Fibre Reinforced Concrete

Perhaps, you know that there are lots of types of concrete, each of which has got specific characteristics (advantages and disadvantages) that are studied and known by all architects and builders. Several of the most used and preferred kinds of concrete are: reinforced concrete, prestressed concrete, ready mix concrete and some more! But what you are likely to find a bit confusing and difficult-to-understand is that some of those could also be divided into other categories and types of concrete. Let’s take the reinforced concrete- there could be fibre reinforced concrete and non-fibre (ordinary) reinforced concrete.

What do you think is the difference between both of them? Obviously, it is not difficult to come up with the correct idea as the name speaks volumes about the characteristics of both of the types. The fibre reinforced concrete contains special fibers which makes it more integer and stronger. In fact, there are many kinds of fibres which could be used (natural, glass, synthetic, steel and others). However, it could be claimed for sure that the two most used of them are the steel fibre and the polypropylene fibre. Both of them have advantages and disadvantages which will be discussed by the end of the article.

Let’s start with the polypropylene fibre which, by the way, is a type of synthetic fibre used in the concrete. It is used in 40% of the cases as ‘the most appropriate material’ due to its large number of advantages. Some of the most significant ones are: improved pumpability, better impact and fire resistance and no shrinkage when the temperatures are low. It definitely seems like this kind of fibre reinforced concrete has a lot of characteristics which makes it perfect for roof tiles and retaining walls.

But let’s continue with the second most preferred and used fibre reinforced concrete- the type which contains steel fibre. It is used in 35% of the cases but it does not mean that it has fewer advantages at all! By the way, you have probably noticed that there is a 25%-gap: that is the percentage divided amongst all other kinds of concrete. Anyway, let’s get back to the steel fibre and its advantages: excellent strength, better ductility and great resistance against abrasion. It definitely sounds quite good, don’t you think so?

To summarize, what you are most likely to need for your project, no matter what it is, is steel or polypropylene fibre reinforced concrete. The advantages which they give over the other alternative are great plus it could turn out to be the only possible alternative if you want to keep up with the high quality required by the government building standards.

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