International Journal of Engineering Research & Technology (IJERT)

ISSN: 2278-0181
Vol. 4 Issue 09, September-2015

Strength Evaluation of Steel Fiber Reinforced-

Self Compacting Concrete
Abhishek Sachdeva Pankaj Singla
Assistant Professor Serving as Engineer
Lyallpur Khalsa College of Engineering Public Works Department (Building & Roads),
Jalandhar, Punjab, India. Punjab, India

Abstract— Self-compacting concrete (SCC) offers several The present work deals with experimental research of M25
economic and technical benefits; the use of steel fibers extends grade Self-Compacting Concrete (SCC) with corrugated steel
its possibilities. Steel fibers acts as a bridge to retard their fibers of 1 mm diameter and 30 mm length at different fiber
cracks propagation, and improve several characteristics and volume fractions as mentioned above. The dosage of super-
properties of the concrete. Fibers are known to significantly plasticizer (Glenium-51) was varied from 1% to 1.6% by
affect the workability of concrete, but to compensate the effect
weight of cement and that of viscosity modifying agent [4]
of workability, dosage of super-plasticizer was increased.
Therefore, an investigation was performed to compare the (VMA) was varied from 0.1% to 0.2% by weight of cement.
properties of normal self-compacting concrete and SCC with The effect of steel fibers on the properties of fresh and
steel fiber. SCC [1, 2, 3] was developed in Japan in the late 1980s hardened concrete was investigated and results obtained are
to be mainly used for highly congested reinforced structures in presented.
seismic regions. The main motive was to compare the strength
aspects between normal SCC and the fiber reinforced SCC. A. Material Requirements for Concrete
Fiber content was varied from .35 to 1 percent by weight of The constituent materials, used for the production of Self-
cement. The dosage of viscosity modifying agent (VMA) was Compacting Concrete (SCC) shall generally comply with the
varied from .1 to .2% by weight of cement. The workability was requirements of EN 206. The materials shall be suitable for
measured with slump-flow test, L-Box test and V-funnel test. the intended use in concrete and not contain harmful
The results indicated that high-volume of fly ash can be used to
ingredients in such quantities that may be detrimental to the
produce Steel fiber reinforced self-compacting concrete (SFR-
SCC), even though there is some increase in the concrete quality or the durability of the concrete, or cause corrosion of
strength because of the use of steel fiber and high-volume of fly the reinforcement.
ash.
General suitability is established for cement conforming to
Keywords—Workability, Volume fraction of Fibers, Split EN 197-1. Aggregates shall conform to EN 12620. The
Tensile Strength, Viscosity modifying agents (VMA), Super- moisture content should be closely monitored and must be
Plasticizer. taken into account in order to produce SCC of constant
quality. Suitability is established for mixing water and for
I. INTRODUCTION recycled water from concrete production conforming to EN
Cement concrete is the most extensively used construction 1008. Admixtures used shall comply with EN 934-2: 2000
material in the world. The reason for its extensive use is that (including Annex A), where appropriate.
it provides good workability and can be molded in any shape.
In this modern age, civil engineering constructions have their Finely-divided inorganic material is used in concrete in order
own structural and durability requirements, every structure to improve certain properties or to achieve special properties.
are intended to meet this purpose and hence modification in This specification refers to two types of inorganic additions
the conventional concrete has become mandatory. The (i) nearly inert additions (Type I), (ii) Pozzolonic or latent
proclivity of present engineers is to target the existing hydraulic additions (Type II). General suitability as Type I
problems associated with concrete and with meager (semi-inert) addition is established for filler aggregate
resources, so as to define the new standards and methods. conforming to EN 12620, pigments conforming to EN 12878.
General suitability as Type II (Pozzolonic or latent hydraulic)
Fiber reinforced concrete (FRC) is defined as concrete made addition is established for fly ash conforming to EN 450,
with cement containing fine and coarse aggregate and silica fume conforming to EN 13263 ground granulated blast
corrugated steel fibers. In FRC, thousands of small fibers are furnace slag conforming to BS 6699.
dispersed and distributed randomly in concrete during mixing
and thus improves concrete properties. Consequently, it
improves tensile and compressive strength, energy absorbing
capacity and ductility of concrete. Tests have shown that use
of 0.25% - 1% steel fibers by weight of cement can produce
concrete with better performance characteristics.

IJERTV4IS090735 www.ijert.org 834

(This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.)
 International Journal of Engineering Research & Technology (IJERT)
ISSN: 2278-0181
Vol. 4 Issue 09, September-2015

II. EXPERIMENTAL PROGRAM

TABLE 4 Detail of Mix
Mix design of M25 of concrete was carried out using NAN- Fiber Content Super Viscosity
SU method. Ordinary Portland cement of 43 grade Mix (%age of Plasticizer Modifying
conforming to IS 8112 was used. Fine aggregate of fineness weight of (kg) Agent (ml)
modulus 2.57 and specific gravity 2.61 was used along with cement)
SCC 0% 2.5 0
the coarse aggregate of fineness modulus 6.55 and specific SFR-SCC .35 .35% 3 250
gravity of 2.72 conforming to IS 383. Fly ash was used as a SFR-SCC .70 .70% 3.5 600
substitute for cement replacement. Steel fibers were varied SFR-SCC 1.0 1% 4 840
from 0.35% to 1% by weight of cement. The quantity of
super-plasticizer (Glenium-51) was varied from 1% to 1.6% III. TESTS CONDUCTED ON CONCRETE
by weight of cement. The properties of steel fibers and fly ash In the present work, slump flow, L-box and V-funnel tests
are given in Tables 1 and 2 respectively. The cement content, have been performed to check the workability of SCC &
coarse aggregate, fine aggregate, fly ash content was kept SFR-SCC. Strength evaluation has been done based on the
constant for all the mix, the detail of which is given in Table compressive strength test and flexural strength test for SCC
3. The details of the mix prepared are given in Table 4. & SFR-SCC. The experimental set up for various tests and
Firstly, the coarse aggregates were added to the mix, and then their results are described below:
fine aggregates, cement and fly ash were added and dry
mixed for about one minute. Then two-third of water was
added to the mix to obtain uniform wet mix. Finally the super A. Workability
plasticizer was added to the remaining one-third water and Specifications for the four workability tests performed in the
added to the wet mix. The total mixing time was about five laboratory according to the EFNARC, 2006 are:
minutes. In case of SFR-SCC, the steel fibers were added to  SLUMP FLOW TEST
the wet mix by sprinkling uniformly through hands, to avoid T500 = 2 -5 sec
balling of steel fibers. Finally the super plasticizer and VMA Flow Spread = 650 – 800 mm
were added to the remaining one-third water and fed into the  V-FUNNEL TEST
mixer. The mixing time for SFR-SCC was increased by one Time = 6 – 12 sec
minute to facilitate the uniform mixing of steel fibers. Cubes  L-BOX TEST
of sizes 150 x 150 mm for compressive strength and beams of PA = H2/H1 = 0.8 – 1.0
500 mm x 100 mm x 100 mm for flexural strength were cast. The various workability test results for SCC & SFR-SCC are
All the specimens were water cured and tested at 3, 7 and 28 represented in Table 5.
days of curing. The workability was measured with the slump
cone test, L-box and V-funnel test RESULTS
. WORKABILITY SFR- SFR-
TABLE 1 Physical Properties of Steel fibers TESTS SFR-SCC
SCC SCC SCC
S.No. PROPERTIES 1.0
.35 .70
1. Diameter : 1mm T50 (sec) 2.6 3.2 3.8 4.1
2. Length : 30mm Flow spread (mm) 780 720 690 680
3. Tensile Strengt : 400 MPa V-funnel Time (sec) 8 10 11.2 12
4. Appearance : Bright in clean wire L- box PA =H2/H1 1 0.91 .87 0.82
5. Modulus of Elasticity : 200 GPa TABLE 5 Results for Workability Test
6. Specific Gravity : 7.850

TABLE 2 Physical Properties of Fly Ash

variation of slump flow time for different concrete mixes
S.No. PROPERTIES
1. Type : Class F 4.5
2. Particle Size : 1-100 4
3. Colour : Greyish 3.5
4. Density : 2200-2400 kg/m3
3
5. Blain’s Value : 3500-5000 cm2/gm
2.5
6. Specific Gravity : 2.14-2.42 T50 (sec)
2

TABLE 3 Constituents of Mix 1.5

Cement 250 kg 1
Fine Aggregates 980 kg 0.5
Coarse Aggregates 730 kg 0
SCC SFR-SCC 0.35 SFR-SCC 0.70 SFR-SCC 1.00
Fly Ash 200 kg
Water 200 liters Type of mix

Fig. 1 Variation of slump flow time for different concrete mixes

IJERTV4IS090735 www.ijert.org 835

(This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.)
 International Journal of Engineering Research & Technology (IJERT)
ISSN: 2278-0181
Vol. 4 Issue 09, September-2015

TABLE 6 Compressive Strength Results

variation of Flow Spread for different concrete mixes Mix 3 Days 7 Days 28 Days
800 SCC 12 15.9 22.5
780
SFR-SCC .35 15 16.9 25.6
760
740
SFR-SCC .70 16 18.1 26.6
Flow spread 720 SFR-SCC 1.0 18.4 20.4 30.2
(mm)
700
680

30.26
660 35

26.66
COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH (N/mm2)

25.6
640 30

22.48
620

20.48
25

18.07
SCC SFR-SCC 0.35 SFR-SCC 0.70 SFR-SCC 1.00

18.4
16.98
3 DAYS

15.95
Type of Mix 20 COMPRESSIVE

16
15
STRENGTH

12
15
7 DAYS
Fig. 2 Variation of Flow Spread for different concrete mixes 10 COMPRESSIVE
STRENGTH
5
28 DAYS
variation of V funnel time for different concrete mixes 0 COMPRESSIVE
SCC SFR-SCC 0.35 SFR-SCC 0.70 SFR-SCC 1.00 STRENGTH
14
Type of mix
12

10

8 Fig. 5 Compressive strength test results for different concrete mixes

V-Funnel Time
(sec)
6
C. Flexural Strength Test
4
Flexural strengths tests were performed on beam specimens
2
according to IS 516:1959. Standard beams of size 500 mm
0 x 100mm x 100 mm were subjected to two pints loading till
SCC SFR-SCC 0.35 SFR-SCC 0.70 SFR-SCC 1.00
Type of Mix
failure of specimen. It was performed after 28 days of
curing on a flexural testing machine of capacity 25kN. The
Fig. 3 Variation of V funnel time for different concrete mixes results are shown in table 7. To obtain load-displacement
graphs some beam samples were also tested on a 100 kN
variation of passing ability of different concrete mixes capacity servo-controlled computerized flexural testing
machine and is calculate by using formula:
1.2
45 P
1
Where, Flexural strength, MPa
0.8 P = Load at failure, N
Passing ability 0.6
(H2/H1) ,mm TABLE 7 Flexural Strength Results
0.4 Mix 28-Days (N/mm2)
0.2 SCC 3.66
SFR-SCC .35 4.78
0 SFR-SCC .70 5.81
SCC SFR-SCC 0.35 SFR-SCC 0.70 SFR-SCC 1.00
SFR-SCC 1.0 7.24
Type of Mix

8
Fig.4 Variation of passing ability of different concrete mixes 7.24
FLEXURAL STRENGTH (N/mm2)

7
B. Compressive Strength 5.81
6
Cubes compression tests were performed on standard cube 4.78
5
of size 150 x 150x 150 mm after 3, 7 and 28 days curing as
3.66
per IS 516-1959. The compressive strength of specimen is 4

obtained by dividing the load taken by the concrete cube 3

before the appearance of first crack to the area of block. FLEXURAL
2 STRENGTH
The results are shown in table 6.
1
The compressive strength is calculated by the following
formula: 0
SCC SFR-SCC 0.35 SFR-SCC 0.70 SFR-SCC 1.00
fcu = Pc/A Type of Mix

Where, fcu = compressive strength of specimen, N/mm2

Fig. 6 Flexural Strength Test results for different concrete mixes
Pc = Failure Load in compression, KN
A = Loaded area of cube, mm2

IJERTV4IS090735 www.ijert.org 836

(This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.)
 International Journal of Engineering Research & Technology (IJERT)
ISSN: 2278-0181
Vol. 4 Issue 09, September-2015

IV. CONCLUSIONS REFERENCES

From the results of the workability tests for SCC and SFR-
SCC, it can be seen that with the increase in the quantity of [1] K. Ozawa, K. Mackawa, M. Kunishima, H. Okamura, “Performance
of concrete based on the durability design of concrete structures,”
fibers the flowing ability and passing ability of the concrete
Proc. of the Second East Asia-Pacific Conference on Structural
decreases due to interlocking of fibers and hence the time Engineering and Construction, 1989.
taken by the concrete to reach a particular point increases. [2] EFNARC, (2005), “The European guidelines for self compacting
Therefore, to enhance the Flowing ability of the concrete, the concrete, specification, production and use,” May 2005.
[3] H. okamura, M. ouchi, “Self compacting concrete,” Journal of
dosage of the Super Plasticizer is to be increased along with
advanced concrete technology, vol. 1, pp 5-15, 2003.
the quantity of the fibers. [4] K.H. Khayat, Z. Guizani, “Use of viscosity-modifying admixture to
enhance stability of fluid concrete,” ACI Material Journal, vol. 4, pp.
It is observed that 3, 7, 28 day compressive strength in case 332-341, 1997.
[5] G. DE Schutter, “Guidelines for testing fresh self-compacting
of .35% steel fiber12 is more than that of SCC and same is
concrete,” pp. 2-18, 2005.
observed in the case of .70 and 1.00. It has also been [6] S. Deepa Shri, R. Thenmozhi, “An experimental investigation on the
observed that with increase in steel fiber the compressive flexural behavior of SCC ferrocement slabs incorporating fibers,”
strength also increases i.e. compressive strength of SFR-SCC International Journal of Engineering Science and Technology, Vol. 4
pp. 2146-2158, May 2012.
.70 mixes at any day is more than that of .35 and compressive
strength of SFR-SCC 1.00 mix is more than that of .35 and [7] M. Sonebi, S. Grunewald, and J. Walraven, “Passing ability of Self
consolidating concrete,” ACI Material Journal, Vol. 104, pp. 162-170,
.70 mixes. So it is noticed that with increase in fiber content, 2007.
compressive strength also increases. [8] B. Miao, J.C. Chern, C. Yang, “Influence on Fiber content on
properties of Self-Compacting Steel Fiber Reinforced Concrete,”
The increase in flexural strength for SFR-SCC 1.00, SFR- Journal of Chinese Institute of Engineers, Vol. 26, No. 4, pp. 523-
530,2003.
SCC 0.70 and SFR-SCC .35 is 100%, 61% and 33% over
SCC. The maximum increase is for SFR-SCC 1.00.

IJERTV4IS090735 www.ijert.org 837

(This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.)