Glass macrofiber self-compacting concrete: Fiber distribution and mechanical properties in thin walls and slabs

Abstract

Alkali-resistant glass macrofibers for concrete reinforcement are recently available; reductions in thermal or drying shrinkage cracks and the replacement of conventional welded mesh in some structural elements appear as the main applications. When considering thin elements, it has been recognized that the flow and wall effects have strong influence on the residual properties of steel fiber-reinforced self-compacting concrete (FR-SCC); some effects were also observed in the case of polymer fibers but there are no references about glass macrofibers. This paper studies the variation of the mechanical properties in thin walls and slabs cast with SCC incorporating glass macrofibers; the results are compared with those obtained on similar elements molded with steel and synthetic macrofibers SCC. The wall effect and the flow rate affect fiber distribution in glass FR-SCC, and lead to significant differences in the residual mechanical properties along thin elements, and also in the first crack strength.