Development Of Fiber Reinforced Concrete (FRC)

According to American Concrete Institute (ACI) 544, Fiber Reinforced Concrete (FRC) is categorized as steel fiber FRC, glass fiber FRC, synthetic FRC and natural FRC as per the material used as fiber. Development of FRC was based on a fracture mechanics concept which basically focused to develop the strength of brittle Portland cement concrete by reinforcing the matrix closely placed continuous wire. Every fiber has its own characteristics and thus influences the nature or performance of the concrete accordingly.

Concrete, in spite of being an excellent construction, is known for its negligible tensile strength and poor crack resistance to crack opening and propagation. The main reason for inclusion of fibers in the concrete matrix is to overcome this shortfall. Fibers not only arrest the cracks, but also improve mechanical properties of the concrete. The volumes of fibers typically vary from 0.5% - 3%. However, it may range from 8% to 10% for asbestos. It is the small percentage of ductile fibers in brittle concrete matrix that distinguishes it from high performance composites (metallic, ceramic or plastic-resin). Continuous research has shown that steel as a fiber is the best suited for concrete constructions. This constitutes one of the major causes of considerably huge researches in steel fibers than that of other fibers. In general, SFRC is

They can be classified in two basic categories, namely those which have higher elastic modulus than concrete matrix (called hard intrusion) and those which have lower elastic modulus than concrete matrix (called soft intrusion). Steel, glass and carbon have higher elastic modulus than cement mortar matrix and polypropylene and vegetable fiber are low modulus fibers. High modulus fibers contribute largely in improvement of flexure and impact resistances but low modulus fibers improve the impact resistance of concrete but do not contribute much to the flexural