Synthetic fibres – old technology,
new materials
Garry Martin
Director Major Projects
Rusty mesh, oh yes please! Don’t have to think about that one... Just the job!
And also, that means:
• I can employ more people to:
• Transport the mesh on site,
• Cut the mesh to size,
• Put out spacers that I had to pay for,
• Tie the mesh together,
• Increase my health and safety risks,
• Slow down my production cycles,
• And I will never know from one week to the next what the price of it
will be!
Birds using fibre composite structures…..
Not such a bird brained idea after all…..
DURUS ® S400 - Embossed Fibre
Class 11 > 0.30mm diameter
We know it’s not rocket science, but...
People will think you have come from another planet....
You’ll be needing more than the luck of the Irish to get them to listen...
You’ll be needing more spells and trickery than Harry Potter to get through the
door...
Not just a belt... You need a belt and..
braces! If you really want to dress like an engineer!
If it’s not in the codes, I’m not touching it!
EQi calculation
But sometimes you’ve just gotta suck it and see
I mean really, why would you:
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Use a product that reduces labour costs?
Has no health and safety risks?
Reduces your carbon footprint?
Increases your productivity?
Improves your products?
Is stable in price?
Is easy to use?
Saves you time and money?
I still can’t see anything but mesh up here...
BS EN 14889 – 2:2006
Fibres for Concrete
Part 1 – Steel fibres for concrete
Part 2 – Polymer fibres for concrete
Specifies:
Mechanical properties of materials
Reinforcing materials
Evaluations of conformity
Quality control measures
Testing methods
And other
BS EN 14889 – 2:2006
Fibres for Concrete
Reinforcing Materials
Fibre Class
Class I – Micro - < 0.30 mm in diameter
Ia – monofilament
Ib - fibrillated
Class II - Macro - > 0.30 mm in diameter
Class II fibres must be used where an increase in residual flexural
strength is required
CE marking (also known as CE mark) is a mandatory conformance mark on many products placed on the market in
theEuropean Economic Area (EEA). With the CE marking on a product the manufacturer ensures that the product is in
conformity with the essential requirements of the applicable EC directives.
Required Modules
Module A – Internal production control.
Module Aa – Intervention of a Notified Body.
Module B – EC type-examination.
Module C – Conformity to type.
Module D – Production quality assurance.
Module E – Product quality assurance.
Module F – Product verification.
Module G – Unit verification.
Module H – Full quality assurance.
Technical Report No. 65
Contents
1. Introduction
2. Properties of macro synthetic fibres
and their composites
3. Hardened properties and their
measurement
4. Production and plastic properties
5. Design approaches, quality control
6. Applications
www.concrete.org.uk
Technical Report No.34
Outlines the design methods and equations used
for designing with synthetic fibre reinforcement.
First published in 1988.
Numerous reprints.
Inclusion of Fibre Reinforced Concrete – 2003.
Insulated Concrete Formwork - ICF
Dosage: 5kg/m3
Insulated Concrete Formwork - ICF
BALLASTLESS TRAMLINE SLABS
003 – Tramline slab – Hungary, Szeged
Peterhead Sea Wall
Original design was for steel bar and
B785 welded mesh fabric reinforcement.
The mesh was replaced with 5kg / m3 of
Durus S300 macro synthetic fibres.
These fibres were sufficient to
accommodate the punch loads calculated
for the project along with preventing
Shrinkage as well as the proposed mesh.
Additional benefits in abrasion resistance
were also accepted.
Port of Tyne 4000 m² March 2013
• Problem concrete wear
exposing mesh which
punctures lorry tyres .
• Original Design: C40/50
Concrete, 350mm deep with
top layer of A393 mesh
• Adfil Specification Used:
C40/50 Concrete, 350mm
depth slab. 5kg Durus S300,
0.91kg of Fibrin XT
Macro & Micro in external slabs
Waste Transfer stations
PP Nordica – Give precast
PP Nordica – Give precast
Improved speed of construction
Please don’t be like this engineer…. Quality structural synthetic fibres do exist, they
can be tested, they can be calculated, the do perform and they have been used
successfully for over 20 years and have a service life of over 120 years.
ü Micro fibre? Fibrillated fibre? Or structural macro fibre?
ü CE mark?
ü Can supplier provide a quality technical support?
ü Does the supplier have a case history portfolio?
ü What is the performance? Not just the price per kilo?