UNIT-1

LECTURE - 5
LIGHT WEIGHT CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS

Brig. S.K. Sharma (Retd.)

Pro Vice Chancellor and Professor
Department of Civil Engineering,
The Northcap University, Gurgaon

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INDEX

DIFFERENT TYPES OF FIBRES

STEEL-FIBRE
POLYPROPYLENE FIBRE
ASBESTOS FIBRE
GLASS FIBRE
CARBON FIBRE

APPLICATIONS
OF
FIBRE
REINFORCED
CONCRETE (FRC)
BATCHING, MIXING, PLACING, COMPACTION
AND FINISHING OF FRC
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DIFFERENT TYPES OF FIBRES

Although every type of fibre has been tried out in
cement and concrete, not all of them can be
effectively and economically used. Each type of
fibre has its characteristic properties and
limitations. Some of the fibres that could be used
are steel fibres, polypropylene, nylons,
asbestos, coir, glass and carbon. They are
discussed in succeeding text.

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STEEL-FIBRE: A number of steel-fibre types are

available as reinforcement. Round steel fibres the
commonly used type, and are produced by cutting
round wires into short lengths. The typical diameters
lie in the range of 0.25 to 0.75 mm. Steel fibre having a
rectangular cross section are produced by slitting the
sheets about 0.25 mm thick. For improving the
mechanical bond between the fibre and matrix,
indented, crimped, machined and hook-ended fibers
are normally produced.

POLYPROPYLENE FIBRE: Polypropylene and nylon

fibres are found to be suitable to increase the impact
strength. They possess very high tensile strength, but
their low modulus of elasticity and higher elongation
do not contribute to the flexural strength.
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ASBESTOS FIBRE: Asbestos is a mineral fibre and has

proved to be the most successful of all fibres as it can be
mixed with Portland cement paste. For unimportant fibre
concrete, organic fibres like coir, jute, canes plits are also
used.

GLASS FIBRE: Glass fibre is a recent introduction in

making fiber concrete. It has very high tensile strength
of 1020 to 4080 N/mm2. Glass fibre which is originally
used in conjunction with cement was found to be
effected by alkaline condition of cement. Therefore,
alkali-resistant glass fibre by trade name CEM-FIL has
been developed and used. The alkali resistant fibre
reinforced concrete shows considerable improvement in
durability when compared to the conventional glass
fibre.
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CARBON FIBRE: Carbon fibre perhaps posses

very high tensile strength, say from 2110 to 2815
N/mm2. It has been reported that cement
composite made with carbon fibre as reinforcement
will have high modulus of elasticity and flexural
strength. Limited studies have shown good
durability. The use of carbon fibres for structures
like cladding, panels and shells have a promising
future.

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APPLICATIONS OF FRC
Fibre reinforced concrete is increasingly used on
account of the advantages of increased static and
dynamic tensile strength, energy absorbing
characteristics and better fatigue strength. The
uniform dispersion of fibres throughout the concrete
provides isotropic properties not common to
conventionally reinforced concrete.

Uses: Fiber reinforced concrete has been tried on

overlays
of
air-field,
road
pavements,
industrial floorings, bridge decks, canal lining,
explosive resistant structures, refractory
linings etc. The fibre reinforced concrete can also
be used for the fabrication of precast products
like pipes, beams, stair case steps, wall
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panels,
roof panels, manhole covers etc.

However, the main applications of SFRC are in

highway
and
airfield
pavements,
hydraulic
structures, tunnel linings, industrial floors, bridge
decks, repair works etc. specifically, SFRC can be
applied in the following areas:HIGHWAY AND AIRFIELD PAVEMENTS: the steelfibre concrete can be used in new pavement
constructions or in the repair of existing pavements
by the use of bonded or unbonded overlays to the
slab beneath. The major advantages are: a higher
flexural strength results in the reduction of required
pavement thickness; the resistance to impact and
repeated loading is increased.
SFRC gives a smooth riding surface without irregular
depressions. The overlays for the rehabilitation of
runways, taxiways, bridge decks, and the
strengthening
of existing runways and taxiways to
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comply with the rigid requirements of the newer

HYDRAULIC STRUCTURES: The major advantage

of using steel-fiber concrete in hydraulic structures
is its resistance to cavitation or erosion damage by
high velocity water flow. The steel-fiber concrete
has been successfully used in the repair of spilling
basin at Tarbela Dam in Paksitan. The fibre concrete
contained about one per cent (by volume) of
25x0.25x0.55 mm slit steel fibres.
FIBRE SHOTCRETE: Fibre Shotcrete fibre shotcrete
has been used in rock slope stabilization, tunnel
lining and bridge repair. A thin coating of plain
shotcrete applied monolithically on top of the fiber
shotcrete, may be used to prevent surface staining
due to rusting.
PRECAST APPLICATIONS: As brought out
earlier they include manhole covers, and concrete
pipes.
Improved
and impact strengths may
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University,flexural
Gurgaon
allow the use of steel-fibre concrete components in

CURRENT DEVELOPMENT IN FRC

The following are the three new developments
taking place in FRC: High fibre volume micro-fibre systems.
Slurry infiltrated fibre concrete (SIFCON).
Compact reinforced composites.

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BATCHING, MIXING, PLACING,

COMPACTION AND FINISHING OF FRC
Method : The fibres are usually added to the
aggregates before the introduction of cement and
water into the mixer. For laboratory testing, fibres can
be added in small amounts to the rotating drum
charged with cement, aggregate and water. For large
batches, the fibres are blown into the previously
charged rotating drum.
A fibre mix generally requires more time and vibration
to move the mix and to compact it into the forms.
Surface vibration of forms and exposed surface is
preferable to prevent segregation.

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Some of the precautions taken while mixing placing and

compacting fibre-reinforced concrete are as follows: While mixing small quantities of fibre reinforced concrete
by hand, there is a possibility of steel fibres hitting the
eyes of the worker or pricking the hand. To avoid these
hazards, the hands should be protected by gloves and the
eye with safety glasses.
A pan mixer of the counter-flow type should be used for
mixing fibre reinforced concrete.
For uniform distribution of steel fibres, a dispenser should
be used. While dispensing the fibres into concrete, the rate
at which the fibres are fed to the mixer shouldbe
synchronized with rate of mixing.

_______________x________________

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Video1: Concrete Bridge Repair with Fibre Reinforced Polymers

04:32 min
Video 2: Wire and Steel Fibre Reinforced Concrete Floors
08:41 min
Video 3: EPC, Synthetic Fibre Reinforced Segmental Tunnel
01:07 min
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General
See)

interest

construction

videos

Video1: TMB/ Tunneling

13:42
Video2: 30 Story Building Built in 15 days
02:31 min

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(May

min

THANK YOU

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