PROPERTIES OF FIBER REINFORCED CONCRETE: WORKABILITY, BEHAVIOR UNDER LONG-TERM LOADING, AND AIR-VOID CHARACTERISTICS.

This paper presents the results of an experimental investigation of the behavior of steel fiber reinforced concrete. The properties investigated were: setting times, slump and air content loss with time, creep and shrinkage, and air-void characteristics including bubble size distribution. To compare the behavior of fiber reinforced concrete with plain concrete, all of the preceding properties were also investigated for plain concrete mixtures of similar composition. Collated 50 mm long steel fibers with hooked ends were used for the fiber concrete. The experiments were conducted using the appropriate ASTM standards. The air-void characteristics were studied using the linear traverse method. The results indicate that setting times are about the same for both concretes. Fiber concrete has lower slump and air content; the rate of loss of these parameters with time is also higher. Shrinkage of fiber reinforced concrete is slightly less, but it undergoes slightly more creep deformations.