INTRODUCTION TO STEEL FIBER REINFORCED

CONCRETE (SFRC)

FRC (FIBER REINFORCED CONCRETE)

FIBER REINFORCED CONCRETE IS A
COMPOSITE MATERIAL CONSISTING OF
CEMENT, AGGREGATE AND DISCONTINUES,
DISCRETE, UNIFORMLY DISPERSED
SUITABLE FIBERS.

WHY TO USE FRC

PLAIN CONCRETE IS A BRITTLE MATERIAL WITH LIMITED
DUCTILITY AND LOW TENSILE STRENGTH AND STRAIN
CAPACITY. INTERNAL MICRO-CRACKS ARE PRESENT IN
THAT CONCRETE. THUS THE CONCRETE LEADS TO HEAVY
BRITTLE FRACTURE.
THE ROLE OF RANDOMLY DISTRIBUTED FIBERS IS TO
BRIDGE ACROSS THE CRACKS AND TO PROVIDE SOME
POST-CRACKING DUCTILITY. IF THE FIBERS ARE
SUFFICIENTLY STRONG AND BONDED TO MATERIAL THEN
FRC WILL CARRY SIGNIFICANT STRESS OVER A RELATIVELY
LARGE STRAIN CAPACITY IN THE POST CRACKING STAGE.

CLASSIFICATION OF FRC

STEEL FIBER REINFORCED CONCRETE (SFRC)

GLASS FIBER REINFORCED CONCRETE (GFRC)
SYNTHETIC FIBER REINFORCED CONCRETE (SNFRC)
NATURAL FIBER REINFORCED CONCRETE (NFRC)
RECENTLY SOME NEW FRC NAMED HIGH PERFORMANCE
FIBER REINFORCED CONCRETE (HPFRC) AND ULTRA HIGH
PERFORMANCE FIBER REINFORCED CONCRETE (UHPFRC)
HAVE INTRODUCED WHICH SHOWS SIGNIFICANT CHANGES
OVER PLAIN CONCRETE.

DIFFERENT TYPES OF FIBER

Steel Fiber

Glass Fiber

Natural Fiber

Synthetic Fiber

STEEL FIBER REINFORCED CONCRETE

(SFRC)
SFRC IS CONCRETE MADE OF HYDRAULIC CEMENTS
CONTAINING FINE AND COARSE AGGREGATE AND
DISCONTINUOUS DISCRETE STEEL FIBERS.

STEEL FIBERS
STEEL FIBERS USED FOR REINFORCING CONCRETE ARE
DEFINED AS SHORT, DISCRETE LENGTH OF STEEL HAVING
AN ASPECT RATIO (RATIO OF LENGTH TO DIAMETER) FROM
ABOUT 20 TO 100 WITH ANY OF SEVERAL CROSS SECTIONS
AND THAT ARE SUFFICIENTLY SMALL TO BE RANDOMLY
DISPERSED IN A UNHARDENED CONCRETE MIXTURE
USING USUAL MIXING PROCEDURES.

CLASSIFICATION OF STEEL FIBER

# ASTM A 820 PROVIDES A CLASSIFICATION OF FOUR GENERAL TYPES OF STEEL FIBERS.
TYPE I - COLD-DRAWN WIRE
TYPE II - CUT SHEET
TYPE III MELT-EXTRACTED
TYPE IV OTHER FIBERS

# THE JAPANESE SOCIETY OF CIVIL ENGINEERS (JSCE) HAS CLASSIFIED STEEL FIBERS B
ON THE
SHAPE OF THEIR CROSS-SECTION.
TYPE I SQUARE SECTION
TYPE II CIRCULAR SECTION
TYPE III CRESCENT SECTION

CROSS SECTION OF STEEL FIBERS

STEEL FIBER CUTTING MACHINE

COMPOSITION OF STEEL FIBER

THE COMPOSITION OF STEEL FIBERS GENERALLY
INCLUDES CARBON STEEL OR STAINLESS STEEL
THE LENGTH DIMENSION RANGES FROM 6.4MM TO 76MM
WHILE THE DIAMETER RANGES FROM 0.25MM TO 0.75MM.
THE STEEL FIBERS ARE DESCRIBED BY A CONVENIENT
PARAMETER ASPECT RATIO. THE ASPECT RATIO IS
DETERMINED BY LENGTH TO DIAMETER RATIO. IT VARIES
FROM 20 TO 100.

ESSENTIAL PROPERTIES OF STEEL FIBERS

FIBERS SHOULD HAVE A RELATIVELY HIGH STRENGTH AND MODULUS OF

ELASTICITY.

FIBERS SHOULD BE PROTECTED FROM CORROSION BY THE ALKALINE

ENVIRONMENT OF THE CEMENTITIOUS MATRIX.

FIBERS SHOULD HAVE THE PROPERTY OF SURFACE ROUGHNESS TO

ENHANCE BONDING WITH THE MATRIX.

IN DIFFERENT ENVIRONMENTS THE COMPOSITIONS OF FIBERS SHOULD

BE VARIED. I.E. IN HIGH TEMPERATURE STAINLESS STEEL FIBERS
SHOULD BE USED.

ACCORDING TO ASTM A 820 STANDARDS, THE MINIMUM YIELD STRENGTH

OF STEEL FIBERS SHOULD BE 50,000 PSI (345 MPA) WHILE IT SHOULD BE
80,000 PSI (552 MPA) ACCORDING TO JSCE STANDARD.

MIX DESIGN OF SFRC

AS PER ACI 544.1R, THE MIXING PROPORTION OF MATERIALS FOR SFRC
WILL BE AS FOLLOWS.

Property

3/8- in. maximum - in. maximum 1sized aggregate

maximum
sized aggregate
aggregate

Cement

350-600

300-550

250-450

0.35-0.45

0.35-0.5

0.35-0.55

45-60

45-55

40-55

(kg/m3)

w/c ratio

Percent of fine to coarse

aggregate (%)

Entrained Air Content

(%)

Fiber Content, (% of total volume)

4-8

4-6

4-5

0.4-1.0

0.3-0.8

0.2-0.7

0.8-2.0

0.6-1.6

0.4-1.4

Deformed
Fiber (%)
Smooth
Fiber (%)

in.
sized

PROPERTIES OF CONCRETE IMPROVED BY STEEL

FIBERS:
COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH :

TENSILE STRENGTH :

IN COMPRESSION THE ULTIMATE

STRENGTH
IS
ONLY
SLIGHTLY
AFFECTED BY THE PRESENCE OF
STEEL FIBERS.

IN
DIRECT
TENSION,
THE
IMPROVEMENT IN STRENGTH IS
REPORTED
FROM
30-40%
FOR
ADDITION UP TO 2% BY TOTAL
VOLUME OF FIBERS.

THE PRESENCE OF STEEL FIBERS

INCREASES COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH
FROM 0 TO 15% FOR UP TO 2% OF
VOLUME OF FIBERS.

IT IS OBSERVED THAT THE SPLIT

TENSILE
STRENGTH
INCREASES
FROM 10-45% FOR ADDITION UP TO
3% BY TOTAL VOLUME OF FIBERS.


FLEXURAL STRENGTH:
INCREASE IN THE FLEXURAL
STRENGTH OF SFRC ARE MUCH
GREATER THAN IN TENSION OR
COMPRESSION BECAUSE OF DUCTILE
BEHAVIOR.
THE CHANGED ELASTIC DISTRIBUTION
IS IMPORTANTLY PLASTIC IN THE
TENSION ZONE AND ELASTIC IN THE
COMPRESSION ZONE, WHICH POSES A
SHIFT OF NEUTRAL AXIS TOWARDS
THE COMPRESSION ZONE.
IT CHANGES FROM 20-100% FOR
ADDITION UP TO 3% BY TOTAL
VOLUME OF FIBERS.

FATIGUE:
FOR A GIVEN TYPE OF FIBER THERE
IS A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN
FLEXURAL FATIGUE STRENGTH WITH
INCREASING PERCENTAGE OF STEEL
FIBERS. ALMOST 1 1/2 TIMES
INCREASE IN FATIGUE STRENGTH
DUE TO THE INCREASING USE OF
STEEL FIBERS.

IMPACT:
UNDER FLEXURAL IMPACT LOADING,
THE PEAK LOAD FOR SFRC IS 40
PERCENT HIGHER THAN THE
NORMAL CONCRETE. SO, INCREASED
USE OF STEEL FIBERS INCREASE THE
IMPACT RESISTANCE OF THE
CONCRETE.

APPLICATION OF SFRC:
SFRC HAS BEEN TRIED ON OVERLAYS OF AIR-FIELD, ROAD
PAVEMENTS, INDUSTRIAL FLOORINGS, BRIDGE DECKS, CANAL LINING,
EXPLOSIVE RESISTANCE STRUCTURES, REFRACTORY LININGS ETC.
IT CAN ALSO BE USED FOR THE FABRICATION OF PRECAST PRODUCTS
LIKE PIPES, BOATS, BEAMS, STAIR CASE STEPS, WALL PANELS, ROOF
PANELS, MANHOLE COVERS ETC.
SFRC IS ALSO BEING TRIED FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF
PREFABRICATED FORMWORK MOLDS OF U SHAPE FOR CASTING
LINTELS AND SMALL BEAMS.

LIMITATIONS OF STEEL FIBER REINFORCED

CONCRETE :
THE USE OF SFRC REQUIRES A MORE PRECISE CONFIGURATION
COMPARED TO NORMAL CONCRETE.
UNLESS STEEL FIBERS ARE ADDED IN ADEQUATE QUANTITY, THE
DESIRED IMPROVEMENTS CANNOT BE OBTAINED.
AS THE QUANTITY OF FIBERS IS INCREASED, THE WORKABILITY OF
THE CONCRETE IS DECREASED. IF PROPER TECHNIQUES AND
PROPORTIONS ARE NOT USED, THE FIBERS MAY ALSO CAUSE A
FINISHING PROBLEM, WITH THE FIBERS COMING OUT OF THE
CONCRETE.
ANOTHER PROBLEM IS THE CORROSION OF THE SURFACE WHICH MAY
INFLUENCE THE APPEARANCE OF THE SURFACE.
STEEL FIBERS ARE NOT COST EFFECTIVE. DUE TO THE ADDITION OF
1% STEEL FIBER OF THE TOTAL VOLUME, THERE WILL BE A MASSIVE
CHANGE IN THE TOTAL COST OF THE CONSTRUCTION.

THANK YOU