the important properties of steel fibre reinforced
concrete (SFRC) is its superior resistance to cracking
and crack propagation. As a result of this ability to
arrest cracks, fibre composites possess increased
extensibility and tensile strength, both at first crack

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and at ultimate, particular under flexural loading; and
the fibres are able to hold the matrix together even
after extensive cracking. The net result of all these is
to impart to the fibre composite pronounced post –
cracking ductility which is unheard of in ordinary
concrete. The transformation from a brittle to a
ductile type of material would increase substantially
the energy absorption characteristics of the fibre
composite and its ability to withstand repeatedly
applied, shock or impact loading.

7. APPLICATION OF STEEL
FIBER REINFORCED
CONCRETE

7.1 STEEL FIBER FOR PRE-CAST APPLICATION:

• Manholes,
• Risers,
• Burial Vaults,
• Septic Tanks,
• Curbs,
• Pipes,
• Covers,
• Sleepers

7.2 APPLICATION:

A) Highway And Airfield Pavements:

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 • Repair of existing pavement.

• Reduction in pavement thickness.

• Increase in resistance to impact.

• Increase in transverse and longitudinal joint

spacing

• Smooth riding surface.

B) Hydraulic Structures:
• Resistance to cavitations or erosion damage.

• Repair of spilling basin.

C) Fiber Shotcrete (FRS):

The inclusion of steel fibres in shotcrete improves
many of the mechanical properties of the basic
material viz the toughness, impact resistance, shear
strength, flexural strength, and ductility factor.FRS
has been used for
• Rock stabilization, tunnels, dams, mines.

• Bridges arches, dome structures, power-house

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 • Stabilization of slopes to prevent landslides
repair of deteriorated concrete surface, water
channel etc.

8. EFFECTS OF STEEL FIBERS

IN CONCRETE

Steel Fibers are usually used in concrete to

control plastic shrinkage cracking and drying
shrinkage cracking. They also lower the permeability
of concrete and thus reduce bleeding of water. Steel
fibers produce greater impact, abrasion and shatter
resistance in concrete. Generally fibers do not
increase the flexural strength of concrete, so it cannot
replace moment resisting or structural steel
reinforcement. Steel fibers reduce the strength of
concrete.

The amount of fibres added to a concrete mix is

measured as a percentage of the total volume of the composite
(concrete and fibres) termed volume fraction (Vf). Vf typically
ranges from 0.1 to 3%. Aspect ratio (l/d) is calculated by
dividing fibre length (l) by its diameter (d). Fibres with a non-
circular cross section use an equivalent diameter for the
calculation of aspect ratio. If the modulus of elasticity of

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the fibre is higher than the matrix (concrete or mortar
binder), they help to carry the load by increasing the tensile
strength of the material. Increase in the aspect ratio of the
fibre usually segments the flexural strength and toughness of
the matrix. However, fibres which are too long tend to "ball"
in the mix and create workability problems.

9. PROPERTIES OF STEEL FIBER

REINFORCED CONCRETE

9.1.SFRS PROPERTIES: (General)

Factors affecting performances of SFRS:

1)Volume fraction of constituent materials

e.g.properties generally improve as fiber
content increase

2)Physical properties of fibers and matrix

3)Bond strength between constituents

(Transmission of forces between fibers and
matrix)
(Weak link that governs most SFRS
mechanical properties)

4)Matrix cracks long before fiber fractures

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 10. CONCLUSION

Steel Fiber Reinforced Concrete will play a

major role in the of civil engineering structures in the
21st century.
The high strength to weight ratio and non
corrosive characteristics of these materials could be
utilized to built innovative structures that cannot be
build using the current conventional materials.
SFRC could be used to build light, yet more
durable and economic structures. Designers should
be encouraged to utilized these materials based on its
unique characteristics rather than a replacement for
the current conventional materials.
The steel fibre reinforced concrete have high
initial investment during construction because of
which it is not possible to use this concrete in each
and every part of a country.
Steel Fibre reinforced concrete is design for
reasonably high value of strength. The successful
performance of a steel fibre reinforced concrete very
much depends on ensuring that the design
requirements are met by the steel fibre reinforced
concrete as constructed. A very good quality control
is, therefore a prime need. Quality control consists of

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ensuring that the materials that go into production of
concrete are of the required specifications and that
the concrete as produced and laid is also of specified
quality and strength.

11. SFRC CONCLUSION

BEAM CONSTRUCTED

Using Plain Concrete

Using Steel Fiber Reinforced Concrete

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 12. REFERENCES

1)Concrete Technology- M. S. Shetty-Chapter10

Testing of
Concrete

2)Journal of concrete Technology- Properties of

concrete

3)I.S.516-1959- Tests on concrete

4)www.google.com- Steel Fiber reinforced concrete

5)www.wikepedia.com – Reinforcement using Fiber

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