Fiber-Reinforced concrete -- Why It Is Used, Advantages And Disadvantages of Fiber- Reinforced Concrete

Fiber-reinforced concrete (FRC)  fiber Reinforced Concrete can be defined as a composite material consisting of mixtures of cement, mortar or concrete. it containing fibrous material which increases its structural integrity. It contains short discrete fibers that are uniformly distributed and randomly oriented.

 Fibers include steel fibers, glass fibers, synthetic fibers and natural fibers – each of which lend varying properties to the concrete. In addition, the character of fiber-reinforced concrete changes with varying concretes, fiber materials, geometries, distribution, orientation, and densities.

Why Fiber-Reinforced Concrete Used 

Fiber-reinforcement is mainly used in shotcrete, but can also be used in normal concrete. Fiber-reinforced normal concrete are mostly used for on-ground floors and pavements, but can be considered for a wide range of construction parts (beams, pliers, foundations etc) either alone or with hand-tied rebars. When concrete is reinforced by using fiber in the mixture, it further increases the tensile strength of the composite system

Advantages Of Fiber-Reinforced Concrete

Following are the benefits one can obtain of a fiber reinforced concrete:

1. It increases the tensile strength of the concrete.
2. It reduce the air voids and water voids the inherent porosity of gel.
3. It increases the durability of the concrete.
4. Fibers such as graphite and glass have excellent resistance to creep. Therefore, the orientation and volume of fibers have a significant influence on the creep performance of reinforcement.
5. It has been recognized that the addition of small, closely spaced and uniformly dispersed fibers to concrete would act as crack arrester and would substantially improve its static and dynamic properties. 

Disadvantages Of Fiber-Reinforced Concrete

1. Fibres in concrete make concrete very harsh and it is difficult to handle and pose problems during placement.
2. Fibres may get concentrated at few places which is not ideal and inturn results in poor quality of concrete.
3. Harsh concrete due to fibres may require higher water/cement ratio which is again not ideal.
4. It makes concrete costly and if strength is only criteria for which fibres are used, you might well use higher grade of concrete instead.( If bending strength is not much of importance).

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