1.

Steel Fibre Reinforced Concrete (SFRC)

Concrete is the most widely used structural material in the world with an annual
production of over seven billion tons. For a variety of reasons, much of this concrete is cracked. The reason for concrete to suffer cracking may be attributed to structural,

environmental or economic factors, but most of the cracks are formed due to the inherent
weakness of the material to resist tensile forces. Again, concrete shrinks and will again

crack, when it is restrained. It is now well established that steel fibre reinforcement offers a solution to the problem of cracking by making concrete tougher and more ductile. It has
also been proved by extensive research and field trials carried out over the past three decades, that addition of steel fibres to conventional plain or reinforced and prestressed concrete members at the time of mixing/production imparts improvements to several

properties of concrete, particularly those related to strength, performance and durability.

The weak matrix in concrete, when reinforced with steel fibres, uniformly distributed across its entire mass, gets strengthened enormously, thereby rendering the matrix to

behave as a composite material with properties significantly different from conventional

concrete.
The randomly-oriented steel fibres assist in controlling the propagation of micro-cracks present in the matrix, first by improving the overall cracking resistance of matrix itself,

and later by bridging across even smaller cracks formed after the application of load on

the member, thereby preventing their widening into major cracks (Fig. 1).

Fig. 1 Failure mechanism and the effect of fibers

The idea that concrete can be strengthened by fibre inclusion was first put forward by

Porter in 1910, but little progress was made in its development till 1963, when Roumaldi
and Batson carried out extensive laboratory investigations and published their classical

paper on the subject. Since then, there has been a great wave of interest in and
applications of SFRC in many parts of the world. While steel fibres improve the compressive strength of concrete only marginally by about 10 to 30%, significant improvement is achieved in several other properties of concrete as listed in Table. Some

popular shapes of fibres are given in Fig.2.

Fig. 2 Different types of steel fibers

In general, SFRC is very ductile and particularly well suited for structures which are

equired to exhibit:

Resistance to impact, blast and shock loads and high fatigue Shrinkage control of concrete (fissuration) Very high flexural, shear and tensile strength Resistance to splitting/spalling, erosion and abrasion High thermal/ temperature resistance Resistance to seismic hazards.

The degree of improvement gained in any specific property exhibited by SFRC is

dependent on a number of factors that include:

Concrete mix and its age Steel fibre content Fibre shape, its aspect ratio (length to diameter ratio) and bond characteristics.

The efficiency of steel fibres as concrete macro-reinforcement is in proportion to

increasing fibre content, fibre strength, aspect ratio and bonding efficiency of the fibres in
the concrete matrix. The efficiency is further improved by deforming the fibres and by resorting to advanced production techniques. Any improvement in the mechanical bond

ensures that the failure of a SFRC specimen is due mainly to fibres reaching their ultimate

strength, and not due to their pull-out. 1.4 Applications of SFRC

The applications of SFRC depend on the ingenuity of the designer and builder in taking advantage of its much enhanced and superior static and dynamic tensile strength,

ductility, energy-absorbing characteristics, abrasion resistance and fatigue strength.

Growing experience and confidence by engineers, designers and contractors has led to many new areas of use particularly in precast, cast in-situ, and shotcrete applications.

Traditional application where SFRC was initially used as pavements, has now gained wide acceptance in the construction of a number of airport runways, heavy-duty and
container yard floors in several parts of the world due to savings in cost and superior

performance during service.

The advantages of SFRC have now been recognised and utilised in precast application

where designers are looking for thinner sections and more complex shapes. Applications include building panels, sea-defence walls and blocks, piles, blast-resistant storage cabins,
coffins, pipes, highway kerbs, prefabricated storage tanks, composite panels and ducts. Precast fibre reinforced concrete manhole covers and frames are being widely used in

India, Europe and USA.

Cast in-situ application includes bank vaults, bridges, nosing joints and water slides. Sprayed-in ground swimming pools is a new and growing area of shotcrete application

in Australia. SFRC has become a standard building material in Scandinavia.

Applications of SFRC to bio-logical shielding in atomic reactors and also to waterfront

marine structures which have to resist deterioration at the air-water interface and impact loadings have also been successfully made. The latter category includes jetty armor,
floating pontoons, and caissons. Easiness with which fibre concrete can be moulded to

compound curves makes it attractive for ship hull construction either alone or in

conjunction with ferrocement. 11

SFRC shotcrete has recently been used for sealing the recesses at the anchorages of post
stressing cables in oil platform concrete structures. Recent developments in fibre types and their geometry and also in concrete technology and equipment for mixing, placing

and compaction of SFRC and mechanized methods for shotcreting have placed

Scandinavian and German consultants and contractors in a front position in fibreshotcreting operations world wide.
Laboratory investigations have indicated that steel fibres can be used in lieu of stirrups in
RCC frames, beams, and flat slabs and also as supplementary shear reinforcement in precast, thin-webbed beams. Steel fibre reinforcement can also be added to critical end

zones of precast prestressed concrete beams and columns and in cast-in-place concrete to eliminate much of the secondary reinforcement. SFRC may also be an improved means of
providing ductility to blast-resistant and seismic-resistant structures especially at their

joints, owing to the ability of the fibres to resist deformation and undergo large rotations

by permitting the development of plastic hinges under over-load conditions.

1.5 General Application of Steel Fibres 1.5.1 General Applications and Advantages steel fiber concrete

Steel Fiber Reinforced Concrete or Shotcrete (SFRC/SFRS) have been used in various applications throughout the world. In India their use is picking up slowly. The principal advantages of SFRC versus plain or mesh/bar reinforced concretes are: Cost savings of 10% - 30% over conventional concrete flooring systems. Reinforcement throughout the section in all directions versus one plane of reinforcement (sometimes in the sub-grade) in only two directions. Increased ultimate flexural strength of the concrete composite and thus thinner sections. Increased flexural fatigue endurance and again thinner slabs. Increased flexural toughness, or the ability to absorb energy. Increased impact resistance and thus reduced chipping and joint spalling. Increased shear strength and thus the ability to transfer loads across joints in thin sections. Increased tensile strength and tensile strain capacity thus allowing increased contraction/construction joint spacing

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The six major areas in which Steel Fibers can be used to achieve hi-strength, durable and economical concrete are: a) Overlays
Roads, Airfields, Runways, Container, Movement and Storage Yards, Industrial Floors

and Bridges. Advantages of using SFRC

Fatigue and impact resistance increased Wear and tear resistance increased Joint spacing increased Thinner pavements possible due to higher flexural strength of SFRC Long service life with little or no maintenance

b) Pre-cast Concrete Products Manhole covers and Frames, Pipes, Break-Water Units, Building Floor and Walling Components, Acoustic Barriers, Krebs, Impact Barriers, Blast Resistant Panels, Vaults,

Coffins etc. Advantages of using SFRC Fatigue and impact resistance increased Thinner sections possible with SFRC reducing handling and transportation costs.
Reduced consumption and savings in cost of materials makes pre-cast products competitive in price with cast iron or reinforced concrete products.

Products possess increased ductility and resistance to chipping and cracking. SFRC products suffer less damage and loss during handling and erection Overall improvement in all structural properties Many different sizes and shapes of pre-cast units possible with SFRC. c) Hydraulic and Marine Structures Dams, Spillways, Aprons, Boats and Barges, Sea Protection Works.

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Advantages of using SFRC Outperforms conventional materials by exhibiting superior resistance to

cavitations and impact damage due to wave action, hydraulic heads and

swirling water currents. Ideally suitable for repair of hydraulic and marine structures d) Defence and Military Structures
Aircrafts Hangers, Missile and Weaponry Storage Structures, Blast Resistant

Structure, Ammunition Production and Storage Depots, Underground Shelters etc. Advantages of using SFRC Exhibits high ductile and toughness resulting in superior resistance to blast, impact and falling loads and missiles.
Fragmentation effect very less compared to other material due to confinement effect of fibers on concrete.

Far superior resistance to fire and corrosion High resistance to penetration by drills hammers etc, almost impenetrable. A highly versatile material with longer service life.
e) Shotcreting Applications

Tunnel Linings, Domes, Mine Linings, Rock-Slope Stabilization, Repaint and

Restoration Distresses Concrete Structures etc.

Advantages of using SFRC

Highly efficient, convenient and economical compared to mesh and bar

reinforcement used in conventional shot crating. One stage operation for irregular profiles. High resistance to abrasion and impact loads. Reduction in 'shadow' effects resulting in compact and dense layer. Improvement in ductility
Only high performing technique suitable for tunnel and drainage lining, rock

stabilization jobs and also for repair of bridges, dams, storage tanks etc. Construction of energy-efficient domes and shell structures possible.

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f) Special Structures Machine Foundations, Currency Vaults and Strong Rooms, Impact and FiberProtective Shells and Lost Forms, Column-Beam Joints in Seismic-Resistant
Structures, End Zones of Prestressed Concrete Elements, High Volume Steel Fiber

Reinforce Concrete structures made out of SIFCON and CRC (Slurry Infiltrated Fiber

Concrete and Compact Reinforced Concrete) Advantages of using SFRC

Improved performances under action of any kind of loading High seismic-resistance in buildings due to ductile behaviours of joints and connections

1.5.2 Some applications in India Fiber reinforced concrete is in use since many years in India, but the structural
applications are very much limited. However, its application is picking up in the recent days. Following are some of the major projects where large quantities of steel fibers are

used. 1. More than 400 tones of Shaktiman Steel Fibers have been used recently
in the

construction of a road overlay for a project at Mathura (UP).

2. They have also been successfully used at the end anchorage zones of prestressed
concrete girders for resisting bursting and spalling forces in bridge projects in

Bangalore and Ahmedabad executed by one of the reputed construction

companies. 3. The fibers have also been used for heavy-duty industrial floors. 4. Other projects include Samsonity Factory-Nasik, BIPL Plant-Pune, KRCLMSRDC tunnels, Natha Jakri Hydro Electric Plant, Kol HEP, Baglihar HEP, Chamera HEP, Sala HEP, Ranganadi HEP, Sirsisilam project, Tehri Dam

project, Uri Dam Project, etc. 5. Used in many tunnelling projects and for slope stabilisation in India.