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Design guidelines for the use of fiber-reinforced shotcrete in ground support

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STEEL FIBRE REINFORCED CONCRETE - PROPERTIES
HANDLING AND APPLICATIONS

F.Papworth. B.Sc., (C.Eng.)., M.I.C.E., M.I.E.Aust

R Ratcliffe. B.E. (Hons), M.I.E.Aust.
Scancem Materials Pty Ltd
 TABLE OF CONTENTS
1.0 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................................... 1

2.0 FIBRE CHARACTERISTICS............................................................................................................................. 2

2.1 Fibre Geometry .................................................................................................................................... 2
2.2 Fibre Deformation ............................................................................................................................... 3
2.3 Physical Properties of the Steel ........................................................................................................... 3
2.4 Fibre Packaging ................................................................................................................................... 3

3.0 CHARACTERISTICS OF SFRC ........................................................................................................................ 4

3.1 Bond Strength ...................................................................................................................................... 4
3.2 Toughness ............................................................................................................................................ 4
3.3 Flexural Strength ................................................................................................................................. 8
3.4 Compressive Strength .......................................................................................................................... 9
3.5 Direct Tension ..................................................................................................................................... 9
3.6 Flexural Fatigue Performance .............................................................................................................. 9
3.7 Modulus of Elasticity ........................................................................................................................... 10
3.8 Creep.................................................................................................................................................... 11
3.9 Shrinkage ............................................................................................................................................. 11
3.10 Durability ......................................................................................................................................... 11

4.0 MIXING AND PLACING .................................................................................................................................. 12

4.1 Mix Proportions ................................................................................................................................... 12
4.2 Fibre Addition...................................................................................................................................... 12
4.3 Workability .......................................................................................................................................... 12
4.4 Formwork ............................................................................................................................................ 13
4.5 Pumping ............................................................................................................................................... 13
4.6 Finishing .............................................................................................................................................. 13
4.7 Curing .................................................................................................................................................. 13

5.0 APPLICATIONS ................................................................................................................................................. 14

5.1 Flooring ............................................................................................................................................... 14
5.1.1 Floor Design................................................................................................................. 14
5.1.2 Subgrade Reaction ....................................................................................................... 14
5.1.3 Loading Condition ....................................................................................................... 15
5.1.3a Uniform Load with an Undefined Distribution ............................................................ 15
5.1.3b Axle Loads.................................................................................................................... 16
5.1.3c Point Loads (Storage Racks) ........................................................................................ 17
5.1.4 Slab Flexural Strength Values ...................................................................................... 17
5.1.5 Selection of Design Slab Thickness ............................................................................. 17
5.1.6 Detailing and Placing Floor Slabs ................................................................................ 18
5.1.7 Project References ....................................................................................................... 19
5.2 Shotcrete .............................................................................................................................................. 19
5.2.1 Steel Fibre Reinforced Shotcrete ................................................................................. 19
5.2.2 Mix Design................................................................................................................... 20
5.2.3 Steel Fibre Veusus Mesh Reinforced Shotcrete ........................................................... 20
5.2.4 Design of Tunnel Linings............................................................................................. 21
5.2.4a Comparative Design Between SFRS and Mesh Reinforced Shotcrete ......................... 22
5.2.4b Comparative Design for Scancem Steel Fibres Versus Single and Double
Mesh Reinforced Shotcrete .......................................................................................... 23
5.2.5 Specifying SFRS .......................................................................................................... 23
5.2.6 Project References ....................................................................................................... 23
5.3 Statically Determinate Structures ........................................................................................................ 25
5.4 Precast Concrete .................................................................................................................................. 26
5.5 Piles ..................................................................................................................................................... 26
5.6 Tunnel Secondary Linings ................................................................................................................... 26

REFERENCES
APPENDIX 1 - Indicative Load Capacities for SFRC Floor Slabs
APPENDIX 2 - Toughness Ratios for Scancem SFRC
APPENDIX 3 - Identity Charts for Scancem SFRC
APPENDIX 4 - Flooring Project References
APPENDIX 5 - Standard Specification for SFRC
APPENDIX 6 - Shotcrete Project References
 1.0 INTRODUCTION

This publication outlines fibre concrete "critical fibre volume", typically at

characteristics (notably toughness and
equivalent flexural strength), details
floor slab and tunnel lining design
procedures (incorporating the steel fibre
characteristics) and gives examples of
contracts in Europe/USA/Asia.
The principle effect of steel fibres in
concrete is to enhance the concrete's
post crack strength. Increases in
characteristic strength values are only
achieved for fibre reinforced concrete
when the volume of fibres exceeds the
relatively high dosages. A much more
economic way to achieve high strength
is by improving the concrete mix design.
e.g. by employing silica fume and/or
lower water/cement ratios. To benefit
from the use of fibres, it is necessary to
adopt a design procedure to take account
of the strength after cracking i.e. away
from the area of elastic behaviour on the
load/deflection graph (Fig.1) and into
the plastic or hinge forming area of the
graph which permits a redistribution of
stresses.

kN THIRD POINT LOADING

60
55
Elastic Region
50 Plastic Region

L 45
O 40
A
D 35 First Crack
30

25
20

15
10

0
0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 mm
deflection
Fig 1:- Load vs deflection curve in a flexural test
 The area beneath this load/deflection
graph is a measure of the energy
required to achieve a certain deflection
and leads to the concept of "toughness"
for a fibre reinforced concrete. This
toughness can be then used to determine
an equivalent flexural strength "fe" for
use in determining the load carrying
capacity of the steel fibre reinforced
concrete (SFRC). However, fe is very
specific and varies dependent on the
fibre type, dosage and deflection limit .
Using fe criteria, steel fibre reinforced
concrete flexural elements become an
extremely attractive proposition with
reductions of concrete thickness of up to
25% with a fibre dosage rate of 20kg/m3
not being uncommon. In Europe, 50%
of concrete tunnel
2.0 FIBRE CHARACTERISTICS
There are four properties of fibres that
are important:
i) fibre geometry
ii) fibre deformations to improve bond
iii) physical properties of the steel
iv) fibre packaging to simplify mixing
The usual amount of steel fibres used in
concrete range from 0.25% to 2% by
volume. The required addition rate to
achieve a given performance may vary
enormously depending on the fibre type.
Measurement units used for fibres are
shown in the conversion table below.
Table 1:- Fibre Dosage Conversion
Approximate To: Multiply By
Conversion % by Vol % by Wt kg/m3
From:
% by Vol 1 3.3 79
% by Wt 0.3 1 24
kg/m3 0.013 0.042 1 added to the mix as 'extra aggregate' and
based on c = 2400kg/m3, s = 7900kg/m3
2
linings are made from steel fibre silica
fume concrete. Plain concrete slabs
constructed using steel fibres are
increasing in number and unjointed bay
size.
The growth in demand for steel fibre has
led to a large range of fibres being
developed. It is important, however, to
remember not all fibres are created equal
with the fibre dosages required to
achieve a given performance varying
considerably. Fibre geometry, strength,
deformations and their ability to be
evenly distributed through the concrete
all have a bearing on the load carrying
capacity of SFRC.
2.1 Fibre Geometry
Fibres geometry is described by the
"Aspect Ratio - L"
i.e. L= l
d
where:- l = fibre length
d = fibre diameter
High aspect ratio fibres bond into the
concrete (i.e. they don't pull out at a
fraction of their ultimate strength) and
are generally highly efficient in
structural terms. Unfortunately, they
tend to ball when mixed into concrete,
unless special precautions are taken.
Fibres can be glued together in strips of
about 30-50 fibres with water soluble
glue (collated fibres). High aspect ratio
fibres when collated in this way can be
no balling occurs. This glue dissolves
in the mixer in 1 to 3 minutes and the
individual fibres disperse.
2.2 Fibre Deformation
In order for the SFRC to continue to
carry load and deform plastically after
cracking has occurred, it is essential the
fibres remain firmly anchored in the
concrete matrix preventing slippage and
pullout.
Physical testing of steel fibres for
pullout values has shown “deformed
ends or hooks”on the fibres permit them
to remain firmly anchored and absorb
energy giving a characteristic ductility
and preventing brittle failure.
2.3 Physical Properties of the Steel
To maintain the ductility of SFRC and
ensure the reliability of the plastic
deformation, it is imperative the well
anchored fibres do not break. Breaking
fibres equates to a brittle failure mode.
To prevent breakage, steel fibres should
be manufactured with sufficient tensile
strength to ensure the ultimate failure
mode is pullout rather than breakage.
3
ASTM A820-25 ensures the ductility of
the steel fibres by requiring they be
capable of withstanding a 90o bend of
3.18mm inside diameter. This ductility
is important to ensure fibres resist
damage and breaking during handling
and mixing operations.
2.4 Fibre Packaging
Fibres are generally available in paper
bags, cardboard boxes and bulk bags.
Fibres can be added directly into the
concrete mixer, with various pieces of
conveying equipment being available to
elevate the fibres to the feed height of a
premix truck.
Fibres collated in bundles avoid the
necessity of special measures, such as
feeding the fibres through mesh screens,
to avoid balling.
 3.0 CHARACTERISTICS OF SFRC
3.1 Bond Strength
Bond strength is a key factor in all
physical properties of SFRC. If the steel
fibre slips uncontrollably (as in straight
fibres), then post crack strength can be
dramatically impaired.
Bond of fibres may be influenced by:
- physical and chemical adhesion
- mechanical interlock (fibre/matrix,
fibre/fibre)
- friction
However, Maage (1978) found that the
bond properties of steel fibres are purely
mechanical in nature. He states that the
mean pullout load is unaffected by the
number of fibres. Based on the weakest
link theory, the pullout per fibre will
decrease with the number of fibres.
Hence, bond test variability that occurs
in practice is expected. Not surprisingly
then Burakiewicz (1978) showed that
the shape of pullout load-displacement
curve depends on the fibre type or more
exactly the mechanical anchorage detail.
He noted that the pullout of hooked and
indented fibres required more energy
than plain fibres.
Antoine (1991) investigated the
performance of smooth, deformed and
hooked fibres in low, medium and high
strength concrete. Their research
identified:
- Fibre deformation gives increased
mechanical bond leading to higher
pullout strengths.
- As the strength of concrete
increases, the bond increases.
- The slip at maximum load for
hooked or deformed fibres is one or
two orders of magnitude that of a
smooth fibre. Consequently the
pullout force up to peak load can be
4
up to one hundred times that of
smooth fibres.
- The improved mechanical bond will
not influence first crack strength
where the fibre dosage is less than
the critical fibre volume.
The specially designed, characteristic
hook at the end of Scancem steel fibres
ensures they remain firmly anchored up
to their ultimate load capacity.
3.2 Toughness
The main reason for incorporating steel
fibres in concrete is to impart ductility to
an otherwise brittle material. They
enable concrete to continue to carry load
after cracking has occurred, the so called
post crack behaviour, or toughness(fig
2).
plain concrete - no tension is SFRC - some tension is transmitted
transmitted across the crack across the crack by the fibres
Fig 2:- Stress Lines in concrete under tension
Several countries have introduced tests
to quantify this toughness which in all
cases is based on the area beneath the
load deflection graph up to a certain
deflection value.
The two countries which have enjoyed
the widest acceptance for their tests are
the USA and Japan who have introduced
standards for this work.
 USA Standard C1018 and Japanese
Standard JCI-SF4 are both based on the Pe
A
C
E

third point loading of a 150 x 150 x 600 L

long beam made to span 450mm as O
A
G

shown below:- D

P
B D F H
0  3 5.5  15.5 
I 10 = 8 I 30 = 24 D EFLECTIO N
150 ( h )
Fig 5:- Actual load deflection curve of SFRC

For the perfectly elasto-plastic material

150 ( b )
( Fig 4 ), I5 = 5, I10 = 10 and I30 = 30.
150 150 150
The ratio of these values to those for an
450 ( l ) actual SFRC ( Fig 5 ) gives a
Fig 3:- Flexural Strength Test Set-up comparative value of toughness. This
enables an evaluation of the ability of a
A very important aspect of this test is particular fibre (not just steel fibres) to
that the rate of flexure of the beam is impart toughness to the concrete matrix.
controlled whilst the force is measured.
The accuracy of measurement of I is
In subsequent procedures, the two codes dependent on the ability to measure 
differ in their approach. accurately, which typically for I5 (3) is
around 0.05 - 0.1 mm. Apart from
USA Standard ASTM C1018 possible measuring errors, the deflection
at first crack can rapidly increase past 3
Toughness Index (I):-
making the graph in this area dubious,
This standard defines a toughness Index
and I5 values are seldom used. I values
I as the ratio of the absorbed energy up
for SFRC are generally lower than the I
to a given deflection to the absorbed
value for the perfect elasto-plastic
energy up to first crack. The idealised
material. .
situation of a perfectly elasto-plastic
material is shown in Fig 4.
Toughness Ratio (R):-
A C E G
Pe
The values of Toughness Index defined
L
o
in the standard give a qualitative
a comparison only for the toughness of a
d
SFRC versus a perfect elasto-plastic
O B D F H
0  3 5.5 
Deflection 15.5  composite. However, the results cannot
I5 =OACD = 5 I10=OAEF =10 I30 =OAGH = 30 be applied as a design value and to
OAB OAB OAB
overcome this the concept of toughness
Fig 4:- Load deflection curve of fully elasto-plastic
ratio is introduced:-
material

The standard toughness indices defined where, Ra,b = 100 x (Ib - Ia) SFRC
in ASTM C1018 are I5, I10 and I30 (Ib - Ia) EP
defined for deflections of 3, 5.5 and . (Ib and Ia are different toughness
15.5 where  is the deflection at first indices for either the SFRC or perfect
crack. In practice the value of Pe differs elasto-plastic composite).
very little to that of unreinforced
concrete except at high fibre dosages. Using the code designated I30 and I10
values:-

5
 R10,30 = 100 (I30 - I10) SFRC Japanese Standard JSCE-SF4
(I30 - I10)EP
This code endeavours to provide
but (I30 - I10) EP = 30 - 10 = 20 numerical values for the purpose of
design by defining allowable stress
so that R10,30 = 5(I30 - I10) values at given deflections based on the
load deflection graph of a standard beam
In practice the lowest value (a) must be test for a particular SFRC sample as
at least 10 to reflect the differences in shown in Fig 7.
quantities and types of steel fibres Pu
(Banthia 1992, Copalaratnam 1991) and
the upper value (b) can be chosen to L
O
reflect the demands to be placed on the A T
D
construction.

It can be seen from fig 6 that from the

DEFLECTION 
value R10,30 we are able to define a mean
l T . l
conventional bending stress in the region fu = Pu . fe, 
b.h2  b.h2
5.5 to 15.5 where the mean Fig 7:- Definition of Equivelent Flexural Strength
conventional stress based on I10 and I30
values is:- From the actual ultimate load value (Pu)
and using the physical characteristics of
f10,30 = fo x R10,30 the standard beam test, it is possible to
100 define the ultimate flexural strength and
this is given the name "Modulus of
where fo is the bending stress at first Rupture -fu".
crack
Load deflection curve for Elasto Plastic Composite where fu = Pu. l
b.h2
fo

f10,30 = av. bending stress l, b and h are defined in figure 3

=( I30 - I10 ) / (15.5d - 5.5d ) = fo

In a similar way it is possible to give a

d 5.5d deflection 15.5d
measure of the toughness by defining an
Load deflection curve for SFRC equivalent flexural strength (fe) which is
in effect an average load value over a
fo
defined area of the load deflection
f10, 30 graph.
f10,30 = av. bending stress
=( I30 - I10 ) / (15.5d - 5.5d )
i.e. fe, = T . l
d 5.5d deflection 15.5d  bh2
Fig 6:-Determination of the mean bending stress
Plain concrete would fall apart after where fe, = equivalent flexural strength up

reaching first crack and by definition to a deflection 
T = area under the load deflection
have a toughness index I = 1.0. 
curve up to a deflection 

6
The equivalent flexural strength is a
value that can be used directly for
design. The value fe,3 which
corresponds to a final deflection of :-
l/150 = 3mm
is often chosen as it reflects the strength
at an acceptable deflection.
In relation to the ASTM standard the
concept of equivalent flexural ratio(Re)
can also be introduced, where Re, = Re
at a deflection  and is determined
from:-
Re, = 100 x fe,
 
fct,fl
where fct,fl = characteristic flexural tensile
strength of the reference concrete
without steel fibres
In practice, fct,fl varies only slightly
from fo, the first crack strength of
SFRC.
The Re,3 ratio is considered suitable for
the design of loading situations where
relatively great deformations may occur
(eg. settlement) as this value is
determined at a total deflection of 3mm,
much greater than the deflection used to
determine R10,30 in the ASTM
Standard (i.e for I30, deflection = 15.5
< 1.5mm). Re,3 is also suitable where
high energy absorbing capacity (eg.
impact loads, repetitive loads etc) is of
primary importance. In the same way
R10,30 is considered more applicable
for applications where crack width
control is critical (e.g. Precast Elements,
Retaining Walls).
Within statistical variations, the ratio's
R10,30 and Re,3 are independent of the
concrete strength where the
characteristic compressive strength does
not exceed 50MPa (cube strength ).
7
Toughness Characteristics of Scancem
SFRC
Based on a combination of theory and
experimental research, the toughness
characteristics of Scancem SFRC have
been determined for grades of concrete
between 25 and 50MPa in accordance
with ASTM C1018 and JSCE-SF4.
ASTM Toughness Ratio
R10,30 = 180 WL ........(1)
(180xC)+(WxL)
where W = fibre dosage (Kg/m3)
L = fibre aspect ratio
C = Scancem fibre constant
= 20 for Scancem fibres made
from bright wire
= 17 for galvanised Scancem
fibres
= 35 for straight fibres made
from bright wire
JSCE Equivalent Flexural Ratio
Re,3 = 180 x W x L x D 1/3
(180xC)+(WxLxD1/3) .... ......(2)
where D = fibre diameter (mm)
The simplest way of using these
formulas in the design process is to use
the software provided by Scancem, or if
not available to use a graphical
representation known as an identity
chart as shown in fig 8. Also shown is
Ru the ratio of the flexural strength of
the SFRC (fu) and an equivalent
unreinforced concrete.
where Ru = 100 x Pu  100 x fu
Po fct,fl
In practice fct,fl, the characteristic
flexural strength for the reference
concrete without steel fibres, varies very
little from fo, the first crack strength of
steel fibre reinforced concrete.
 Identity Chart
Scancem ZC 60 / .80 (Note: Identity Charts and Toughness
140
ratios for Scancem steel fibres are given
Ru

120 R10,30
critical fibre in Appendices 2.& 3 )
dosage
Re,3
100
Ratio
80
as a % of
first crack
60
eg. For Scancem ZC 60/0.8 at 40kg/m3
strength
40
ASTM value
20
R10,30 = 180 x 40 x 60/0.8 = 82
0 10 20 30 40 50 (180x20)+(40x60/0.8)
fibre dosage (kg / m3 )
JSCE value
Fig 8 Identity Chart
Re,3 = 180 x 40 x 60/0.8 x 0.81/3 = 78.5
(180x20)+(40x60/0.8x0.81/3)
An example of the determination of an
equivalent flexural strength for design Step 5
purposes is given below. From the toughness ratios (Step 4) and
Step 1 the Characteristic Flexural Tensile
Nominate a characteristic compressive Strength (Step 3) calculate the
strength (f 'c) for design purposes equivalent flexural strength.
e.g. f 'c = 32MPa (AS3600).
ASTM value
Step 2 f10,30 = 4.7 x 82 = 3.8N/mm2
Convert this value to a characteristic 100
compressive strength for cubes (fcm).
This is necessary as research relating JSCE value
compressive strength to equivelent fe,3 = 4.7 x 78.5 = 3.7N/mm2
flexural strength was undertaken on 100
150mm cubes.
3.3 Flexural Strength
e.g. for f 'c = 32MPa
(ASTM ----)  fcm = 32 x 1.25 (for 150
cyl)
The flexural tensile strength of a SFRC
ie fcm = 40 Mpa is a constant value until we reach the
Step 3 critical fibre dosage i.e. Ru does not
Calculate the characteristic flexural increase (Fig.8).
tensile strength of the plain concrete
mix(ACI----). Once the critical fibre dosage has been
reached, flexural strength increases
e.g. f'ct,fl = 0.4 3(fcm)2 = 4.7N/mm2
marginally with increasing aspect ratio
and fibre dosage. However, high
If the design were done to AS3600, the flexural strengths can be more
characteristic flexural tensile strength economically achieved by increasing the
would have been only- 0.6f 'c = 3.4 matrix strength than by the addition of
Mpa(this value could be used but would give a steel fibres.
very conservative design)
Flexural strength is not a suitable
Step 4 performance specification for steel
From formulae 1 or 2 or the relevant fibres.
identity chart, determine the ratio of
equivalent flexural strength to the Flexural strength (i.e. tensile stress at
characteristic flexural tensile strength first crack) design criteria work for
unreinforced concrete because once the
section has cracked, its load carrying

8
 capacity is destroyed and the brittle
failure is almost instantaneous.
With SFRC the failure mode is no longer
brittle once first crack is reached,
instead, due to the toughness imparted
by the fibres, the concrete behaves in a
ductile way, making the use of a limit
state design approach appropriate. In
this way the values for characteristic
flexural strength determined at the end
of 3.2 can be used to give permissible
(design) ultimate moments as follows:-
Choosing either f10,30 or fe,3 dependant
on the application, we can convert this
value to an ultimate design moment
Mult:-
Mult = ( fe,3 or f10,30-) x Z
m
where m = material safety factor (1.2)
Z = section modulus
An example of this procedure is shown
for a statically determinate structure in
Section 5.3.
The true power of this approach is
realised with statically indeterminate
structures where it is possible to design
using yield line analysis. With SFRC ,
the bending moment remains almost
constant with increasing deformation i.e.
a plastic hinge is formed, allowing for
the redistribution of bending moments
and the formation of a classic yield line
pattern at failure. Some of the concrete
applications that benefit from this
behaviour are slabs on grade, shotcrete
linings to tunnels, and concrete pipes.
This advantage when properly
considered can result in significant
savings in section thicknesses even at a
relatively low fibre dosage.
3.4 Compressive Strength
Compressive strength is little influenced
by
9
steel fibre addition. High compressive
strengths can be achieved using silica
fume. However, the use of steel fibres
will change the mode of failure of high
strength concrete from an explosive
brittle one to a more ductile one again
showing the increased toughness of
SFRC and its ability to absorb energy
under dynamic loading. The Japanese
Standard defines an equivalent
compressive strength (Fig 9).
c = 4Tc / (d2 . tc )
c = equivelent compressive strength ( N / mm2 )
Tc = Compressive toughness ( Joule )
tc =deformation corresponding 0.75% strain
1.5mm when specimen dimensions are 200 x 100 dia
2.25mm when specimen dimensions are 300 x 150 dia
L
o
a
d
Tc
tc
Deformation
Fig 9:- Compressive toughness of SFRS
3.5 Direct Tension
The strength of steel fibre reinforced
concrete in direct tension is generally of
the same order as that of unreinforced
concrete i.e. (2 to 4 MPa). However, its
toughness can be one or two orders of
magnitude higher, primarily because of
the large friction and fibre bending
energy developed during fibre pullout on
either side of a crack and because of
deformation at multiple cracks when
they occur.
No standard test exists to determine the
stress-strain curve of fibre reinforced
concrete in direct tension.
3.6 Flexural Fatigue Performance
Flexural fatigue performance of fibre
reinforced concrete is relevant to its
performance in high cycle applications
Table 3:- Fatigue Cycles for Different Uses
 without fibre reinfmnt.
100
Design Application Cycles S% with straight fibres
Low Cycle Earthquake <1000 with Scancem ZC 60/.80
95 0.5%
High Cycle Airport Pavements <100,000
Super High Cycle Road Bridges <10 million
90 0%

1.0% 0.6%
'Fatigue Limit' is normally defined as the
85
maximum load at which an infinite
number of cycles can be maintained.
80
Plain concrete has no fatigue limit.
75
Tests to 10 million cycles - the limit of 102 103 104 105 106
reliable tests to date - shows the load Number of load cycles N
limit is continuing to reduce. Fig 10:- Typical fatigue behaviour of concrete with and
without steel fibre reinforced concrete
The reduction and control of cracking
achieved with steel fibres result in a This resilience of SFRC to cyclic
slowdown of the concrete internal loading means industrial floors subjected
degradation process due to dynamic to wheel loadings may not require the
loads. Steel fibre concrete may same reduction in allowable stress
therefore undergo greater deformations, values normally required by non fibre
or under equivalent stress withstand a reinforced concrete.. The size of the
greater number of load cycles than non allowance (reduction in allowable stress
fibre reinforced concrete. values) will be a function of the fiber
type and dosage and the number of load
Intermittent Compressive Load cycles.

When subjected to mono-directional 3.7 Modulus of Elasticity

compression, the fatigue resistance of
steel fibre concrete is slightly better than
that of plain concrete. Tests show an
increase in the static compressive
strength from 55% to 60-65% after one
million load cycles (Morris 1981).
Studies of cases of permanent
deformations have shown that at high
stress levels, steel fibres may prevent
brittle failure while at low stress levels,
steel fibres slow down the propagation
of cracks. In both cases, the life of the
concrete is extended.
Edgington (1974) showed that elastic
modulus did not increase significantly
by the addition of fibre (eg. tensile
modulus increased from 39.7 to 40.9
GN/m2 for 1.5% fibre by volume). This
was consistent with the order of increase
predicted by applying the laws of
mixture.
Cheng-Tzu (1992) reports that the
elastic modulus of SFRC can be
calculated from:

Ecf = Ec + 0.941 x 106 x RI (p.s.i. units)

Intermittent Tensile and Flexural Load
where Ec = 57,000 f''c0.5
RI = Wf x l
Fatigue resistance under tensile or d
flexural load is given by the number of
cycles before failure (N) expressed as a Wf = weight fraction of fibre
function of the stress level (Fig. 10). l= fibre length
d= fibre diameter

10
This indicates 1.5% fibres by volume
(120kg/m3) at an aspect ratio of 75 would
increase the modulus by 15%.
3.8 Creep
Edgington J (1974) identified that creep
is unaffected by the low volume fraction
of steel fibre typically used.
3.9 Shrinkage
Although shrinkage is unaffected by
steel fibres, shrinkage cracking can be
controlled by its use.
Orthogonal ring restrained shrinkage
tests gave the following results:
Table 4:- Orthogonal ring shrinking
Fibre Volume % Average Crack Width
0% 0.90mm
0.25% 0.15mm
0.5% 0.06mm
1.5% 0.02mm
Theory would suggest that to control
cracking, the post crack tensile strength
of the SFRC would need to be higher
than the
first crack strength. However,
experience indicates the actual volumes
of fibres required is a lot less and is
dependent on the application. For
example, in floor slabs bonded to the
substrate some of the stress created by
shrinkage will be transferred to the
substrate. More attention is paid to the
design of crack control joints in slabs in
the floor slab design (Section 5.1) where
saw cuts are recommended at 6-10m
centres. However, slabs with joints at
40-50m centres have been successfully
built using 40kg/m3 of hooked end steel
fibres, demonstrating the inexact nature
of designing for crack control
11
3.10 Durability
The corrosion resistance of SFRC is
governed by the same factors that
influence the corrosion resistance of
conventionally reinforced concrete or
shotcrete. As long as the matrix retains
its inherent alkalinity and remains
uncracked, deterioration of SFRC is not
likely to occur.
One of the major advantages of SFRC
over mesh reinforced shotcrete in severe
exposure conditions is that SFRC will
not support the classic galvanic
corrosion cells which cause corrosion in
reinforced concrete. The fibres, being
non-continuous and discrete and
protected by an alkaline matrix, provide
no mechanism for propagation of
corrosion. This phenomenon is well
established from examination of SFRC
structures subjected to aggressive
exposure environments.
Steel fibres in the immediate surface
layer may corrode due to surface
carbonation causing some rust-coloured
surface staining. This is purely a surface
effect and experience shows the
corrosion does not travel down the fibre.
In a trafficked, or abrasive exposure
environment such corroded surface
fibres rapidly wear away and disappear.
If unacceptable, corrosion can be
overcome by using galvanised fibres or
by using construction methods that bury
the fibres 5-10mm beneath the concrete
surface(e.g. vibratory screed to floor
slabs).
 4.0 MIXING AND PLACING
4.1 Mix Proportions
ACI Committee 544 (1993) suggests the
following:
- Increase paste content to obtain
improved workability, possibly by
employing pozzolans such as fly ash,
slag or silica fume in addition to or as
a replacement for cement.
- Limit coarse aggregate to 55% of
total aggregate
- Keep coarse aggregate size to 19mm
maximum
- Keep w/c low. A value as low as
0.35 is quite possible and it is
normally below 0.55.
More specific recommendations based
on experience with SFRC mixes are:-
- Minimum cement content of
320kg/m 3
- Ensure a reasonable sand content
(0 - 4mm). 750-850kg/m2 is typical
- Minimum characteristic compressive
strength of 25MPa.
The maximum aggregate size affects
workability as shown in section 4.3.
4.2 Fibre Addition
Skako make an automated steel fibre
batching system. A large holding bin
can be filled with 1000kg of fibres. An
electric motor with an eccentric cam
causes the spring mounted bin to vibrate.
Fibres fall from an opening into a
second, smaller bin which vibrates in a
similar fashion to the first. Fibres fall
from the small bin in a controlled
fashion onto a conveyor which feeds the
batching plant or truck mixer. The bins
are mounted on a load cell so that the
weight of fibres discharged from the
system can be gauged and the fibre
dosing incorporated into an automated
batching system.
12
ACI Committee 544 (1993)
recommends:
- Avoid overmixing to minimise
balling
- Add uncollated fibres to a fluid mix
through a 100mm mesh screen to
ensure no clumps are incorporated.
Use conveyor belts or chutes as
appropriate.
Alternatively add the fibres to the
aggregate as it travels along the
conveyor belt.
- Fibres with an aspect ratio of less
than 50 or collated fibres can be
added to the mix as the last step
with no likelihood of fibre balling.
4.3 Workability
SFRC appears relatively stiff and
unworkable compared to conventional
concrete. However, when vibrated, the
thixotropic mix flows quite well and any
problems can be overcome by the use of
HRWR. Additional water should not be
added as it may only improve slump, not
real workability, and it will certainly
have a negative affect on performance.
The consistency of steel fibre reinforced
concrete can be measured using the
inverted slump cone method (ASTM
C995). The time taken for a vibrator to
fall under its own weight through an
inverted slump cone full of uncompacted
concrete is measured. Values between
10 and 30 secs are recommended. When
the standard slump cone test (ASTM
C143) is used, values of 25mm-100mm
are recommended ref ACI Committee
544 (1993).
Edgington (1974) suggests that the V.B.
consistometer test is a better measure of
workability of SFRC as it simulates in
some respects the compaction of
concrete by vibration. Results from his
 tests for uncollated fibres show the very type of pump has been used to pump
large effect of aspect ratio and fibre 100m horizontally with a slow bend
volume on workability. using 100mm pipe. The mix had
3
40kg/m of fibre.
The critical fibre content for each aspect
ratio beyond which response to vibration Using response to vibration criterion
rapidly decreases can be assessed from (Edgington 1974 ) for Scancem SFRC,
the curves he presents. recommendations for the maximum
quantity of fibres for pumping have been
Using this approach for Scancem steel defined in Table 5.
fibres, the maximum quantity of fibres
for workability is defined in Table 4.
Table 5:- Maximum Dosage of Fibres for
Table 4:- Maximum Dosage of Fibres for Workability Pumping (kg/m3)
(kg/m3) Max Agg l/d = 60 l/d = 75 l/d = 100
Max size (mm)
Agg size l/d = 60 l/d = 75 l/d = 100 4 120 95 70
(mm) 8 95 75 55
4 160 125 95 16 65 55 40
8 125 100 75 32 40 30 25
16 85 70 55
32 50 40 30 ACI Committee 544 (1993)
recommends:
Experience suggests that if a normal - Use large diameter line, preferably
concrete's slump of 100mm gives a 150mm
suitable workability Scancem fibrecrete - Avoid flexible hose
with a 120mm slump before addition of - Use a screen on the pump hopper to
40kg/m3 of 60mm fibres will give a help prevent balling (50-75 mesh) -
similar workability, but a slump of 70- Not required for collated fibres
80mm. - Don't pump SFRC that is too wet as
the paste will be squeezed out causing
4.4 Formwork a fibre plug.

ACI Committee 544 (1993) notes: 4.6 Finishing

- Protrusion of fibres from sharp
corners can be minimised by use of
chamfers or taped joints.
- Form vibrators tend to cause fibres to
back away from the form leaving
them covered by 3mm of concrete.
4.5 Pumping
SFRC is generally well proportioned for
pumping and has been reported to pump
with less trouble than normal concrete
even though it may appear stiffer and
unworkable. However, squeeze concrete
pumps should be used with caution.
This
Flat surfaces should be finished with a
vibrating screed to knock down fibres.
Magnesium floats can be used on the
wet surface, but wood floats tend to tear
the surface. Generally, the surface
should be left until initial set when it can
be finished by magnesium or power
floats. Broom finishes can be applied
just before initial set.
4.7 Curing
SFRC placed in thin sections and with a
high cement content may be prone to
plastic cracking. Otherwise curing is the
same as for conventional concrete.

13
 5.0 APPLICATIONS
The most beneficial characteristics of
fibre reinforced systems are those of
increased flexural capacity, toughness,
post-failure ductility and crack control.
The following are applications referred
to in published papers.
Airfield and highway pavements
both for new construction and as
overlays, bridge nosing and bridge
decks, loading bays, heavy duty
floors and chutes, tunnel linings,
machine bases, security safes and
strong rooms, thin precast
components subjected to flexural or
impact loading such as pile shells,
paving slabs, fence posts, steps,
manhole covers, duct covers and
cast iron replacements, domes,
shells, concrete boats and marine
structures, regions of high shear
stress such as prestressed, post-
tensioned concrete and blocks,
structures requiring resistance to
thermal shock such as refractory
linings, and fire resistant coatings
for beams and columns, more exotic
applications such as explosives
stores, pads for vertical take off
aircraft and tank turning pads.
The main practical applications are in
paving, precast components and in those
situations where toughness and post-
failure ductility are important.
The design basis for Scancem fibres is
that the bending moment remains
constant as deformation increases after
cracking. The cracked area can be
considered as a plastic hinge in which
the cracking moment provides resistance
against brittle failure.
In the case of statically indeterminate
structures, these plastic hinges provide
for a redistribution of the bending
moments. The crack formation starts at
the point of highest bending moment so
14
the plastic hinges can be easily located
for design.
5.1 Flooring
5.1.1 Floor Design
The stresses in a concrete floor slab
depend on:-
1. The properties of the subgrade as
reflected in the modulus of subgrade
reaction k
2. The type and amount of loading
conditions
3. The thickness of the floor
The stress can be calculated as shown
below.
5.1.2 Subgrade Reaction
The quality of floor slabs on grade is
closely related to the quality of the
subgrade and the designer must assess
local conditions to determine the
preparation required prior to placement
of the slabs. The provision of a sub-base
may be applicable.
The modulus of subgrade reaction "k" is
one of the parameters in the formulae for
the floor design calculations. The
recommended method for determining
this constant is to carry out plate loading
tests using a 750 diameter plate.
For other plate diameters the subgrade
reaction is converted as follows:-
- For a 300mm diameter plate divide k
by 2.3
- For a 160mm diameter plate divide k
by 3.8
 The units of k are N/mm3 (ie. plate
stress/settlement). If k values are not The design value of the load is
available, a value from Table 6 can be determined by multiplying the actual
selected. load by a load factor which varies with
the load case.
Table 6:- Typical modulus of subgrade values
- 1.5 for normal wheel loads or point
CBR Modulus of loads
Subgrade - 1.2 for occasional static point loads
reaction k
N/mm3 (infrequent, short duration)
Humus soil or peat <2% 0.005 - 0.015 - 2 when only a uniform load with an
Recent embankment ca.2% 0.01 - 0.02 undefined distribution is given
Fine or slightly compacted ca.3% 0.015 - 0.03 - An extra factor may be adopted for
sand cases of heavy fatigue loading
Well compacted sand 10-25% 0.05 - 0.10
Very well compacted sand 25-50% 0.10 - 0.15
Loam or clay (moist) 3-15% 0.03 - 0.06 A different modulus of elasticity is
Loam or clay (dry) 30-40% 0.08 - 0.10 chosen dependent on the load case.
Clay with sand 30-40% 0.08 - 0.10
Crushed stone with stand 25-50% 0.10 - 0.15 - for sustained loading (either uniform
Coarse crushed stone 80-100% 0.20 - 0.25
or point loads) E = 10,000 N/mm2
Well compacted crushed 80-100% 0.20 - 0.30
stone - for wheel loading
E = 20,000 N/mm2
5.1.3 Loading Condition
In the Bekaert method the design contact
The most frequent cases of loading are:- area is derived from the actual contact
area projected at 50 degrees to the mid
a) A uniform load with an undefined depth of the slab for dynamic loads
distribution (wheels) or the bottom of the slab for
b) Wheel loads caused by fork lifts or static loads (racks).
trucks
c) Point loads usually caused by This projected value is, however, limited
storage racks to a design radius no greater than 1.25
the slab thickness for dynamic loads and
Case a) can be calculated using 1.75 the slab thickness for static loads.
Hetenyi's formulae and cases b) and c)
using Westergaard's formulae. Tests and Axles with 4 wheels are considered to
actual practice have shown have 2 wheels with the corresponding
Westergaards formulae in particular contact surface if the dual wheels are
yielded values far too high, with actual closer together than the slab thickness
loads exceeding the theoretically plus the contact surface diameter of one
calculated failure loads by a factor wheel.
greater than 5 (Bekaert 1990).
5.1.3a Uniform Load with an Undefined
To make allowance for this until a Distribution
design method is available to take
account of the plastic behaviour of Moments are calculated with the aid of
SFRC, Bekaert's design modifications the theory of elastically supported
are assumed when using Westergaard's beams. A common form of loading
formulae. These are summarised as consists of alternate floor strips with and
follows and are based on years of without loads as shown below:
experience and numerous successful
applications
15
 q q q the stress f1 caused by this wheel and
the stresses f2, f3 ..... caused by other
M1 wheels.
The maximum stress in an elastically
M2 supported slab under a point load is
given by:-
fl = 0.275 (1 +  ) . F (log E ht3 - 0.436 )
a b a
ht2 k r14
Fig 11:-Distributed uniform loads where :-
 = Poissons ratio =0.15
The maximum negative bending moment
F = Design value of wheel load ( N )
occurs at point M1 and has the value: ( = characteristic wheel load multiplied by
q a load factor = 1.5 and possibly fatigue
M1 max = - __ . ( B .a’ - B .b’ ) factor )
2 2 E = modulus of elasticity of concrete
( 20000 N / mm2 for wheel loads )
where a’ = a/2 = half the corridor width
b’ = b + a/2 = loaded area width plus ht = slab thickness (mm )
k = modulus of subgrade reaction ( N / mm3 )
half the corridor width
r1 = measure of load contact area
For determining r1 , the radius r of the actual contact
The maximum positive bending moment surface A between wheel and floor is calculated first.
occurs at M2 and has the value:
A with A = F / p
r=
q 
M2 max = __ . B .b/2
and p = tyre pressure 0.7 N / mm2 (pneumatic)
2 2 4.5 N / mm2 (solid)
If r is > 1.25ht then r1 = r
where :-
If r is < 1.25ht then r1 = A + 0.6ht ,but  1.25 ht
q = given load multiplied by a load factor of 1.5 
(see 5.1.2 ) in N / mm2 where the 0.6ht is for a 50 degree
ht = slab thickness ( mm ) spread to mid slab depth.
k = modulus of subgrade reaction ( N / mm3 )
E = Elastic modulus ( N / mm2 ) For wheel loads close to each other, the
stress caused by these wheels must be
=4 3k
added to the maximum stress under the
Eht3
first wheel.
Bx = e-x . sin x
Where the loaded area distribution is For this purpose, the graph in fig 12 can
unknown, or where future changes must be used.
be taken into account, the following
maximum possible moments must be In figure 12 Mt is the bending moment
assumed. at distance s from the point load F.
-q q
Mmax = . (0.3222 + .014 ) = -0.168 .
2 2 2 l is the characteristic length given by:
6 . Mmax 1.008q
and f max = = E h t3
ht2 2 ht2 l = 4
in m m
12 ( 1 - 2 ) k

with a load factor of 2 for q, fmax must

not exceed the design value ff (Table 7).

5.1.3b Axle Loads

The maximum stress on the bottom fibre

in the slab under wheel 1 is the sum of
16
 .20
- The stress under point load F1
.18
resulting from point load F2 at
.16
Mt / F distance S1
.14
.12

.10
Mt 6 Mt
.08 f2 = . . F2 : from fig 12
.06 F s1 ht2 F
.04 - The formula yields exaggerated
.02
stresses for low values of s. In this
0
1 2 3 4 5 s/l case the contribution to the stress is
limited to f1
-.02
-.04
Tangential moment Mt divided by load F as a function of
the distance s from the point load divided by the
characteristic length (valid for poissons ratio = 0.15 )
- Normally only two adjacent loads are
Fig 12 considered although more can be
From the graph and a value of taken into account.
Mt/F we can determine f2 from:
- ftot can not exceed the design value
ff (Table 7).
Mt 6
 f2 = .F 2.
5.1.4 Slab Flexural Strength Values
F h t2
where F 2 is the second wheel load
and  f3 etc can be determ ined from :- Floor slabs are designed using the
Mt equivalent flexural strength procedure
 fn = . 6 .F n
F h t2 already outlined for Scancem fibres.
where Fn = the nth wheel load at
distance s from F Table 8 lists the usual design values for
floor concrete currently used (in practice
For a four wheel axle, we can treat each usually with a characteristic compressive
dual set of wheels as a single load (with strength of 30 N/mm2) for two types of
an adjusted contact area) if their spacing Scancem fibre at different dosages.
is less than 2r +ht where r is the radius
Table 7:- Design Value for the Flexural Strength
of contact area.
ftot can not exceed ff (See Table 7). Scancem Type Dosage in kg/m3
ZC 60/1.00 20 25 30 35 40
5.1.3c Point Loads (Storage Racks) ZC 60/0.80 20 25 30 35
Design Value of
The calculations are designed exactly as flexural strength ff 2.4 2.8 3.2 3.5 3.8
2
in 5.1.5 but with the following changes: (N/mm )

- Modulus of Elasticity E = 10,000 A higher design value can be adopted

N/mm2 for concrete types of higher strength,
provided verification against appropriate
- The value of r1 is determined by testing takes place.
taking into account the full slab depth
ht 5.1.5 Selection of Design Slab Thickness
A
r1 = 
+ 1.2ht where :-
r1 is limited to 1.75ht
To assist the designer with selection of
A = the base plate area slab thickness in the design process,
- The design value of the point loads is Tables have been prepared (refer to
the given load multiplied by the Appendix 1).
required load factor (1.2 to 1.5).
5.1.6 Detailing and Placing Floor Slabs
17

Preparation: The slab must not be cast
against existing walls, columns, etc.
without the provision of an isolation
joint, i.e. a separating polystyrene (or
equivalent) strip, typically 10mm wide,
to accommodate shrinkage/expansion
movements.
Polythene sheeting 0.2mm thick is
spread over the entire area of the
subbase with overlaps not less than 500
wide. Wrinkles and folds that can
weaken the slab are to be completely
avoided, usually by anchoring the sheet
with small heaps of fresh concrete,
especially at laps. Pump lines must be
supported with wooden beams to avoid
tearing and shifting the sheet.
Placing: During concreting the concrete
must be effectively compacted using
either immersion vibrators or vibrating
screeds. A vibrating screed will reduce
the presence of fibres at the surface.
Finishing: The usual techniques can be
employed for finishing. Refer to Section
4.6.
Curing: The fresh concrete must be
protected as much as possible against
sun, wind and rain as in normal practice.
Thin floors, with thicknesses of 120mm
or less run the risk of curling at the
edges due to rapid drying and curing can
become more critical. Application of a
good quality curing compound
immediately after finishing is essential.
Joints & Edges: The only joints
required in a properly designed SFRC
floor apart from isolation joints
(mentioned earlier) and construction
joints are crack control joints.
Layout of saw cuts around a column
with sectional view above
18
Crack control joints are employed to
minimize random cracking from
shrinkage and temperature deformation
and are made by cutting the hardened
concrete. The cuts are normally 3mm
wide with a depth of 1/3rd the concrete
thickness. Sawing of these joints should
occur as soon as the concrete is hard
enough to cut without being damaged,
thus avoiding the onset of random
cracking; typically the day after pouring,
a day later in cold weather.
The pattern and spacing of the saw cuts
should take into account the positions of
columns, recesses and changes in the
floors overall width. The distance
between joints should not exceed 8
metres and the shape of the panels
should be as close to square as possible,
with a maximum length to width ratio of
1.5.
Slabs should not be partially supported
by column or wall foundations. If this
does occur, a saw cut joint must be
formed.
saw cuts
isolate with a polystyrene
strip or other suitable
material
saw cuts
polystyrene strip or
other suitable material
Fig 13 Sawcut joints to a column
The saw cut layout plan must be drawn
up and discussed prior to concreting.
 Around columns, saw cuts should be as
shown in fig 13. If it is inadvisable or
impossible to cut around the column,
provide additional reinforcement in the
top of the slab as shown in fig 14.
Similar reinforcement should be
provided around small recesses and at
re-entrant corners (fig. 14). A layer of
mesh reinforcement over a width of 1
metre is advisable on free edges subject
to heavy loads (eg. at a large door).
Construction joints require special
attention, as they are the most vulnerable
joints and they can be tackled in one of
two ways:-
- Form a dowelled joint using dowels
of a cross section and spacing suitable
to equal the shear capacity of the
concrete section. A dowelled joint
design is suitable for a slab thickness
of 150 or greater where the dowels
are bonded on one side only and the
joint corners are protected by an
embedded and anchored L-steel
profile.
- Position a stop end midway between
two saw cut joints and embed a 1
metre wide layer of mesh at mid
depth so that half its width protrudes
from the pour. For 120 to 150 thick
slabs use F92 mesh and for 160 to
200 thick slabs use 2 layers of F92
mesh. Prior to pouring the new
abutting slab, ensure adhesion to the
previous pour using a wet to dry
epoxy or other suitable bonding agent
(Fig 15).
5.1.7 Project References
Steel fibres have been used successfully
on a wide range of slab contracts as
demonstrated by the job summary in
Appendix 4.
19
saw cuts
2 No. 8 mm Dia.
1metre long bars
Fig 14 Alternative column jointing detail
5.2 Shotcrete
Shotcrete is concrete that is
pneumatically projected at high velocity
onto a surface. This is achieved using
specially designed equipment using one
or other of the two primary application
techniques - wet process or dry process.
5.2.1 Steel Fibre Reinforced Shotcrete
The addition of steel fibres to shotcrete
to give Steel Fibre Reinforced Shotcrete
(SFRS) is quite practical for both wet
and dry process but does normally
incorporate the use of shorter fibres such
as Scancem 30/0.50 to accommodate the
smaller delivery line diameters.
Steel fibres are incorporated into
shotcrete, to improve crack resistance,
ductility, energy absorption and impact
resistance. Properly designed SFRS can
reduce or even eliminate cracking, a
common cause for concern in plain
shotcrete.
Fill in with an acrylic dispersion slurry or other suitable
bonding agent
first pour fresh concrete
mesh
Fig 15 Comstruction joint detail
 Morgan (1988) has suggested the
following descriptions for shotcrete
reinforced with steel fibres (SFRS). All
three criteria must be satisfied to achieve
the designated rating.
Table 8:-
Category Rating I10 I30 R30/10
I Marginal <4 <12 <40
II Fair 4 12 40
III Good 6 18 60
IV Excellent 8 24 80
These descriptors are based on the
results of tests from several large
research and development contracts as
well as routine field quality control tests
on a number of large SFRS contracts
undertaken in Canada since 1985.
Based on these characteristics of SFRS
the following areas of application are
relevant:
- Support of underground openings in
tunnels, mines, drainage adits and
exploratory adits
- rock slope stabilisation and support of
excavated foundations, often in
conjunction with rock and soil anchor
systems
- channel linings, protection for bridge
abutments and to stabilise debris-flow
prone creeks
- rehabilitation of deteriorated marine
structures such as lighthouses,
bulkheads, piers, sea walls and dry
docks
- rehabilitation of reinforced concrete
in structures such as bridges and
materials handling plants
- strengthening steel structures e.g.
beams and columns. Adding SFRS to
the cross section raises the load
bearing capacity and provides highly
effective fire protection
20
- providing an effective abrasion
resistant coating for gravel silos, coal
bunkers, ore shafts and other bulk
solids containers built of masonry,
concrete or steel
- improving the performance of
refractory linings in furnaces,
combustion chambers etc by
improving thermal shock and spalling
resistance using stainless steel fibres
- construction of vertical retaining
walls in conjunction with rock bolting
to the basements of multi-storey
buildings
5.2.2 Mix Design
Fortunately no special changes need to
be made to conventional shotcrete mix
designs in order to use steel fibres. The
same characteristics inherent in shotcrete
mix design (low coarse aggregate
content and high cementitious materials)
are also conducive to good mixing,
dispersion and application of SFRS and
indeed performance of the hardened
SFRS.
Based on the results from two large
research projects (Morgan 1988) carried
out in Canada for dry and wet mix
SFRS, the following interesting
conclusions can be drawn:
1. best toughness index performance is
attained with the higher aspect ratio
Scancem hooked steel wire drawn
fibres
2. the hooked ends contribute
significantly to the increase in the
bond between the fibre and matrix
3. low tensile strength and brittle steel
fibres have only a slight influence
on shotcrete toughness
5.2.3 Steel Fibre Versus Mesh Reinforced
Shotcrete
A comparison of SFRS versus mesh
reinforced shotcrete needs to be done not
only on the basis of load carrying
capacity, but also on the practicalities of
placing and their respective efficiences.
With respect to the load carrying
capacities of the two systems, J
Hulmgren (1985) drew the following
conclusions:
* It is possible to produce steel fibre
reinforced shotcrete linings which are
at least equally strong and ductile in
bending as conventional reinforced
ones.
* Wire mesh with cold worked rods is
not suitable for rock reinforcement
where ductility is desirable; mild steel
should be used.
* The shear performance of a SFRS
lining is superior to a conventionally
reinforced one, even after cracking.
These conclusions are valid for steel
fibres with end anchors and a high
enough tensile strength to allow the fibre
to slip at failure and not break.
Morgan (1979) determined in
load/deformation tests on large panels,
that SFRS can provide superior residual
load carrying capacity to wire mesh at
small deformations after first crack and
equivalent performance at large
deformations. These results were
supported by the results of similar work
carried out by Little (1987).
Since these early studies, extensive
research has been carried out in the
Scandanavian Countries; Holmgren
(1983). SFRS has generally shown
superior performance to mesh reinforced
shotcrete in such tests.
When it comes to installation, SFRS has
significant advantages over mesh:-
- Fixing mesh to a tunnel wall is
difficult, time consuming, costly and
sometimes hazardous and must be
completed prior to shotcreting,
whereas the reinforcement in SFRS is
21
applied with the shotcrete, improving
job progress.
- On an irregular surface, mesh is
pinned mostly at high spots, being
pinned back into large depressions
but usually draped over small ones.
This can result in up to 40% more
shotcrete being required to fill blocky
or fractured rock surfaces for mesh
reinforced shotcrete than SFRS.
- The wires of mesh cause a much
higher rebound of the bigger
aggregates creating poor quality
shotcrete behind the mesh, or
alternatively with poor nozzle
technique shotcrete can build up on
the face of the mesh leaving voids
and sand pockets behind.
- Larger aggregates hitting the mesh
can cause it to vibrate, thus
potentially reducing the bond to the
rock, an essential parameter for
shotcrete layer effectiveness.
- SFRS per m3 is more expensive than
mesh reinforced shotcrete, but in
place costs are up to 50% lower
Garshal (1990).
5.2.4 Design of Tunnel Linings
A tunnel lining is not an independent
structure and should not be designed to
support loads delivered to it by the
surrounding ground. The design of a
tunnel lining is therefore not a structural
problem, it is a ground and structural
problem with the emphasis on the
ground.
The function of a lining is to act like a
membrane to redistribute loads back into
the surrounding ground so that the
ground effectively becomes self
supporting. In order to do this, the
lining needs to be flexible, thus enabling
it to conform more easily to the
deformations which mobilise the load
carrying capacity of the ground.
This approach to lining design is the
basis of the New Austrian Tunnelling
Method (NATM) where the aims
include mobilising the strength of the
ground and promoting maximum
flexibility of the lining. Significantly,
the NATM instrumentation is used to
measure deformations and not stresses.
In the design of a lining using the
NATM the controlling parameter is
ground quality, generally measured by
stand-up time. If the ground has a
limited stand-up time, steel fibre
reinforced shotcrete systems are
applicable for construction support
without any loss of time for installing
the reinforcement. For competent rock,
where stand-up time is good but some
ground deformations may be expected,
rock reinforcement systems (rock bolts)
are attractive with shotcrete primarily to
provide a skin that prevents surface
degradation.
With the NATM the permanent support
of the opening is handled by this initial
lining, with convergence measurements
made inside the tunnel to determine
when stability is reached or to identify
unstable areas that require attention.
Once stability is ensured the final lining
can be constructed of either shotcrete,
cast-in-place concrete or precast
concrete liners. This secondary, or
internal lining, is subjected only to
subsequent loads - ground water
pressure, long term ground creep and
subsequent construction, such as
excavation of parallel or intersecting
tunnels.
The function of shotcrete in tunnel
constructions is to create a semi-stiff
immediate lining with a high initial
strength for good bond to the rock
surface and a high degree of ductility
and toughness to absorb and block rock
movement. Scancem steel fibre
reinforced shotcrete
22
meets these requirements, with post
cracking ductility as measured by the
Toughness Index and the equivalent
flexural strength (section 3.2) being
utilised in the lining design procedure.
5.2.4a Comparative Design Between SFRS and
Mesh Reinforced Shotcrete
The presence of steel fibres in a concrete
or shotcrete member will produce tensile
stresses across a cracked section in the
tensile zone. The distribution of these
stresses across the section depends on
the type of fibre, percentage of fibre and
magnitude of strain (Fig. 16).
o < u
neutral
 •
axis
• • • • •
t (a) (b) (c)
Fig 16:- SFRS Stress and Strain Diagrams
Fig (a) may be appropriate for a fibre
content equal to the critical fibre volume
(i.e. the volume of fibre which, after
cracking will carry the load sustained
before cracking). Fig (b) and (c) show
SFRS where the volume of steel fibre is
less than the critical volume.
Design Assumptions - The high tensile
Scancem steel fibres will allow SFRS,
even when cracked, to resist tensile
stresses.
Based on this assumption and a
simplified model of the real stress block,
developed by Bolcskey DDr E (1990)
and shown below in fig 17(a).

yo 0.9yo
N • • A
zf =0.55d
d
d-yo
0.9 (d-yo ) Zfb
f b
17(a)
Fig 17:- Stress Distribution Assumptions
The Bending Moment
M = Zfb zf
= 0.90 (d-yo).b.fb x 0.55d
= 0.495 (d-yo) bdfb
fb however represents the tensile stress
in the fibres which is not easy to check
and is not a common test either.
In order to simplify the design, we can
treat the Scancem SFRS as a
homogenous material and use the stress
block shown in fig 17(b).
thus max = M where b = width
bd2 d = thickness or depth
6 A standard specification for Scancem
In order to justify this assumption of a
homogenous material, these two bending
moments we have derived must be equal
i.e.
M = 1/6 bd2 max = 0.495 (d-yo) d.b.fb
i.e. max = 2.97 (d-yo) fb
d slaking).
for d-yo = 0.9d  max = 2.763fb
As fb is the tensile stress in a cracked
section max also has to be
representative of the ductile behaviour
of SFRS.
Being on the safe side, we can consider:
max = equivalent flexural strength
i.e. max = fe from section 3.2
Using this assumption as a basis it is
now possible to compare SFRS to mesh
reinforced shotcrete based on the
equivalence of the bending moments.
N.B. Only bending moments have to be
considered where the whole structure is
stabilised by rockbolts as the shotcrete
layer acts as a slab spanning between the
max bolts.
17(b)
5.2.4b Comparative Design for Scancem Steel
Fibres Versus Single and Double Mesh
Reinforced Shotcrete
Table 9 shows a comparative design
based on the requirement to achieve the
same bending moment capacity as a
doubly reinforced shotcrete layer and the
effect this has on the thickness of
shotcrete required.
Unreinforced shotcrete is also used in
tunnelling, however, its lack of ductility
rules it out of contention as an
equivalent to either conventionally
reinforced shotcrete or SFRS.
5.2.5 Specifying SFRS
Steel Fibre Reinforced Shotcrete is
presented in Appendix 5
5.2.6 Project References
SFRS has been very successful in
treating problems associated with
loosening (rock) ground and (air
The only cases where
shotcrete should be used as sole support
are when a good shotcrete rock bond can
be obtained, when the shotcrete is thick
enough to act as a structurally
continuous lining or when air slaking is
the only ground problem. In any other
cases, SFRS should be employed
together with some other support
elements (e.g. rock bolts, steel ribs).
23
Doubly Reinforced Shotcrete Singly Reinforced Shotcrete Fibre Reinforced Shotcrete
120 ? ?

Mu = 0.9 d As fsy Mu = 0.9 t/2 As fsy Fibres:-

Scancem ZC 30/0.50
where:- for:- Dosage 50 kg/m3
Mu = Ultimate Moment Mu =5.14kNm/m
t = shotcrete thickness As =141mm2/m (F62) Mu = fe,3 x l x t2
a = cover to mesh fsy = 450N/mm2 m 6
d=t-a t = 2Mu
As = steel x-section 0.9 As fsy where:-
fsy = steel yield stress = 2 x 5.14 fe,3 = effective flexural
0.9 141 450 tensile strength
for t = 120mm fc = characteristic
a = 30mm = 180mm compressive strength
d = 120 - 30 = 90mm fct,fl =modulus of rupture
As = 141mm2/m (F62) t = 180mm
of plain concrete
m = material safety factor
Mu = 0.9x90x141x450
for:-
Mu = 5.14kNm/m fc = 32 MPa
fct,fl = 0.4 3322
=4N/mm2
Re,3 = 71 for ZC 30/0.50
fe,3 = 4 x 71/100
= 2.84N/mm2
m = 1.0

t =((6 x 5.14 x 103)/2.84)

t = 104mm

.
Table 9:-

Steel fibre reinforced shotcrete has provided by 4m long, 25mm diameter

gained widespread use in applications
such as those listed in Appendix 6 with
well in excess of 100 tunnels completed
all around the world. One project that is
of particular interest because of the way
an equivalent design using SFRS was
offered and adopted is described below.
Primary Structural Lining, Hong Kong
Mott McDonald's design for the Shing
Mun tunnels was to provide permanent
support for the full service life of the
tunnels via the primary lining. Support
to the massive, fresh and slightly
decomposed granite zones was to be
rockbolts tensioned to 60kN at 1-2m
spacing, steel rib supports and shotcrete
reinforced as necessary. The contractors
proposal to use 50kg/m3 of ZP 30/0.50
fibres eliminated the need for 6mm
diameter galvanised mesh except for
400mm square spiders at boltheads.
Stabilator Robot 75 remote nozzle
handling equipment was used to apply
the shotcrete. Considerable savings
resulted as the mesh would have been
too stiff to fix closely to the irregular
rock surface.

24
 The mixes used comprised:

Table 10:-

Cement Accelerator Water kg/m3

Dry Mix 450kg 2% Cormix GA2 -

Wet Mix (off site) 525kg 10% Stabilo Rapid 210
Wet Mix (site batched) 450kg 10% Stabilo Rapid 200

Mott McDonald's bending and shear

strength tests on sample beams enabled
the lining layer thickness to be reduced
as shown in Table 11.
-
Table 11
Q* Factor 0.1-1 1-4 4-10 10-40 15-40 >40
Bolt c/c(m) 1.0 1.0 1.5 1.5 2.0 As Req
Shotcrete Design
- Mesh (layers) 2 1 1 0 0 As Req
- Thickness(mm) 200 200 100 50 50 As Req
- ZP 30/0.50 Fibres (kg/m3) 50 50 50 - - -
- Thickness (mm) 135 65 65 - - -

*Q Factor is the rock quality index from the Norwegian Geotechnical Institute classification
system

5.3 Statically Determinate Structures

t
As mentioned in section 3.3, one of the
main attributes of SFRC is its ability to
redistribute moments in statically
indeterminate structures and permit
economies of design (ref 5.1 Flooring). h
Q
Statically determinate structures do not
of course offer this advantage but may
still be attractive when built in SFRC
due to economies in construction costs.
Good examples of this could be
retaining walls or swimming pools,
especially when constructed in shotcrete.
Data:
The maximum bending moment M Active Ground Pressure Qa = 6.7kN/m
occurs at the intersection of the vertical Wall height h = 1.5m
wall with the base plate and has a design Wall thickness t = 100mm
value of: Load Safety Factor F = 1.4
Characteristic Flexural Strength of
Md = F * M = F * Qa * h/3 =  * t2/6 Unreinforced Concrete f'ft = 5N/mm2
in which:  = 2 * F * Qa * h/t2 Material Safety Factor m = 1.2

25
 Solution: 5.5 Piles
 = 2 x 1.4 x 6.7 x 1500 = 2.8N/mm2
1002 In France, over 1000TPA of hooked end
steel fibres are used in bored piles as a
Consequently replacement for the steel reinforcement
R10,30 = 100m x /fft = 68% cage. Although material costs are
higher, the difficulties associated with
from Identify Chart for Scancem accurately locating a reinforcement cage
ZC60/0.80 the weight of fibres = make this a cost effective alternative.
30kg/m3
5.6 Tunnel Secondary Linings
5.4 Precast Concrete
Secondary Lining, Germany - A 350mm
Hydraulic Tunnel Lining, Italy - For the thick SFRC secondary liner was used for
construction of several hydraulic tunnels the Portmund Railway. The 1.236km
in Southern Italy and Sicily, SFRC was tunnel is a 6.61m high, 6.44m wide egg
used for the precast preliminary shape. The temporary outer lining
stabilising tunnel lining. comprises steel arches and a shotcrete
layer. The secondary lining consists of a
For the 4.82km Fanaco tunnel over 500T pumped steel fibre reinforced concrete.
of ZC 50/0.50 fibres were used at All traditional reinforcement has been
40kg/m3. The mix comprised: replaced by 50kg/m3 ZC 60/0.80 fibres.
As there was no DIN standard, the
Cement: 440kg/m3 German Railway Company undertook an
Sand 0-6mm: 900kg/m3 extensive test program to choose the best
Coarse 7-15mm: 950kg/m3 fibre.
Water: 160kg/m3
Accelerator: 6 litres/m3

26
References
ASTM C1018, "Standard Test Method for
Flexural Toughness and First Crack Strength of
Fibre Reinforced Concrete (Using Beam with
Third Point Loading)". Annual Book of ASTM
Standards V04.02.
ACI Committee 544 (1993), "Guide for
Specifying Proportioning, Mixing, Placing and
Finishing Steel Fibre Reinforced Concrete".
ACI Materials Journal, Jan/Feb 1993, Vol 90
No1, pp 94-101.
Antoine E., Najim H., (1991), "Bond Slip
Mechanisms of Steel Fibres in Concrete". ACI
Materials Journal. March-April 1993 Vol 88
No2.
Banthia.N., Trottier.JF., Beaupre.D., Wood.D.,
(1992), "Influence of Fibre Geometry in Steel
Fibre Reinforced Dry Mix Shotcrete".
Bekaert NV (1990) “Design Manual for
Industrial Floors with Dramix Steel Fibre
Reinforced Concrete”
Bolcskey DDrE., TU Wien, "Dramix
Stahlfaserboden in Industrieban" 1990.
Burakiewicz.A., (1978), "Testing of Fibre Bond
Strength in Cement Matrix". Testing and Test
Methods of Fibre Cement Composites. RILEM
Symposium Lancaster. pp355-365.
Cheng-Tzu T.H., Rajun L.H., Ezeldin A.S.,
"Load Deformation Behaviour of Steel Fibre
Reinforced Concrete Beams", ACI Structural
Journal Nov/Dec 1992.
Edgington.J., Harrant.DJ., Williams.RIT.,
(1974), "Steel Fibre Reinforced Concrete".
Building Research Establishment.
Garshol. K., (1990), "Development of
Mechanised Wet Mix Shotcrete Application in
the Norwegian Tunnelling Industry".
Gopalaratnam VS. Shah SP et al., " Fracture
Toughness of Fibre Reinforced Concrete", A
Report of the Concrete Materials Research
27
Council, - ACI Materials Journal July - August
1991.
Holmgren J., "Bolt Anchored Steel Fibre
Reinforced Shotcrete Linings", for the Swedish
Fortification Administration, 1985.
Holmgren BJ., "Tunnel Linings of Steel Fibre
Reinforced Shotcrete" 5th International
Congress on Rock Mechanics, Melbourne 1983.
Hsu.TTC., (1981), "Fatigue of Plain Concrete".
ACI Journal, Proceedings V78 No4 July/August
1981, pp 292-305.
Johnston.C.D., Zemp.RW., (1991), "Flexural
Fatigue Performance of Steel Fiber Reinforced
Concrete - Influence of Fiber Content, Aspect
Ratio, and Type". ACI Materials Journal V84
No4, July/August 1991, pp 374-383.
JSCE "Recommendation for Design and
Construction of Steel Fibre Reinforced
Concrete" Concrete Library of JSCE No 3 June
1984.
Kompen.R., (1990), "Wet Process SFRC
Shotcrete for Rock Support and Fire Protection,
Norwegian Practice and Experience".
Innsbruck University Spritzbeton Technology
pp87-91.
Little T., "An Evaluation of Steel Fibre
Reinforced Shotcrete" 36th Canadian
Geotechnical Conference, Vancouver BC June
1983.
Maage.M., (1978), "Fibre, Bond and Friction in
Cement and Concrete". Testing and Test
Methods of Fibre Cement Composites. RILEM
1978. Lancaster. pp 329-336.
Magnet, PS., Gurusany K., (1988), "Corrosion
Resistance of Steel Fibres in Concrete Under
Marine Exposure". Cement and Concrete
Research, Vol 8 pp 44-54.
Morgan.DR., Sherril.FA., (1988), "Recent
Developments in Wet and Dry Process
Shotcrete". World of Concrete Seminar 8-21.
Morgan DR, Mowat DN., " A Comparative
Evaluation of Plain, Mesh and Steel Fibre
Reinforced Shotcrete". Hardy Associates
International Symposium on Fibre Reinforced
Concrete, Detroit Sept 1982.

Morris AD, GG Garrett., "A Comparative Study

of the Static and Fatigue Behaviour of Plain and
Steel Fibre Reinforced Mortar in Compression
and Direct Tension. The International Journal
of Cement Composites and Lightweight
Concrete Vol 3 No 2 May 1981 pp 73-91.

Ramakrishen, Wu and Hosalli, (1989), "Effect

of Rate of Loading and Flexural Strength on
Fatigue Performance of Concrete". TRRL
Laboratory Report CR547, Berkshire, UK.

28
 APPENDIX 1

Indicative Load Capacities for slabs with variations in load case, slab thickness,
subgrade modulus and fibre dosage

Scancem ZC 60/.80 20kg/m3 30kg/m3

Load Case Axle load 1 Axle load 2 Axle load 3 Point load Uniform Axle load 1 Axle load 2 Axle load 3 Point load Uniform
load load
tonne tonne tonne tonne tonne/m2 tonne tonne tonne tonne tonne/m2
Subgrade Modulus "k" .03 .06 .10 .03 .06 .10 .03 .06 .10 .03 .06 .10 .03 .06 .10 .03 .06 .10 .03 .06 .10 .03 .06 .10 .03 .06 .10 .03 .06 .10

Slab thickness
120 5 6 7 3 4 5 2.0 2.5 2.5 4 6 8 7 8 10 4 5 7 11 2.5 3 3.5 5 8 10
130 6 7 8 4 5 6 3 8 10 12 5 7 8 11 13 3.5 4
140 7 8 10 5 6 7 11 2.5 3.0 3.5 10 12 13 7 8 10 10 12 3 4 4.5 6 11
150 8 10 12 6 7 8 10 12 3.5 4.0 5 7 9 11 13 8 10 12 13 3.5 4.5 5 9
160 10 11 13 7 8 10 10 12 13 3.0 4.0 4.5 13 9 13 4 5 12
170 11 13 8 9 11 13 3.5 4.5 5.0 10 4.5
180 12 9 10 13 4 5
190 13 10 5
200 4.5

2 wheels 2 wheels 4 wheels racking 2 wheels 2 wheels 4 wheels racking

pneumatic solid pneumatic legs pneumatic solid pneumatic legs
tyres tyres tyres tyres tyres tyres

Scancem ZC 60/1.0 20kg/m3 30kg/m3

Load Case Axle load 1 Axle load 2 Axle load 3 Point load Uniform Axle load 1 Axle load 2 Axle load 3 Point load Uniform
load load
tonne tonne tonne tonne tonne/m2 tonne tonne tonne tonne tonne/m2
Subgrade Modulus "k" .03 .06 .10 .03 .06 .10 .03 .06 .10 .03 .06 .10 .03 .06 .10 .03 .06 .10 .03 .06 .10 .03 .06 .10 .03 .06 .10 .03 .06
.10
Slab thickness
120 5 6 3 4 2 4 5 7 6 7 9 4 5 6 10 3 5 7 9
130 5 6 7 4 2 2.5 7 9 10 5 6 7 10 11 2.5 3 3.5 10
140 6 7 8 4 5 2.5 3 6 8 10 12 6 7 8 11 13 3 3.5 4 8
150 7 8 9 5 6 10 2.5 3 3.5 8 10 12 13 7 8 10 10 13 4 4.5
160 8 10 11 5 7 8 10 11 11 13 8 10 11 3.5 4.5 5 6 11
170 9 11 12 6 8 9 10 11 13 3.0 3.5 4 13 9 13 4
180 11 12 13 7 9 10 11 13 4 4.5 10 4.5 5 9
190 12 13 8 10 13 3.5 4.5 5.0 9 5 12
200 13 9 14 4.0

2 wheels 2 wheels 4 wheels racking 2 wheels 2 wheels 4 wheels racking

pneumatic solid pneumatic legs pneumatic solid pneumatic legs
tyres tyres tyres tyres tyres tyres

29
30
 APPENDIX 2

Steel fibre concrete under flexural load

Toughness Ratio’s for the design of Scancem SFRC

Fibre ZC 60 / 1.00 ZC 60 / .80 ZC 30 / .50

dosage
( kg / m3 ) R10,30 Re,3 R10,30 Re,3 R10,30 Re,3

20 45 45 53 50 45 37

30 60 60 69 66 60 51

40 72 72 82 78 72 62

50 82 82 92 88 82 71

60 90 79

80 103 92

31
 APPENDIX 3

Steel fibre concrete under flexural load

Identity Chart
Scancem ZC 60 / .80

140 Ru

120 R10,30
Re,3
100
Ratio
80
as a % of
first crack
60
strength
40

20

0 10 20 30 40 50

fibre dosage (kg / m3 )

Identity Chart
Scancem ZC 60 / 1.0

140 Ru

120 R10,30
Re,3
100
Ratio
80
as a % of
first crack
60
strength
40

20

0 10 20 30 40 50

dosage (kg / m3 )
fibre 32
 APPENDIX 3 (cont'd )

Identity Chart
Scancem ZC 30 / .50

140 Ru

ratio 120 R10,30

as a %
of first 100 Re,3
crack
strength 80

60

40

20

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
fibre dosage (kg / m3 )

33
 APPENDIX 4
Flooring Project References

Country/Year/Fibres Project Type Concrete

Sweden, 1991 High rack storage floor slab, 3200m2. 30MPa, 120tk slab, pump
ZC60/0.80, 30kg/m3 Fibres added at batching plant. applied 500m3 day.
USA, 1990 Car factory high flatness floor, 362kg/m3 cement, 2.7kg/m3
ZC60/0.80, 30kg/m3 140,000m2. Fibres added to HRWR.
truckmixer at site.
Belgium, 1992 Car show room floor cast on hollow 350kg/m3 cement, 20mm
ZC30/0.50, 25kg/m3 core blocks, 1100m2. Fibres added to aggregate, 150tk slab.
truck mixer at site.
Belgium, 1992 Shopping centre floor, 20,000m2. No details.
ZC60/1.0, 25kg/m3
Hong Kong, 1982 Bus Terminal concrete slab, 700m2. 400kg/m3 cement, 20mm
ZC60/0.80, 30kg/m3 aggregate, 500ml/100kg WR.
Hong Kong, 1983 Train Terminal car park, 1200m2. 400kg/m3 cement, 20mm
ZC60/0.80, 30kg/m3 aggregate, 500ml/100kg WR.
Greece, 1992 Toll post-hard standing slab, 3000m2. 400kg/m3 cement.
ZC60/1.2, 35kg/m3 Fibres added at batch plant.
Turkey, 1993 Paper plant concrete floor, 5000m2. 350kg/m3 cement, 25mm
ZC60/0.80, 20kg/m3 Fibres added to truckmixer by hand. aggregate, 160tk slab.
S Korea, 1993 Flooring Project in Pohang, 270m3. 386kg/m3 cement, 0.77 litre/m3
ZC60/0.80, 30kgm3 Fibres added to truck mixer at site. HRWR
Australia, 1993 Overlay slipway slab in Perth, 30m . 3 30MPa Micropoz Pump
ZC60/0.80, 40kg/m3 Fibres added to truckmixer by hand to Concrete, 20mm aggregate, WR
increase shear capacity of slab. used.

34
 APPENDIX 5

Standard Specifications for Scancem Steel Fibre Reinforced Shotcrete

General Description

The work specified by this section consists of furnishing all labour, material and equipment for the
batching, mixing, transporting, placing, curing and quality control of steel fibre reinforced
shotcrete.

Shotcrete shall consist of fibre reinforced pneumatically applied concrete of the thicknesses shown
on the drawings and/or as directed. Shotcrete mixes will be of high quality and use relatively low
water/cement ratios.

Prior to approval for production, the contractor shall demonstrate that his equipment is capable of
reliable and satisfactory batching, mixing, delivering and applying of shotcrete to the quality
required.

Steel Fibre Shotcrete Mix Design

General

The steel fibre shotcrete mix design will be tried out on sample panels and approval will be based
on the success of these applications.

Admixtures shall be compatible with the proposed mix design.

The shotcrete's hardened physical properties shall be determined by a recognised laboratory.

All tests shall be performed in accordance with applicable Standards.

Steel Fibres

Steel fibres shall be made of hard drawn wire and have a circular cross section and hooked ends.

The nominal length of the steel fibres is 30 or 40mm, the nominal diameter of the steel fibres is
0.50mm.

The minimum tensile strength of the steel fibres is 1 200N/mm2.

The steel fibres are glued together in small bundles in order to make handling easy and to assure a
uniform distribution in the concrete mix. The mixing process continues until all bundles have
separated into individual fibres.

Steel fibre dosage in the applied shotcrete shall be in accordance with the required strength and will
be determined taking into account the steel fibre rebound characteristics.

35
Aggregates

The maximum aggregate size will be ........mm.

The grading of aggregates will be in accordance with the applicable Standards.

Steel Fibre Shotcrete Composition

Shotcrete shall be composed of portland cement, water, aggregates, steel fibres and admixtures.

An accelerator shall be used in the proportions necessary for the type of application and the
required initial strengths.

The adequacy of the mix design to achieve the physical properties given below shall be
demonstrated in test panels made under field conditions and with equipment and operators proposed
for the project.

Compressive stength : at ...hours ...N/mm2

: at ...hours ...N/mm2

Flexural strength : at 28 days ...N/mm2

Equivalent flex. str. : at 28 days ...N/mm2

Toughness Index :I10 :....... at 28 days

I30 :....... at 28 days
I50 :....... at 28 days

Toughness Factor :R30,10 :....... at 28 days

R50,10 :....... at 28 days

Absorbed energy : ... Joule

till a deflection of ... mm

Testing shall be by an approved laboratory. At least three panels of min. 80 x 80 x 10cm shall be
made for each mix design by each nozzlemen.

Batching and Mixing

General

The equipment shall be capable of constantly mixing the aggregate, cement, admixture, steel fibres
(and water for wet process) into a uniform mixture and of discharging this mixture without
segregation.

Steel Fibres

Glued steel fibres can be added as another aggregate. During mixing the bundles will separate into
individual fibres and distribute in a homogeneous way through the mix. Mixing has to be continued
until all fibres have separated.

36
Application of Steel Fibre Reinforced Shotcrete

Personnel

Shotcrete shall be placed only by operators skilled in this type of work and familiar with the kind of
equipment used by the Contractor.

Surface Preparation

Areas to be covered shall be cleaned by washing with water to remove all dirt, loose, material, dust,
....

The surface shall be near a saturated condition at the time the shotcrete is applied.

Shotcrete Application

The velocity of discharge from the nozzle, the distance of the nozzle from the face, the amount of
water used shall be regulated to produce a dense coating, a reasonable amount of rebound and no
sloughing.

In no case shall rebounding material be reused.

Curing and Protection

Shotcrete shall be cured by preventing the loss of moisture from the applied mix after initial set.

In lieu of moist curing, shotcrete may also be membrane cured. The curing compound shall be of
an approved type and be applied immediately after the shotcrete operation and before any surface
drying occurs. If necessary, a mist of water spay may be applied to the shotcrete to keep it moist
until the curing compound is applied.

Quality Control

Hardened Properties

Hardened properties of steel fibre reinforced shotcrete will be tested in accordance with applicable
Standards.

Toughness indices will be determined based on ASTM C1018-85. According to this Standard,
flexural strength is defined at the first crack and subsequently the various toughness indices Ij. The
first crack is defined as the point at which the load deflection curve deviates from the straight line.
A toughness index is the ratio of the absorbed energy up to a given deflection to the absorbed
energy up to the first crack. The area below the load deflection curve is a measure of the absorbed
energy. In the Standard, toughness indices I10 and I30 are represented for a deflection up to 5.5
and 15.5, where  is the deflection to the first crack. The terms I10 and I30 are used in order that,
with corresponding deflections and given a perfectly elastic plastic material, the toughness indices
would be precisely 10 and 30.

The toughness factor is calculated as R30,10 = 5(I30 - I10).

37
Equivalent flexural strength will be determined based on JSCE-SF4.

The equivalent flexural strength is determined in a four point bending test on a prism shaped
shotcrete sample 150x150x530mm (span = 450mm). The test is to be performed on a deformation
controlled test device with a speed of 0.5mm per minute. The actual deflection of the beam will be
recorded as a function of the load.

The test will be continued until the deflection reaches 3mm (1/150 of the span). The surface below
the 3mm deflection curve is the flexural toughness Tb (N.mm).

The equivalent flexural strength is calculated as follows:

fe = Tb . l = Tb . 450
 b.h2 3 150.1502

The equivalent flexural strength is checked on a minimum of 6 samples according to the method
described above.

Quantity of Steel Fibres

The job supervisor can test the homogeneity of the mix during shotcreting by collecting the fibres
from a random sample of 10 litres of non set fibre reinforced shotcrete using a magnet. The fibres
are then washed, dried and weighed on a scale of adequate precision. The specific values found
may deviate from the adopted percentage by 20% at most.

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 APPENDIX 6

Shotcrete Project References

Country/Year/Fibres Project Type Concrete

Taiwan 87-89 Hydraulic Tunnel at Hydroelectric Cement 430kg/m3 WR &
ZC 30/0.50 60kg/m3 power plant incorporating remote HRWR
controlled shotcrete machine applying Compressive strength
5m3/hr of wet mix. 14MPa(1d)
31MPa(7d)
Flexural strength 6.5MPa(7d)
I5 = 8.4 I10 = 15.4
Italy 89 High speed rail link, 44km of tunnel Dry mix shotcrete placed into a
ZC 30/0.50 30kg/m3 Rome to Milan. Dry mix shotcrete. 140mm wide slot 1-3m long
around the periphery of the
tunnel section cut by a
mechanical chan saw type blade
- no mix details
USA 93 2 x 1.2km long road tunnels 11m wide Cement 335kg/m3 AEA, WR,
ZP 30/0.50 40kg/m3 and 8m high cut through blockish, Silica fume, - HRWR and
jointed sandstone. Wet mix shotcrete accelerator all incorporated in
the shotcrete. Concrete
designed on toughness criterion.
France Road tunnel lining, 4.84km long x 8m Cement 480kg/m3 accelerator
ZP 30/0.50 40kg/m3 diameter. Wet mix shotcrete. used at <10% by weight of
cement.
France 90-92 Motorway tunnel lining, 2.5km long x Cement 450kg/m3 HRWR and
ZP 30/0.50 50kg/m3 11.8m diameter. Wet mix shotcrete accelerator used. Max agg size
Skako doser used sprayed between iron arches. 8mm.
Sweden 88 Nuclear power station underground Cement 500kg/m3. HRWR and
ZP 30/0.50 60kg/m3 waste repository. Low heat cement accelerator used. Max agg size
used in wet mix shotcrete. 8mm. Trials showed that
concrete with a fibre dosage of
90kg/m3 was pumpable.
Japan 89 Hydro-electric power plant tunnel Cement 380kg/m3. Water
ZP 30/0.50 80kg/m3 lining. Dry mix shotcrete. 3
180l/m . Continuous batching
employed with fibres (350
tonnes) added via a belt
conveyor.
Switzerland 89-95 New Motorway Tunnel 2,500m long x Cement 450kg/m3. Water
ZP 30/0.50 50kg/m3 11.8m diameter plus additional security 3
100l/m . HRWR and
tunnel. Wet mix shotcrete. accelerator utilised. Max agg
size 8mm. Fibres added by
SKAKO doser.
Switzerland 89-94 New Road Tunnel 2,200m long x 4.5 Cement 430kg/m3. Water
ZP 30/0.50 50kg/m3 diameter. Wet mix shotcrete changed 206l/m3. WR, HRWR and
from mesh to fibres for safety and 33% accelerator used. Max agg size
increase in daily driven distance. 16mm.

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