International Concrete Abstracts Portal

Self-consolidating fiber-reinforced concrete (SCFRC) combines the benefits of self-consolidating concrete (SCC) in the fresh state and an enhanced performance of fiber reinforced concrete (FRC) in the hardened state. The application of SCC improves the efficiency at building sites, allows rationally producing prefabricated concrete elements and improves the working conditions, the quality and the aesthetical appearance of concrete structures. By adding fibers to SCC bar reinforcement can be replaced, crack widths reduced, the durability improved and the load bearing capacity of a structure increased. An extensive research study1 was carried out on the characteristics and the mix design of SCFRC that consisted of three parts: the fresh as well as the hardened state of SCFRC and the influence of the production process determined in three full-scale studies. This paper discusses two aspects of the mix design of SCFRC: the maximum fiber content and the required spacing of reinforcement at which blocking does not occur. Based on the analysis of experimental results mix design tools are proposed that allow predicting the maximum fiber content and the passing ability of SCFRC, which is essential information to obtain a homogeneous distribution of the fibers in a structure.

To evaluate the flow characteristics of macro-synthetic fiber-reinforced self consolidating concrete (MSFRSCC), a total of 20 non-air entrainment self-consolidating concrete (SCC) mixtures with varying w/c ratios, macro-synthetic fiber lengths, and fiber dosages rates were evaluated. The flow characteristics of each mixture were evaluated using our typical SCC workability test methods: slump flow, filling capacity, L-box, and V-funnel tests. The plastic shrinkage cracking resistance, compressive strength and flexural strength of each mixture were also evaluated. The objective was to develop an understanding of the factors that influence the flow characteristics of MSFRSCC and determine if criteria set for conventional SCC can be applied to MSFRSCC. The testing results demonstrated that fiber lengths of 50 mm cause significant internal friction leading to mixture stability issues when attempting to increase the volume of high range water reducer to produce acceptable slump flow values without viscosity modifying admixtures. Reducing fiber length to 38mm led to reduction in the internal friction allowing satisfactory slump flow, filling capacity, and V-funnel flow time to be achieved with slight mixture modifications and no viscosity modifying admixtures were required. The addition of fibers did cause lower than acceptable L-Box test results where mixtures were made to change direction and flow between closely spaced bars. It was concluded that the slight increase in internal friction produced by the addition of fibers caused the low L-Box results and not any form of blockage. The plastic shrinkage test results showed that the addition of 0.40% fibers by volume led to as much as 70 % reduction in total crack area and up to 50% reduction in maximum crack width as compared to plain concrete. The results obtained from this research clearly shows that is it possible to develop highly crack resistant MSFRSCC mixtures for concrete structures.

In the present work the tensile behavior of a self-compacting concrete reinforced with two hooked ends steel fiber contents was assessed performing stable displacement control tension tests. Based on the stress-displacement curves obtained, the stress-crack width relationships were derived, as well as the energy dissipated up to distinct crack width limits and residual strengths. The number of effective fibers bridging the fracture surface was determined and was compared with the theoretical number of fibers, as well as with the stress at crack initiation, residual stresses and energy dissipation parameters. In general, a linear trend between the number of effective fibers and both the stress and energy dissipation parameters was obtained. A numerical model supported on the finite element method was developed. In this model, the fiber reinforced concrete is assumed as a two phase material: plain concrete and fibers randomly distributed. The plain concrete phase was modeled with D solid finite elements, while the fiber phase was modeled with discrete embedded elements. The adopted interface behavior for the discrete elements was obtained from single fiber pullout tests. The numerical simulation of the uniaxial tension tests showed a good agreement with the experimental results. Thus, this approach is able of capturing the essential aspects of the fiber reinforced composite’s complex behavior.

Shrinkage cracking of self-compacting concrete (SCC) overlays with and without steel fibres has been assessed through laboratory testing and theoretical analysis. Test results verified that steel fibre reinforcement has a crack width limiting effect. However, the contribution in case of fibre contents up to 0.75 vol% was not found to be sufficient to distribute cracks in situations where bond to the substrate was nonexistent. Thus, even higher steel fibre contents (or other types of fibres) are required in order to control cracks. A distributed pattern of fine cracks was however obtained even for unreinforced SCC within bonded areas of the overlays. This implies that steel fibres, or other crack reinforcement, are not required if high bond strength is obtained. An analytical model, proposed to assess the risk of cracking and to predict crack widths in overlays, was found to give reasonable correlation with experimental results.

Self-consolidating concrete (SCC) promises to shorten construction time while reducing the need for skilled labor. However, experience has shown that SCC may be prone to shrinkage cracking, which may compromise durability. In conventional concrete, fiber reinforcement has been used to control cracking and increase post-cracking tensile strength and flexural toughness. These benefits could be achieved in SCC without compromising the workability or stability, provided that the amount of fiber reinforcement is optimized. This project sought to evaluate the feasibility of fiber reinforced self-consolidating concrete (FR-SCC) for structural applications. Tests were conducted in the laboratory to assess the fresh and hardened properties of FR-SCC containing various types and concentrations of fiber. The results indicate that SCC with high flowability and some residual strength beneficial for crack control can be prepared for use in transportation facilities. The results of the experiments further show that, at optimal fiber additions, FR-SCC mixtures can have the same fresh concrete properties as traditional SCC mixtures. FR-SCC also demonstrates a considerable improvement in the residual strength and toughness of a cracked section. Though not specifically measured, increase in residual strength and toughness is expected to lead to control of crack width and length (ACI 544.1R, 1996). The increase in the FR-SCCs’ cracked section performance indicates that it can be expected to have better durability in service conditions than an identical SCC without fibers. In transportation structures FR-SCC can be used in link slabs, closure pours, formed concrete substructure repairs; or prestressed beams where end zone cracking has been an issue.