What is Fiber Reinforced Concrete?

Conventional fiber reinforced concrete, sometimes called FRC, is concrete that has been strengthened by adding shreds of other materials to the wet concrete mix. Concrete is quite brittle; it has very good compressive strength but comparatively little tensile strength, which makes it likely to crack under many conditions. Cracking leads to further damage. Fiber reinforced concrete is less likely to crack than standard concrete. Using fibers to reinforce other materials is not a new idea. In fact, it has been practiced for thousands of years, with straw mixed into mud bricks and horsehair included in mortar. In the early years of the 20th century, asbestos fibers were added to concrete. By the 1960s a variety of materials, such as polypropylene, glass, and steel fibers, were used in fiber reinforced concrete. Current research suggests that microfibers, rather than long fibers, best increase tensile strength. However, adding fibers causes relatively little improvement in impact resistanc ... more

• Inhibits the formation of plastic shrinkage and plastic settlement cracking: Synthetic fiber reinforcement inhibits the formation of plastic shrinkage and plastic settlement cracking by providing an internal support system for concrete. Synthetic fiber reinforcement helps concrete through the period when it is most vulnerable to cracking. That is, when the concrete is beginning to harden and shrink due to volume changes from loss of water. Synthetic fiber reinforcement discourages plastic cracking before it starts. • Provides reinforcement throughout the entire concrete section: As a result of adding millions of synthetic fibers to the concrete mix, the concrete is then reinforced with an internal material that becomes a uniform, integral part of the concrete composite. Fibers provide reinforcement throughout the entire concrete section. • Increases the speed of residential concrete projects: Because fiber reinforcement is simply added to the concrete mix, there is no labor or time c ... more