2.

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

2.1 Concrete

Concrete is a material made out of cement, a binding material that binds aggregates, it is initially
mixed with water and this gives it a good workability that enables concrete to be poured into
molds. This offers endless possibilities with regards to shape and finishes. Concrete will then
harden to form a solid building material that is durable and relatively low cost. Concrete is
durable because it can resist water, moisture, rot, rusts, temperature changes and fire [ CITATION
Leo13 \l 1033 ]. Concrete is the main material used in building civil structures in the modern
world. It is used in building roads, bridges, tunnels, damns, and many more [ CITATION Jon15 \l
1033 ].

2.2 Fiber Reinforced Concrete

Fiber reinforced concrete is a concrete that is reinforced by small fibers throughout its matrix.
Fiber reinforcement helps concrete have a better strength against tension stresses and it helps it
fix its relative brittleness. The popular types of fiber used in fiber reinforcement in the industry
are steel, glass, polypropylene, and carbon fibers. Each of these types has its own advantages in
the mechanical properties of concrete [ CITATION Sul18 \l 1033 ]. There are also ultra-high
performance fibers reinforcements, these fibers are used in structures that carry a high load and
must not fail at once like bridges [ CITATION FAH11 \l 1033 ]. There are also fiber reinforced
polymer reinforcements. These are reinforcements that are made of polymer like a plastic sheet
that is reinforced with fibers. These plastic sheets are then used as reinforcement for concrete
[ CITATION QUI09 \l 1033 ].

Steel fiber reinforced concrete or SFRC is a concrete that has steel fiber reinforcement. This type
of concrete same as other fiber reinforced concrete is designed according to its strength
requirements of its use and it must meet ASTM standards. The same with other fiber reinforced
concrete SFRC favor workability in its composition since fiber decreases workability. The
mixing method of SFRC is that concrete must be mixed first before adding the steel fibers. The
fresh concrete must have a higher slump than the required slump of the final mixture ensuring
workability after adding the steel fibers. For example if the final mixture requires 200mm the
fresh concrete with no fibers must have a slump of about 250-275mm [ CITATION Sul18 \l 1033 ].
The advantage of SFRC is higher post cracking ductility, energy absorption, tensile strength
and flexural strength [ CITATION Sul18 \l 1033 ] . In 2018 Hammed and Al-Sherrawi found out that
reinforced concrete improved their ultimate shear strength by 67.56% and it decreases midspan
deflection by 15.42%. This type of fiber reinforced concrete is usually used in floor slabs, roads,
tunnel linings, and other concrete that requires a higher than usual tensile strength.

Glass fiber reinforced concrete or GFRC is a concrete that is reinforced with glass fibers. This
type of fiber reinforced concrete is popular to be used in architectural building where design
creativity is desired [ CITATION Sul18 \l 1033 ]. Glass fibers has low density with higher strength to
weight ratio, this makes it ideal for thin slabs or panels. There are different types of glass fibers:
Electrical glass has a good electrical insulation, Corrosion glass has a high resistance to chemical
corrosion, and High Silica glass can withstand high temperatures. Glass fiber is produced in
multiple forms which are chopped/strips, continuous yarn, rover, or fabric type. Glass fiber has a
high strength to weight ratio, as stated. The glass fiber also has different types such as it can be
an insulator and other desirable traits. The reason why GFRC is favored in architectural
application is that it offers a multitude of color finishes textures and patterns. GFRC is also
resistant to chemicals and can be a good lining to sewer lines. It is also scratch resistant
[ CITATION Sul18 \l 1033 ].

Polypropylene fiber reinforcement is a fiber reinforcement that is great in preventing and

minimizing the spreading of cracks. This type of fiber reinforcement is resistant to corrosion,
rust, water absorption and flames. The requirements of this fiber reinforcement in mixing are that
this type of fiber reinforcement should have at least 0.2% of fiber reinforcement by volume
[ CITATION Sul18 \l 1033 ] . This fiber can reduce plastic shrinkage, increase workability, in fresh
concrete and it prevents cracks in hardened concrete. Concrete reinforced with this fiber is used
in water pipes, retaining walls and anything that would be compromised because of cracks. The
correctness of the application of this fiber reinforcement should be ensured since if most of the
fibers are not aligned, or the fibers sink or float, it may not show the properties required
satisfactorily. Polyolefin which is a type of polypropylene can create a light weight concrete
which increases compressive strength by 8% , and addition of 1% and 1.5% fibers can increase
the flexural strength by 4.4% and 6% respectively [ CITATION Ara17 \l 1033 ].

Carbon fiber reinforcement is a relatively newer kind of fiber reinforcement. It is about five
times stronger than steel reinforcement but has a lower density. This kind of fiber is brittle and
can be damaged in mixing so the application of it can be done in two ways: mixing it with water
or mixing it with aggregates. Carbon fiber reinforced concrete has a higher flexural strength than
other types of fiber reinforced concrete due to carbon fibers high strength. This type of fiber
reinforced concrete is usually used in large structures to due to its very low density.

Hybrid carbon and polypropylene fibers as fiber reinforcement is also one of the possible fiber
reinforcements for concrete. It is found out that a combination of these two can increase the
toughness but can be decrease flexural strength. It depends on the mixture of these two but in a
research it is found out that 25% carbon fiber and 75% polypropylene has a 20% increase in
toughness but a decrease in flexural load. This combination reduced the cost of the fiber
reinforcements. This hybrid fiber reinforcement did not affect the brittleness of the concrete
since it is still pseudo brittle after application [ CITATION Man16 \l 1033 ].

2.3 Natural Fiber reinforcement

Natural fiber aims to replace synthetic fibers as reinforcement in concrete. Sustainability is the
number one reason why synthetic fibers are replaced by it. It is also less expensive than synthetic
fibers and in some place like developing countries; it is more readily available. There are lots of
examples around the world that exhibit the tensile strength of natural fibers. In Peru there are still
villages that make rope bridges and these bridges are solely made out of woven grass [ CITATION
Leo13 \l 1033 ].

Natural fibers are naturally light and this can also be a factor to consider when using it as fiber
reinforcement. Natural fibers refer to organic or natural materials such as wood, hemp, jute, or
other natural fibers that has enough tensile strength to be a substitute to synthetic or steel as fiber
reinforcement. The main purpose of natural fibers is to provide post cracking ductility and can
act as a crack control mechanism to concrete. These natural fibers do not have or have a minimal
effect on the strength of the concrete. There are some techniques on the application of natural
fibers so the mechanical properties of the concrete can be further increased. Fibers are sometimes
surface treated so that the fibers can further adhere to the concrete matrix. This is effective
because the fiber won’t slip and it won’t cause fiber failure where the fiber slips. The fibers can
also break but this solely depends on the material of the fiber.

Kantharo suter fiber is a type of fiber that is made from animal hair. With 0.375% by weight of
cement the concrete strength increased by 12.44Mpa . Tensile strength also increase by around
3.12Mpa. The flexural strength increased by 3.30Mpa. As usual with most of fiber
reinforcements the slump of the fresh concrete is affected by the fibers. [ CITATION Sye17 \l 1033 ].

Jute fiber is another type of natural fiber. Application of jute fiber as fiber reinforcement to
concrete increased its load carrying capacity. It also increased flexural strength and toughness
with a decrease in ductility and stiffness. Jute fiber is an abundant fiber since it is made out of
vegetables fiber and it is a good natural replacement to synthetic fibers [ CITATION Sal19 \l 1033 ].

Works Cited
Ali A. Hameed, Mohannad H. Al-Sherrawi. "Influence of Steel Fiber on the Shear Strength of a Concrete
Beam." Civil Engineering Journal Volume 4, 2018: 1501-1509.

Alrweih, Sulaiman. Fiber Reinforced Concrete. Masters Thesis, Manhattan: KANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY,
2018.

Andal, Jonathan. "PROPERTIES OF CONCRETE CONTAINING RECYCLED CONCRETE AGGREGATE OF

PRESERVED QUALITY." Master Thesis, Toronto, 2015.

Arash Sedaghatdoost, Morteza Amini. "Mechanical Properties of Polyolefin Fiber-Reinforced Light

Weight Concrete." Civil Engineering Journal Volume 3, 2017: 759-765.

FAHEEM AHMAD KHAN FARIDOON, SOHAIB NAZAR. "Development of more robust bridge deck
(Potentials of Ultra High Performance Fiber Reinforce Concrete)." Masters Thesis, Göteborg,
2011.

Garbis, Leonidia Maria. "Lightweight Concrete:Investigations into the Production of Natural Fiber
Reinforcement." BS Th;hidi, Masoud Latifi. "Effects of Hybridization of Carbon and
Polypropylene Short Fibers as Reinforcement on Flexural Properties of Fine Aggregate
Concretes." Civil Engineering Journal Volume 2, 2016: 520-528.

Salih, Yaseen A., Nadia N. Sabeeh, Muhammed F. Yass, Ahmed S. Ahmed, and Ektiffa S. Khudhur.
"Concrete Beams Strengthened with Jute Fibers." Civil Engineering Journal, 2019: 768-776.

Syed Iftikhar Ahmed, Fahad Ali Shaizk, Sadam Hussain Jakhrani, Muhammad Yousaf Mushtaq, Junaid
Ahmad Sidiqy. "Mechanical Behavior of Normal Concrete Reinforced with Kantharo Suter Fiber."
Civil Engineering Journal Volume 3, 2017: 487-495.