Technical Newsletter December 2010, Volume I1I

Engineering a Better Solution STEEL FIBRES IN CONCRETE - WIRAND

Dear Friends!
Wish you all Happy New Year. We are
pleased to share our third Technical
Newsletter.
This issue focuses on a new technology
“Use of fibres in concrete”. Concrete is
very well known to common man &
technologist. Maccaferri has developed
Mrs. Minimol Korulla
CTO steel & polymer fibres for concrete. We
will be pleased to receive your valuable
Maccaferri India
feedback on this issue.
Concrete is, without doubt, the material most commonly used by man in the construction
of structures. The concept of using fibres as reinforcement is not new. The addition of
fibres to concrete leads to the formation of a new composite material with mechanical
characteristics different from that of conventional concrete. This composite material is
called Fibre reinforced concrete. When steel fibres are adopted, the term Steel Fibre
Reinforced Concrete (SFRC) is used.
Steel fibres are used to improve the overall behaviour at the Ultimate Limit State. Fibres
are also used to improve the behaviour of concrete in the Serviceability Limit State since
they reduce crack spacing and crack width, thereby improving durability and robustness.
The appropriate choice of fibres depends entirely on the requirements of the application.
Fibres need to qualify a minimum toughness performance as per modern codal provision
for structural use. Moreover, conformity to harmonised standards and the issuance of a
certificate of conformity from a notified body gives a quality assurance to steel fibres used.
STEEL FIBRES

We stop growing the moment we stop Steel fibres have been prevalently used in various SFRC applications across the globe.
learning and accepting new things. They are classified depending on the manufacturing process i.e. cold deformed, cutting,
milling or melt extraction or the chemical composition of the base material i.e. low or high
Present Issue carbon content or stainless steel. ASTM A 820 -04 and EN 14889-1:2006 categorises
steel fibres based on the manufacturing process.
 Introduction to Steel Fibre Reinforced
Concrete
Steel fibres can have various cross sections from circular to sickle shaped. The surface
 Steel fibres
may be straight, corrugated, grooved or profiled. To ensure proper anchorage into the
 Floorings / Pavings
concrete matrix, the end of the fibres is usually deformed with single, double or multiple
 Steel Fibre Reinforced Shotcrete (SFRS)
hooks.
 Tunnel Linings
It is often a point of concern to choose the right kind of steel fibre for specific applications.
The Hobson Bay
Commercially different kinds of steel fibres viz. wire drawn, slit sheet, mill cut, melt
Sewer & Stormwater extracted fibres are available. For design and structural point of view, the most important
Tunnel has been parameters to define the fibres’ performance is its aspect ratio, strength and quality of the
declared a finalist at base material, number of fibres per dosage weight and the type and shape of the
the International anchorage elements.
Tunnelling Awards Maccaferri Environmental Solutions Pvt. Ltd.
2010.
206, 2nd Floor, Salcon Aurum, Plot no. 4, Jasola District Center,
Fibre Used: Wirand New Delhi – 110 044, Tel: +91- 11- 4379 8400, Fax: +91- 11- 4654 6330
– ‘FF3’  technical@maccaferri-india.com www.maccaferri-india.com Page 1/5
To avoid balling problem of fibres, a right balance between performance
and workability needs to be attained while designing a fibre. It is noted that
a fibre with double end anchorage gives the right optimisation of
performance and workability.

Considering the strength and quality of the base material; the cold drawn
fibres have the highest strength and consistency in quality owing to its
manufacturing process. They are in high conformity to the specifications as
they can be produced in bulk with almost zero tolerance.

Permissible Variations as per ASTM A 820 - 2001

Length or nominal length shall not vary from its specified value more than +10 %.
The diameter shall not vary from its specified value more than +10 %.
The aspect ratio or nominal aspect ratio shall not vary from its specified value more
than +15 %.
Due to high quality and strength of the parent material, drawn fibres help to
obtain better design values post cracking than any other fibre. It is to be
noted that for high performing concrete a strong fibre needs to be adopted
for it to function post cracking. Fibres with low to moderate strength may
yield or rupture due to the tensioning effect created by cracks.
Wirand® Fibres
It should be noted that steel fibres cannot be used in all kinds of
applications. They are used to substitute wholly / partly reinforcements in
structures where Bending Moments do not govern the design. WIRAND®
fibres are most widely applied in the tunnel, paving and pre-fabrication
sectors.
Concrete with WIRAND® fibres, produced from steel with a low carbon
content and high tensile strength:

Wirand® STEEL FIBRES  Increases capacity to absorb temperature changes

Internationally, Maccaferri has been one of the leading manufacturers of
steel fibres in Europe for more than 25 years. Wirand® fibres are
manufactured with low carbon steel wire possessing high tensile strength.
Introducing Wirand® steel fibres improve mechanical properties that can
enhance structural functions. The fibres can be included as a substitute of
the traditional steel reinforcement, or can be used in conjunction with it.
 Develop capacity to absorb energy during post-cracking phase
 Increases bending tensile strength
 Increases impact strength
 Increases resistance to cyclic actions (fatigue)
 Prevents cracking due to plastic shrinkage

Length 25 ≤ L ≤ 50 (mm)
Equivalent Diameter De 0.55 ≤ De ≤ 1.0 (mm)
Aspect Ratio =L/De 44 to 67
Tensile Strength Upto 1200 (MPa)
Shape Straight or deformed
Manufacturing process Cold drawn
Chemical composition Low or high carbon content
Our Steel fibre expert Dr. Ralf presented keynote lecture on “Fiber Reinforced
Concrete - A modern cost-efficient construction material” at ACECON Asian
Conference On Ecstacy In Concrete – IIT Madras 
Page 2/5
BUS STOP STATION : Montevideo, Uruguay Floorings / Pavements
Dosage rate 20kg/m³ of Wirand FF1 + 600g/m³ of The industrial floors, road pavements etc, are technically
FibroMac 12 considered as plates resting on the soil subjected to distributed,
Concrete Class f´c 30MPa constant or moving loads that are traditionally reinforced to endure
Thickness of slab 19 cm shrinkage and temperature stresses. Design of ground supported
slabs with conventional reinforcement is based on elastic behaviour
Maximun joint spacing 5 m of the slab. This approach should not be adopted for steel fibres as
the post cracking behaviour of SFRC is significantly different from
concrete with conventional reinforcement. In fact, the post cracking
behaviour of SFRC is a markedly non linear behaviour and softens
Concreting for pavement
with volume fraction of fibres often used in practice (25 – 40 kg/
in progress
cu.m of concrete); the conventional reinforcement retains an almost
linear relation until the reinforcement yields.

”Brittle”
”Tough”

Strain Strain

Concrete behaviour SFRC behaviour

The steel fibres redistribute the stresses and, by modifying the

Finishing of pavement
“Steel fibres in concrete
enhance durability as they
control crack widths. Since they
are discrete elements, the fibres
only at the surface undergo
corrosion keeping the matrix
impermeable to corrosive
effects” says G. Arvind, GM,
New Business Development,
Maccaferri India.
mechanism of formation and opening of cracks, make the concrete
more ductile, i.e. able to maintain a certain residual load-bearing
capacity even during the post-cracking phase.
Compared with conventional reinforced concrete, SFRC offers
following advantages:
 Reduction of slab thickness (no cover requirement)
 PCC/DLC concrete not necessary
 Larger joint spacing
 No error while placing reinforcement
 Less maintenance
 Increased output

Page 3/5
Steel Fibre Reinforced Shotcrete (SFRS)
Fibre reinforced shotcrete is gaining tremendous momentum across the globe These test panels of 600 x 600 x 100mm are cast during the shotcreting
replacing the conventional mesh shotcrete. Loss of bond of shotcrete with the process. These panels are supported at edges and a centre point load is
rock is generally a main cause of primary failure. Reinforcement has no applied through a contact surface of 100 x 100mm. This test is used for
function to play in preventing this failure. Hence, for the next loading stage quality assurance of different classes of shotcrete (Class A, B & C).
(deformation stage); relevant design properties, safety margins, etc., need to
be identified for the conventional system. Also, mesh shotcrete
 represents a heavy and laborious technique;
 requires a more skillful nozzle man to achieve a good quality application,
without voids behind the bars;
 has problems of dust and rebound associated with it;
Appropriately applied fibre reinforcement provides continuous reinforcement
over the whole cross-section. Thus, an even distribution of fibres in the matrix
means a positive contribution to the strength, whether the requirement is
bending, shear or shock resistance, provided the precise amount and
EFNARC energy absorption test
appropriate type of fibres are used.
Other design aspects, such as shrinkage cracking, are also influenced by Tunnel Linings
fibres. Cracks are evenly distributed and of small width. SFRS restrict early
shrinking and fibres may also have a positive effect on the bond to the rock First stage lining: Shotcrete reinforced with steel fibres,
surface. SFRC is used as the first stage lining as discussed in previous section.

Benefits

Tangible Intangible

Saving on Saving on concrete

reinforcement - mesh quantity - reduction
reinforcement of extra concrete
eliminated usage
Saving on Saving on Saving due
Final lining: Cast in-situ concrete reinforced with steel fibres
contruction
time
personel and
equipment
to increased can be used for the construction of the final lining of tunnels. The fibre
working
expenses safety reinforced concrete is poured or pumped directly into the formwork.
The main advantages are:

 
• Better lining behaviour;
• Significant reduction of the lining thickness;
Apart from the usual tests carried out on plain shotcrete viz. compressive • Significant time saving in placing and controlling the traditional
strength test, flexural test, bond test to ensure the quality of SFRS EFNARC reinforcements;
has defined an energy absorption test to be carried out on shotcrete panels.  • Less excavation section and consequently less quantity of muck
to be removed;

Page 4/5
 • Increas
sing spe
eed and safety of o opera ations.
• Less permeab
p bility of th
he final lining an
nd consequently
y longes
st tunnel life 

S
Segment
tal Linin
ng

Circula
ar dosing
g equipm
ments 
TBM elling wiith SFRC panels – Line 9 mettro, Barrcelona, Spain
M tunne In order to o assure prope er dispe ersion and
a dosage of fibres in i
conncrete, sspecialissed dosage equ uipmentts are preferable. Thes se
The strucctural de esign off segme ental panels tak kes into consideeration all stage es that equuipmentss help to t feed steel fib bres intoo the baatching plant foor
th
he pane els unde ergo i.ee. from handling, stora age, ring
g assem mbly, ra am thrust and production of fibre e reinforcced con ncrete. Through
T h a weig ghing annd
ground looading. Steel fibres can be us sed to reeduce o or substtitute the
e conveentional vibrration system, the dos ser can feed th he belts with a prefixe ed
einforcem
re ment. Fibre reinnforced concrete e helps to reducce risks develop ped duee to the quaantity off fibres, to obtaain the mmix of SFRC
S directly in
nside th
he
unexpectted load d combin nations. Spallinng resultting from
m impac cts whilee handliing the batching p plant. Thhese eq quipmen nts are deliverred read dy to be
b
se
egments s or duriing theirr transpoort can be
b considerablyy reduce ed by the e use off fibres. insttalled aand in particula
p ar cases, manufacture ers also o providde
U
Usage off fibres in conccrete redduce convention nal reinfforceme
ent requ uirementt which insttallation supportt. Officine Mac ccaferri is the only man nufactureer
m resu
may ult in a more
m cos
st-efficie
ent produuction. devveloping and providing
p g specia ally dessigned batching
b g system m
soluutions, which have
h intermediate facilities too dose fibres in i
order to m meet the requirementss of hig gh preccision aand sho ort
batching cyycles an nd hence e not hin
ndering producti
p ion time.

Macca
aferri Partticipated in Indian Geotech
hnical Connference--2010 as platinum m
sponso
or. We deelivered corporate
c e presenta
ation with
h emphassis on rocckfall prottection.
Pa
age 5/5
(L to R) Mr. Parag UUpadhyay, Sr.
S Manage er-Marketingg; Mr. Ravin
ndra Mhatre
e, G.M.-Wesst; Dr. Ratn
nakar
Mahajan n, Division M
Manager - Technical
T an
nd Mr. Nitin Thakur, Division Mana
ager - Saless.
ANY REPRODUC
R CTION, INCLUDING PHO
OTOCOPY, FILM
F AND MICROFILM, IS FORBIDD
DEN. ALL RIGHTS RESE
ERVED WOR
RLDWIDE.