CT 514-COMPOSITE MATERIALS

(Elective Course)
1. FIBRE REINFORCED CONCRETE : Properties of Constituent Materials, Mix
Proportions, Mixing and Casting Procedures, Properties of Freshly mixed FRC,
Mechanics and properties of Fibre reinforced concrete, Composite Material
approach, Application of fibre reinforced concrete.
2. FLY ASH CONCRETE : Classification of Indian Fly ashes, Properties of Fly
ash, Reaction Mechanism, Proportioning of Fly ash concretes, Properties of Fly
ash concrete in fresh and hardened state, Durability of fly ash concrete.
3. POLYMER CONCRETE : Terminology used in polymer concrete, Properties
of constituent materials, Polymer impregnated concrete, Polymer modified
concrete, Properties and applications of polymer concrete and polymer
impregnated concrete.
4. FERRO CEMENT : Constituent materials and their properties, Mechanical
properties of ferro cement, Construction techniques and application of ferro
cement.
5. HIGH PERFORMANCE CONCRETE : Materials for high performance
concrete, Supplementary cementing materials, Properties and durability of high
performance concrete, Introduction to silica fume concrete, Properties and
applications of silica fume concrete.
6. SULPHUR CONCRETE AND SULPHUR INFILTRATED CONCRETE :
Process technology, Mechanical properties, Durability and applications of sulphur
concrete, Sulphur infiltrated concrete, Infiltration techniques, Mechanical
properties, Durability and applications of sulphur infiltrated concrete.
7. LIGHT WEIGHT CONCRETE : Properties of light weight concretes, Pumice
concrete, Aeratedcement mortars, No fines concrete, Design and applications of
light weight concrete.
Books Recommended:
1. Concrete, its Properties and Microstructure by P.K. Mehta, and P.J.M.
Monterio.
2. Ferrocement by B.K. Paul, and R.P. Pama
3. Fibre Reinforced Concrete by Bentur and Mindess
4. Flyash in Concrete by Malhotra and Ramezanianpour

Fibre Reinforced Concrete

Concrete can be defined as a construction material which consists of water and

aggregates which are bonded together with some binding material. The binding material
is generally hydraulic cement.

Conventional concrete which is used at present is most widely used construction material
in the present era. This is because
i)

its ingredients are easily and economically available in almost all parts of the

ii)

when in fresh state, it has enough plasticity and can be moulded in the desired

iii)
iv)
v)

world

shape.

It has high compressive strength in hardened state

It has low permeability ie.it has good resistance against water

It is durable in normal environment and can be made durable in aggressive

environment.

However, conventional concrete has

i)

very low tensile strength, ductility and little resistance against cracking

iii)

these cracks are present even before loading for example due to shrinkage

ii)

these limitations are due to inherent numerous micro-cracks in the concrete

When a member is loaded, these micro-cracks propagate further and results in low tensile
strength and ductility. This weakness in concrete was identified as early as in eighteenth

century and attempts at that time were made by adding nails into concrete. However, after

the research carried out by Romauldi and Batson, nails were replaced with short steel
fibre. When these fibres were added into concrete, the resultant concrete started with the
name of Fibre Reinforced Concrete.

The low tensile strength is well identified fact and it is centuries old fact must be clear
through the invention of reinforced concrete where steel bars are provided in tension.

Also, pres-stressing tendons are used in pre-stressed concrete. However, the utility of
steel bars or pre-stressing tendons is limited to a zone only and is not effective through
out the section. Therefore, these provisions are not much useful in increasing the inherent
tensile strength of concrete itself.

These deficiencies have led researchers to investigate and develop a material which could
perform better in areas where conventional concrete has such limitations. Also, for the

sake of sufficient alarm before failure ductility is required. Fibre reinforced concrete in

which cement based matrix is reinforced with random distributed fibres is such a material
which overcomes the above discussed deficiencies of conventional concrete.

Also, conventional concrete is not a true two phase material. It becomes two phase
material only after cracking when cracked matrix is held by reinforcing bar. This clears

the fact that existence of one phase (concrete or steel) does not improve the basic strength

characteristic of other phase and consequently the overall performance of the traditional

reinforced concrete composite is dictated by the individual performance of concrete or

steel bar. Whereas fibre reinforced concrete is a true two phase material.

Fibres in the cement based matrix acts as crack arrestor which restricts the growth of
flaws in the matrix, preventing these from enlarging under load, into cracks which
eventually cause further failure. Prevention of propagation of cracks

originating from

inherent flaws can result in improvement in structural properties of the matrix such as
high tensile strength, shear strength, toughness, ductility, etc.

Fibre reinforced concrete can be as such defined as a composite material consisting of

mixtures of cement, mortar or concrete and discontinues, discrete, uniformly, dispersed

fibres. Continuous meshes, woven fabrics, and long wires or rods are not considered as
discrete fibres.

Properties of Constituent materials

Two major components of the fibre reinforced cement composites are matrix and the

fibre. The matrix generally consists of Portland cement, aggregates and admixtures, if
any. The fibres can be metallic, mineral, polymeric or organic.
Cement

All types of cement can be conveniently used in fibre reinforced concrete.

Aggregates

The aggregates which are suitable for conventional concrete are suitable for FRC. The
aggregates are generally divided into two categories namely fine and coarse aggregates.

Fine aggregate is needed for both FRC and fibre reinforced mortar. Fibre Reinforced

mortar is primarily used for manufacturing thin sheets such as glass fibre reinforced
cement products and for fibre reinforced boards, relatively small diameter pipes, etc.

Coarse aggregates which are suitable for normal concrete are suitable for FRC. However,
the use of too large coarse aggregate can be detrimental to FRC as large size of coarse
aggregates tends for non-homogenous mixes due to balling of fibres. FRC requires

greater content of fines so that fibres are uniformly mixed. Therefore, ACI committee
restricts maximum size of coarse aggregate as 19mm.
Water and Water Reducing Admixtures

Water is required for hydration of cement and molding of concrete to the desired shape.

A water cement ratio of about 0.28 provides sufficient water for hydration. However, a
water cement ratio of about 0.6 is needed to obtain a plastic workable mixture that can be

transported, placed, properly compacted and finished to the final form. Therefore,
chemical admixtures have been developed to improve the workability at lower water
cement ratios which are called water reducing admixtures.

The inclusion of fibres into concrete normally reduces the workability as the specific

surface in a mix increases. Therefore, water content has to be increased and strength has
to be sacrificed. The use of admixtures makes it possible to maintain the workability of
fibre reinforced matrix without adding more water.
Mineral Admixtures

The most widely used mineral admixtures are fly-ash and silica fumes. Fly ash is used to

improve the workability of fresh concrete, to reduce heat of hydration, to improve

economy, and to improve permeability characteristics. Silica fume is added mainly to

obtain high strength. Use of mineral admixtures, especially silica fumes, became more

widespread after the introduction of water reducing admixtures. In case of fibre

reinforced composites, these admixtures produce a denser matrix, resulting in better

mechanical properties of the composites. For shortcrete applications such as in tunnel

linings the addition of silica fumes was also find to reduce rebound. The addition of silica
fumes also increases the bond between fibres and matrix.
Fibres Used:

Fibres to be used in fibre reinforced composites may be metallic or non-metallic.

Metallic Fibres:

Metallic fibres are made of steel. The tensile strength of fibres ranges from 345MPa to
1380MPa. Minimum suggested by ASTM is 345MPa. The modulus of elasticity is about
200GPa.

The fibres may be rectangular, square, or irregular. The length of the fibre is normally
less than 75mm. The aspect-ratio varies from 30 to 100.

Most of the steel fibres available for use in concrete are obtained by cutting drawn wires

and fibres with different types of crimps, indentations, and shapes to increase mechanical
bond are being produced. Steel fibres with lower tensile strength are also produced from
low carbon flat rolled steel coils. It has been found that steel tensile has little influence on

the first cracking strength, although it may have a significant effect on the ultimate
flexural strength if the composite failure occur by fibre failure rather than by fibre pull
out.

Some of the shapes of steel fibres commonly used are shown above in figure. The fibres
may be categorized as straight deformed crimped hooked and with irregular cross
section. The fibres which are deformed requires larger load to pull out when the
composite is put under loading, therefore, the fibre reinforced composites.

Polymeric Fibres
Synthetic polymeric fibres have been produced as a result of research and development in
the petrochemicals and textile industries. Fibre types that have been tried with cement

matrices include acrylic, aramid, nylon, polyester, polyethylene, and propylene. All these
fibres have high tensile strength; however, except aramid fibres all have low modulus of
elasticity. Primary limitations which comes with aramid fibres is their high cost.
Carbon Fibres

Carbon fibres have high modulus of elasticity and are two to three times stronger than

steel. They are also very light with a specific gravity 1.9. They are also inert to most of
the chemicals.

Carbon fibre composites have shown 20% reduction in strength over a period of one year
when cured continuously under water. At low fibre content, the fracture toughness of
carbon fibre composites is low and not much higher than of the matrix.
Glass fibres

Glass fibres are primarily used for glass fibre reinforced cement sheets. Regular E-glass

fibres were found to deteriorate in concrete. This observation led to the development of
alkali resistant AR-glass fibres.

There are however two main problems in the use of glass fibres in Portland cement

products, namely, the breakage of fibres and the surface degradation of the glass by the

high alkalinity of the hydrated cement paste. Fabrication techniques play an important
part in the strength of glass fibre reinforced elements. The use of high water binder ratio
is essential so that the slurry is workable and the excess water being removed by suction
or pressing technique.

While the spray suction technique produces a two dimensional random array of fibre
reinforcement, conventional mixing with random dispersion of fibres can also be used. In
both the techniques, glass fibre lengths of 10 to 50mm can be used. Both the methods

have been used to produce cladding panels, window frames and other building and bridge
components.

Natural Fibres

The oldest forms of fibre reinforced composites were made with naturally occurring

fibres such as straw and horse hair. Modern technology has made it possible to extract

fibres economically from various plants such as jute and bamboo to be used in cement
composites. A unique aspect of these fibres is the low amount of energy required to

extract these fibres. The primary problem with the use of natural fibres is their tendency
to deteriorate in the alkaline environment of cement. These fibres are also organic in
nature and these can decay with time.
Akwara Fibres

Akwara is a natural fibre derived from a plant stem grown in large quantities in Nigeria.
They are made of a cellular core covered with a smooth sheath. Akwara fibres were

found to be durable in alkaline environment of cement and they are also dimensionally
stable under wetting and drying conditions. The disadvantages are their low elastic
modulus and brittleness.
Bamboo Fibres

Bamboo, which is a member of the grass family grows in tropical and non-tropical

regions upto a height of 15m. They have hollow stalks with intermediate joints. Bamboo
fibres are strong under tension but have relatively low modulus of elasticity.
Coconut Fibres

A mature coconut has an outer fibrous husk. Coconut fibres known as coir can be

extracted simply by soaking the husk in water. These short fibres have been used for
making rope for centuries. Coir has low elastic modulus and is also sensitive to moisture
changes.

Jute Fibres

Jute is grown solely for fibre content mainly in Bangladesh, China, Thailand and India.
Jute plants grow as high as 2.5m with stalk diameter normally less than 25mm. The bark

of these plants contains fibres, which are extracted from the stalk by soaking them in

water for about four weeks thereby loosening the fibres. The fibres are then removed
manually and dried. Jute fibres are relatively strong under tension. These fibres have been
used for making ropes and for weaving into gunny cloth used in bags to transport grains.

Sisal Fibes

A number of investigations in Australia and Sweden have studied the properties of

cement compsites made with sisal fibres. These fibres extracted from the leaves of Agave

sisalana, are primarily made of hemicellulose, lignin and pectin. Sisal fibres are relatively
stronger but are not durable in alkaline environment.
Wood Fibres

Wood fibres constitute the major portion of the natural fibres used in concrete worldwide.
Their use in Portland cement composites is gaining popularity as a replacement for
asbestos fibres. The advantages are their availability, high tensile strength, high modulus
of elasticity, and the well developed technology to extract the fibres.

The primary disadvantages are their vulnerability to decomposition in the alkaline

environment present in concrete and other Portland cement based matrices. However,

recent efforts have identified the methods and processes to minimize the disintegration of
fibres in an alkaline environment.

The process of extracting fibres from wood is called pulping. The process may be
mechanical, chemical or semi-chemical. The properties of the resultant fibres depend

very much on the pulping process. The primary components of wood are cellulose,

hemicellulose and lignin. Lignin has an adverse effect on the strength of the fibres, hence,
the pulping process that removes the most lignin provides the best fibres. Tensile strength

of delignified cellulose fibres have been observed upto 1960MPa whereas cellulose fibres
from which lignin has not been removed have tensile strengths of the order of 1500MPa.
However, lignin free fibres are normally more expensive.
Mixture Proportions, Mixing and Casting Methods

Based on the matrix composition, fibre volume, fraction, types of fibres and the
manufacturing process, the following specialized products can be identified.
FRC with Coarse Aggregate

The composite contain fine and coarse aggregates and discontinuous fibres. The matrix is
usually proportioned following the procedures used for plain concrete. The volume

fraction of fibre ranges from 0.4% to 2% or 30 to 150Kg/m3) for steel fibres and 0.06% to
0.5% or 0.6 to 4.8Kg/m3) for polymeric fibres. The mix proportions obtained for plain

concrete are slightly modified to obtain workability, easy fibre mixing, and good fibre
distribution.

Fibre Reinforced Cement Mortar

This term applies to a wide variety of manufactured products such as glass fibre
reinforced cement sheets(GFRC) as well as panels and tiles made using other fibres such
as naturally occurring and polymeric fibres. The manufacturing process for this

composite which contains cement and fine aggregates is quite different from the
procedures used for FRC with coarse aggregates. The fibre volume ranges from 1% to
5%.

Fibre Reinforced Cement Products

These are similar to fibre reinforced cement mortar but contain little or no fine

aggregates. The widely known asbestos cement sheets fall into this category. These
products are usually manufactured using the Hatschek process, in which a mat of fibres is

dipped into cement slurry and then dewatered to form the fibre cement sheets. These can

be formed into a variety of products such as corrugated sheets and pipes. Since the use of
asbestos fibres is restricted in most countries, a large number of replacement fibres are

being investigated. These fibres are relatively short and have very large aspect-ratio.
These fibres also retain cement during manufacturing process. Fibres which have been

marketed to replace asbestos include polyethylene, polypropylene, polyvinyl alcohol,

aramid, cellulose, and carbon. The fibre volume ranges from 3% to 6%. However, in case
of asbestos fibres, the fibre content goes as high as 20%.

Recently, cement composites containing a high volume of steel fibres have been

developed. These are categorized as slurry infiltrated fibre concrete (SIFCON). This
composite is cast by infiltrating a bed of fibres with cement or mortar slurry. The fibre
content in such case ranges from4% to 20%.

Mixture Proportions for FRC with Coarse Aggregate

The constituent materials used for FRC are cement, fine aggregates, coarse aggregates,
water, admixtures and fibres. The water-cement ratio is the primary controlling variable

for compressive strength. The other major variables that control strength and workability
are cement content, maximum size of aggregates and the presence of entrained air. In
FRC, the major variables controlling workability are the fibre content and the fibre aspect

ratio. The objective is to obtain a mix that produces the required compressive strength, is
workable, and contains a minimum amount of cement
Special Requirements for FRC with steel Fibres

The slump test is not a reliable test to obtain the workability of SFRC. Since SFRC

should be vibrated in place for proper compaction either the inverted slump cone test or

VB test should be used for measuring workability. Consequently, after the trial

proportions are established, the water or water reducing admixture has to be adjusted to
obtain the required inverted slump cone or VB time.

Special Requirements for FRC with Polymeric Fibres

The volume fraction of polymeric fibres currently used in the field is very low. In most
cases it is limited to 0.1%. This translates to 1Kg/m3. At this level, the change in

workability is minimal. Mixing of at least 10minutes is recommended after the addition

of fibres. Researchers have used up to 2% volume fraction of fibres with conventional

mixing. For volume fraction above 0.2%, special requirements are necessary because the

workability is reduced considerably and the amount of entrapped air increases. The latter

can cause severe problems with respect to consolidation and strength reduction.
Workability problems can be solved by using high range water reducing admixtures.
Concrete Reinforced with Steel Fibres

The primary concern in mixing is the uniform distribution of fibres throughout the

matrix. A collection of long thin steel fibres, usually with aspect-ratio higher than 100,

will interlock to form a mat or a ball during mixing. Once these balls have formed,
separating the fibres is extreme difficult. This phenomenon is called balling of fibres.

Besides the aspect-ratio, balling of fibres is typically a function of fibre volume fraction,
gradation of aggregates used in the mix, fibre geometry and the procedure used for the

addition of fibres into the mixer. Large aspect-ratio and larger maximum size aggregates
reduce the maximum volume fraction of fibres that can be incorporated without balling.

One should avoid feeding clumped fibres into the mixer. The possibility for clumping of
fibres exists whenever (a) fibres drop from one conveyor belt onto another (b) an
overload of fibres reaches the sides of mixing drum (c) they are transferred from high
speed to lower speed on conveyor belt.

The fibres should be mixed as uniformly as possible in the dry mix before adding water.

Mix Design Procedure

1) Corresponding to the required 28 days field design, flexural strength of

steel fibre reinforced concrete, the design strength for the mix is
determined.

2) For fibre of known geometry and for its content water-cement ratio is
selected between 0.45 to 0.60

3) Depending on the maximum size of aggregate, the paste content is

determined. Attempts are made to keep the fines content on higher side so
that better uniform distribution of fibre can be achieved.

4) For the water-cement ratio and aggregate content, the cement and water
content can be determined.

5) The fibre content is calculated by taking the density of fibre 7850kg/m3 or

of concrete 2500kg/m3.

Transporting and Placing

Transporting and placing of FRC with steel fibres can be done with conventional
equipment. Trucks carrying concrete with higher fibre content should be loaded to less
than their full capacity i.e.85%. Typically, fibre concrete is more cohesive than

conventional concrete and more power is needed to rotate the drum. Therefore, the
decreased load will help not only to reduce the total weight but also to maintain proper
rotation of the drum.

A well proportioned FRC mix barely slides down the chute when discharged from mixer.

Slope of the chute should be increased slightly for easy discharge. If the mix is still
stiffer, the concrete may have to be pulled down manually. The addition of high range
water reducing admixture was found to eliminate this problem.
Concrete Reinforced with Polymeric Fibres

The fibres can be simply added to the wet mix directly from box or boxes. It is
recommended that the concrete be mixed for at least 10minutes after the addition of
fibres.

Transporting and Placing

For some fibre types, the slump values may be slightly less but if vibrations are used for
compaction there should be no workability problem. The fibre concrete can be pumped

using conventional equipment used for plain concrete. Excess water should be avoided
because fibres that are lighter than water may tend to float.

Properties of Freshly Mixed FRC Containing Coarse Aggregates

The quality control parameters most often used for fresh concrete are workability and air

content. The other parameters measured include unit weight, temperature and relative
humidity. The workability can be measured using a standard slump cone test, inverted

slump cone test or Vee-Bee time test and also by compaction factor test. For FRC,
especially for stiff mixes, the standard slump cone test does not provide an accurate

indication of workability. Hence, either the inverted slump cone test or Vee-Bee time test
is recommended.

Workability Tests
Slump Cone Test

The slump cone test described in ASTM C143 is the most commonly used workability
test

Inverted Slump Cone Test

This test specifically developed for FRC is described in ASTM C 995. In this test, the
time in seconds needed for concrete to flow through a standard slump cone kept in the

inverted position is determined. This test is not suitable for concrete with more than
100mm slump as the concrete will flow quickly through the cone. For such test, standard
slump test is recommended.

Figure above shows the relationship between standard and inverted slump cone test

results for conventional and fibre concrete. It can be seen that when standard slump is
less than 75mm, FRC flows better under vibration than plain concrete.
Vee-Bee Time Test

This test is described in British Standards BS1881.

Properties of Hardened Fibre Reinforced Concrete
Behaviour under Compression with steel fibres

The increase in strength provided by steel fibres very rarely exceeds 25%. With increased

use of deformed fibres, the fibre quantity is often limited to 60Kg/m3 or less than 0.75%.
At this volume fraction, the strength increase can be considered negligible for all deisgn
purpose. In special cases, where the fibre content is more than 120Kg/m3, an increase in
strength, though not significant in high strength concrete, may be expected.

The other factors to be considered in design are modulus of elasticity, strain at peak load,
and post peak behaviour. The change in modulus of elasticity can be considered

negligible. On the other hand, fibres make a considerable contribution to ductility. Fibre
addition increases the strain at peak load and results in a less steep and more reproducible

descending branch. Overall, FRC can absorb much more energy before failure compared
with its plain concrete counterpart.

The increase in ductility provided by the fibres depends on a number of factors, including
(i) fibre volume fraction (ii) fibre geometry and (iii) matrix composition. An increase in
fibre content results in an increase in energy absorption capacity. However, the relative

magnitude of energy increase in the range 0 to 0.7% fibre volume fraction ranges is much
greater than any further increase in higher fibre contents.

With respect to fibre geometry, the aspect-ratio is important for the performance of

smooth straight fibres. As the aspect ratio increases, ductility increases as long as fibres

can be properly mixed with the concrete. In case of deformed bars, hooked ends provide

good energy absorption; Aspect ratio plays a role even with deformed fibres. However,
the influence is not significant as in FRC with straight fibres.

The matrix composition contributes in at least two ways to strength and energy
absorption. The first is its bond characteristics with the fibre. For example; a matrix

containing silica fumes tends to provide a better bond with the fibres and hence makes
them more effective. Second is that the brittleness of the matrix itself which plays an

important role in the behaviour of FRC. Normal strength concrete tends to be less brittle
than high strength concrete and the addition of fibres makes the composite even more

ductile. Brittleness is even more pronounced for concrete containing fly ash and silca

fumes. Hence a higher fibre content is needed for high strength concrete to produce
ductile failure.

Compressive strength seems to govern the brittleness of both plain and fibre reinforced
concrete. Higher compressive strength always results in brittle mode of failure.

Cement mortars are more brittle than conventional concrete. Fibres are also more
effective in improving the ductility of mortar. Typically, mortars provide a better bond
and hence fibres are better utilized in mortar than concrete.
Behaviour under Compression with Polymeric fibres

As mentioned in earlier, the most common fibre volume fraction used for polymeric

fibres is 0.1%, although in certain cases slightly higher dosages are used. At this lower
fibre volume the fibres do not affect any property of hardened concrete, including the

modulus of elasticity. Even at a fibre volume fraction of 0.5%, the change in modulus of
elasticity is negligible. The improvement in ductility is also negligible at a 0.1% volume
fraction.

Behaviour under Tension with steel fibres

There are two types of tension tests used for concrete: direct tension test and splitting

tension. In the former, specimens such as dog bone shapes are subjected to axial tension.
Such tests are rarely used in practice for concrete containing coarse aggregates. In the
splitting tension test, which is more popular, a cylindrical specimen is subjected to a
splitting tension along its axis. Cubes can also be used for this test.

In most cases, fibre volume fractions of less than 2% do not improve the splitting tensile

strength. The exception is concrete made with silica fumes. High strength concrete

containing silica fumes tends to bond better with fibres. The better bond produces fibre
fracture rather than fibre pull out, resulting in higher splitting tensile strength. An

increase of upto 200% was reported for light weight concrete containing silica fumes.

Fibres were shown to contribute to ductility especially when failure occurs as a result of
fibre pull out rather than fibre fracture.

Behaviour under Tension with Polymeric fibres

At a volume fraction less than 0.2%, the addition of fibres to concrete can be assumed to
produce no effect on splitting tensile strength. At volume fraction of 0.5% or higher there
can be some strength reduction because of higher concentrations of entrapped air.
Behaviour under Flexure with Steel fibres

Behaviour under flexure is the most important aspect for FRC because in most practical

applications, the composite is subjected to some kind of bending load. Moreover, the
addition of fibre improves the flexural toughness of plain concrete. Tests are usually done

using 4 x 4 x 14 beams under third point loading. In all the cases, the increase in flexural
strength is normally higher than increase in either compressive or splitting tensile

strength. Both fibre volume fraction and aspect-ratio play an important role. Longer

fibres tend to provide preferred orientation along the length of specimen, resulting in
higher strength increase. For a given fibre geometry, higher aspect ratio result in greater
strength increase if the composite is compacted properly.

The effect of addition of steel fibres in beam under flexure has been shown in the figure
below. It clarifies that the addition of fibres increases the first crack strength as well as

ultimate strength. However, significant improvement is observed under flexural

toughness which remains the prime motive of addition of fibres into concrete. Factors

that influence flexural toughness include fibre type, fibre geometry, fibre volume
fraction, matrix composition, and specimen size.

Influence of Fibre Volume Fraction

It can be observed from the above figure that energy absorption capacity increases with
the increase in fibre content. The increase in the capacity of post cracking load is
significant with the increase in fibre content. This increase essentially provides the
increase in flexural strength and a stable post cracking behaviour.
Influence of Fibre Length

The influence of fibre length is very significant for straight fibres. It is established fact
that longer fibres with higher aspect-ratio provide better performance in both increase in

strength and energy absorption capacity as long as they can be mixed properly. The fact
has been explained through the figure as under.

Influence of fibre geometry

The types of fibres to be used have a definite effect on the structural properties of steel

fibre reinforced concrete. It had been observed that the concrete with hooked end fibres

had higher tensile strength than the concrete with corrugated and deformed end fibres.

The drop after the first peak is much more pronounced for corrugated and deformed end
fibres. The same observations can be made through toughness indices.

Behaviour under Flexure with Polymeric fibres

The number of studies of FRC containing polymeric fibres is very limited. The variables
investigated include fibre volume fraction, fibre type and matrix composition. It has been

found that the load capacity drops considerably after the first crack. Both a low volume
fraction and lower modulus of elasticity of fibres contribute to this behaviour. Polymeric
fibres are not so effective as steel fibres.
Composite Material Approach

When a plain mortar or plain concrete specimen is subjected to increasing load, cracking
of the tensile zone immediately leads to failure of the specimen. However, it should be
noted that cracking in concrete is not discrete phenomenon. Careful measurements have

revealed that a major crack which results in failure of specimen is preceded by slow
micro crack growth.

For FRC, the proportional limit is defined as that load below which a material is

essentially linearly elastic. Below this limit, the influence of matrix cracking can be
neglected. The load deformation curve is more or less linear upto the proportional limit. It
may be assumed that both the plain concrete and fibres behave elastically upto this load.

In a composite material consisting of a matrix reinforced with uniformly distributed

unidirectional continuous fibres, it is assumed that when the material is stressed the fibres

are firmly bonded so that no slippage occurs at the interface of the fibres and the matrix.
The load acting on a composite section per unit area carried by the fibres is expressed as
C

m Am + fAf

The above equation again be expressed in terms of the volume fractions of the constituent
materials in the following form
C

m Vm + fVf

C, m and f denote the average stresses in the composite section, the matrix and fibres,
respectively. Am and Af are the area fractions of the matrix and fibres, respectively and
Vm and Vf are the volume fractions of the matrix and fibres, respectively.

The above equation is strictly valid for composites with continuous fibres, elastic

behaviour of the composites and no slippage between fibres and the matrix. Since fibres
are finite in length, there may be some micro-cracking before proportional limit because

debonding may occur with fibres. As a result, this equation is only an upper bound
solution for fibre reinforced concrete.

In the case of unidirectional discontinuous fibre, a correction factor n, which is called

length efficiency factor, is introduced to account for the stress distribution at the end
portion of the fibres of finite length. It is given by
n =

1 - Lc

2L

Where, L is the length of the fibres and Lc is the critical length of the fibres.

For a composite reinforced with randomly oriented and uniformly distributed fibres of
short lengths, the strength can be expressed by introducing a constant f called fibre
orientation factor

C
f=

m Vm + n f fVf

3 [ 12 + 8 Sin2 + Sin 4 ]

2568

Where, Sin = h

/2

The above equation can be written separately for compression and tension as follows
CC

mc Vm + n f fcVf

Ct

mt Vm + n f ftVf

Using Hookes law and noting that the matrix strain is equal to the strain of the
composite, the above equations can be written

ECC

Emc Vm + n f EfcVf

ECt

Emt Vm + n f EftVf

Ecc and Ect are the modulus of elasticity of the composite in compression and tension, and
Emc and Emt are the modulus of elasticity of the matrix in compression and tension.
Applications of Steel Fibre Reinforced Concrete

The applications of fibre reinforced concrete depend upon the techniques and design

approach that may be useful to exploit the improved properties of the composite in the
best manner within the feasibility limits. Its applications can be broadly classified in two
heads i.e. Cast in situ structures and precast products.
Steel Fibres

(a) Airport Pavements

(b) Highway Pavements

(c) Bridge Deck Overlays

(d) Industrial Pavements

(e) Earthquake resistant buildings

(f) Explosive resistant structures

Polymeric Fibres

(a) Pile shells

(b) Cladding Panels

(c) Floating Units

FLY ASH CONCRETE

Fly ash is a by product of the combustion of pulverized coal in thermal power plants. The
dust-collection system removes the fly ash as a fine particulate residue, from the
combustion gases before they are discharged into the atmosphere.

Fly ash particles are typically spherical, ranging in diameter from <1m up to 150m.

The type of dust collection equipment used largely determines the range of particle size

in any given fly ash. The fly ash from boilers at some older plants using mechanical
collectors alone is coarser than from plants using electronic precipitators.

The types and relative amounts of incombustible matter in the coal used determine the

chemical composition of fly ash. More than 85% of most fly ashes comprise chemical
compounds and glasses formed from the elements silicon, aluminum, iron, calcium, and

magnesium. Generally, fly ash from the combustion of sub bituminous coals contains
more calcium and less iron than fly ash from bituminous coal. Unburned coal collects

with the fly ash as carbon particles, the amount of which is determined by such factors as

the rate of combustion, the air/fuel, and the degree of pulverization of the coal. In
general, fly ash from sub bituminous coals contains very little unburned carbon.

Fly ashes exhibit pozzolanic activity. The ASTM defines a pozzolana as a siliceous and

aluminous material which in itself possesses little or no cementitious value but which
will in finely divided form and in presence of moisture, chemically react with calcium

hydroxide at ordinary temperature to form compounds possessing cementitious

properties. Fly ashes contain metastable aluminous

silicates that will react with

calcium ions, in presence of moisture to form calcium silicate hydrates.

Romans started the use of fly ashes as cementing material around 2000 years ago.
However, the use of this material started after the report of Davis in 1937.

The properties of both freshly mixed and hardened concrete are intimately and complexly

associated with the characteristics and relative proportions of the materials used in
manufacture. In fresh concrete, the coarse and fine aggregates are suspended in cement
paste. The consistency of the mass is controlled by the fluidity of the paste and the

quality and grading of the aggregate. In hardened concrete, such properties as strength are

the functions of the density of the paste, which is controlled by the water-cement ratio in
the original mixture. Therefore, there are practical limits to the relative proportions of

cement, water and aggregate in normal concretes. The durability in service of a cement
concrete structure or its resistance to weathering and attack by aggressive environment is
a function of both strength and water tightness.

The inclusion of fly ash in concrete affects all aspects of concrete. As a part of the
composite concrete mass, fly ash acts both as a fine aggregate and as a cementitious
component. It influences the rheological properties of the fresh concrete and strength,

finish, porosity and durability of the hardened mass as well as the cost and energy
consumed in manufacturing the final product. Research in the recent past has established
that fly ashes differ in significant and definable ways, reflecting their combustion and to

some extent their origin. The fly ash as such has been classified into two categories by
ASTM and Canadian Standards Association

Class C, normally produced from lignite or sub bituminous coals and

Class F, normally produced from Bituminous coals.

The Class C ashes differ from the Class F materials principally in having a self hardening

capacity in the absence of cement. The most notable chemical difference is that Class C
ashes contain higher levels of calcium, which has led to the use of an alternative and in
some ways preferable, terminology : high calcium and low calcium ash for Class C and
Class F, respectively.

Indian standard IS: 3812 (2003) Part 1 classify fly ashes into two categories. Low

Calcium Fly ash <10% CaO and High calcium fly ash i.e.> 10% CaO . The fly ash can be
classified so depending upon its chemical composition which appears in the table below.

The requirements as per IS:3812 (2003) are as under

Physical Properties

Fly ash is a fine grained material consisting mostly of spherical, glassy particles. Some
ashes also contain irregular or angular particles. The size of particles varies depending on

the source; some ashes may be finer or coarser than Portland cement particles. Scanning
electronic microscopic study shows that some particles may be solid; some may be
hollow spheres containing many smaller particles.
Fineness

Dry and wet sieving methods are commonly used in the measurement of fineness of fly
ashes. The wet retained on 45m sieve can be determined. The requirements differ with
countries and are as under
Germany
Australia
USA

50

50
34

Caada

34

Japan

25

UK

12.5

Spain

14

It has been found that high calcium fly ashes are finer than low calcium fly ashes.

Specific surface area

Following methods can be used for determining specific surface area of fly ash
Blaine specific surface area technique
Particle size analysis

Brunauer Emmett Teller Nitrogen Adsorption Technique

Fly ash collected in electrostatic precipitators have shown surface area of 400-700m2/kg.

The specific surface area of mechanically collected ashes is less than the specific area of
fly ash which is collected through electrostatic precipitators.
Specific Gravity

The specific gravity of fly ashes varies largely and in between 1.90 to 2.96.
Chemical Composition

The chemical composition of fly ashes depends on the characteristics and composition of

the coal burned in power stations. Main chemical components of fly ashes are SiO2,
Al2O3, Fe2O3, and CaO. Minor elements are MgO, Na2O, K2O, SO3, MnO and C.

The chemical analysis of various fly ashes has indicated a wide range of compositions,
reflecting wide variations in the coal used in power plants over the world.

Losses on Ignition at 10000C and moisture content at 1050C must be determined. Loss on

ignition, the weight loss of fly ashes burned at <10000C, is related to the presence of
carbonates, combined water in residual clay minerals, and combustion of free carbon.
Carbon is most important component of LOI. The water required for workability of

mortars and concretes depends on the carbon content of fly ashes: the more is the carbon
content of a fly ash, the more water is needed to produce a paste of normal consistency.

A comparison of low calcium and high calcium fly ashes shows that high calcium fly
ashes usually contain a smaller amount of unburned carbon (<1%). In the case of low
calcium fly ashes, complete removal of carbon is rare. Indeed, the presence of 2-10%
carbon is quite common in industrial products. Some of this carbon may be encapsulated

in glass, but a major portion appears to occur as cellular particles that have a very large

specific surface and are therefore able to absorb significant quantities not only of water

but of chemical admixtures in concrete such as air entraining admixtures, water reducing
admixtures and retarders.

In general both the type and source of fly ash influence its mineralogical composition.

Owing to the rapid cooling of burned coal in the power plant, fly ashes consist of
noncrystalline particles <90% or glass and a small amount of crystalline particles.

The reactivity of fly ashes is related to noncrystalline phase or glass. The reasons for the
high reactivity of high calcium fly ashes may partially lie in the chemical composition of
the glass, which is different from that of the glass in low calcium ashes. The composition
of glass in low calcium fly ash is different from that of high calcium fly ashes.
Hydration Reactions and Pozzolanic Activity of Fly Ash

The setting and hardening of Portland cement occur as a result of the reaction between

the compounds of cement and water. The major compounds of cement that react with
water to produce reaction products are tri-calcium silicate and di-calcium silicate, tricalcium aluminate and tetra-aluminoferrite. The hydrations products from the two
calcium silicates are similar and differ only in the amount of calcium hydroxide formed.

2C3S

+ 6H C3S2H3 + 3CH

2C2S

+ 4H C3S2H3 + CH

The reaction of C3A with water is very fast and involves reactions with sulphate ions

supplied by the dissolution of gypsum. The reactions can be represented by the

followings

C3 A
C3 A

+ 3CSH2 + 26H C3A (CS)3H32

+ CSH2 + 10H C3A CSH12

In the absence of sulphate salts the reactions are as under

C3A
C 3A

+ 6H C3AH6

+ CH + 18H C4AH19

Pozzolanic Activity

`Fly ashes exhibit pozzolanic activity. Pozzolanic activity is closely related to the

reaction between reactive silica of the pozzolana and calcium hydroxide producing
calcium silicate hydrate.

The alumina in the pozzolana may also react in the pozzolana calcium hydroxide system
or in the pozzolana cement system. The reaction product may include calcium aluminate

hydrate, ettringite, and calcium mono sulphate aluminate hydrate. The sum of reactive
silica and alumina in a pozzolana is the main indication of its pozzolanic activity.
Fly ash Hydration Process

High calcium fly ash, which is mainly composed of glass phase and some crystalline

phase has self hardening properties. Ettringite, monosulphoaluminate hydrate and C-S-H

cause hardening of the fly ash when mixed with water. It has been reported that the
hydration behaviour of C3A and C2S in fly ash is the same as that in cement but the rate
of formation of C-S-H from glass phase is comparatively low.

Low calcium fly ash which has very little or no self cementing properties hydrates when

alkalis and Ca(OH)2 are added. The hydration products such as C-S-H, C2ASH8 and
C4AH13 are formed. As more Ca(OH)2 is supplied more of it is fixed by silica and

alumina in fly ash. The degree of hydration of fly ash is increased in the presence of

gypsum because the surface the surface is activated by the destruction of the structure of
the glass and crystalline phases caused by the dissociation of Al2O3 reacting with SO4-.
The effect of fly ash on the hydration of cement compounds

In C3S-pozzolana system, calcium ions dissolved from C3S run about freely in liquid and
are adsorbed on the surfaces of pozzolana particles. C-S-H formed by the hydration of
C3S precipitates as the hydrates of high Ca/Si on the surface of C3S grains as the porous

hydrates of low Ca/Si ratio on the surfaces of pozzolana particles. Attack of the
pozzolana surface in water brings about gradual dissolution of Na+ and K+, resulting in Si

and Al rich amorphous layer on the surfaces. Dissolved Na+ and K+ increase the OH-

concentration and accelerate the dissolution of SiO44- and AlO2- which combine with Ca2+

to increase the thickness of the layer. Due to osmotic pressure, the layer swells gradually
and the void between layer and pozzolana particles is formed. When the pressure in the
void ruptures the film SiO44- and AlO2- diffuse into the Ca2+ rich solution. Additional CS-H and Ca-Al hydrate precipitate on the surface of outer hydrates of CsS particles and to
a slight extent on the ruptured film. Vacant space remains inside the film as the hydrates
do not precipitate there because of high concentration of alkalies. For pozzolana with

low alkalies destruction of amorphous Si, Al rich film enables Ca2+ to move into the
inside of the film and precipitate calcium silicate and calcium aluminium hydrates on the

surface of pozzolana grain. Therefore, no space is observed between pozzolana grains

and hydrates.

The presence of pozzolana accelerates the hydration of C3A by adsorbing Ca2+ from the
liquid phase and by providing precipitation sites for ettringite and other hydrates. The

C3A-pozzolana reaction system is similar to the C3S-pozzolana reaction. Ettringite,

monosulphoaluminate hydrate, calcium aluminium hydrate, and calcium silicate hydrate
are formed on the surface fil out side the pozzolana particles or on the surface hydrate
layer of the C3A particles, depending on the concentration of Ca2+ and SO42- in solution.

It has been further observed that the hydration of C3S is retarded in the initial stage of
hydration and accelerated in the later stages.

Factors affecting pozzolanic Reactivity of Fly Ashes

The reactivity of fly ash and other pozzolanas with lime or cement is affected by inherent

characteristics of the fly ash or pozzolana : chemical and mineralogical composition,

fineness, amount of glass phase, etc and external factors such as thermal treatment and
presence of admixtures.

The sum of silica + alumina + iron of fly ash has been stipulated as a major requirement.

The silica + alumina content of fly ashes shows good correlation with long term
pozzolanic activity, although silica and alumina in an amorphous form only contribute to

the pozzolanic activity, whereas mullite and quartz, which form by partial crystallization

of the gallsy phases in the fly ash are non reactive. Also, in most fly ashes, , most of the

iron oxide is present as non-reactive hematite and magnetite. A small amount of iron,

which is present in glass, is reported to have a deleterious effect on the pozzolanic

activity of fly ashes. Therefore, it has to be separated from silica and alumina when
chemical requirements and pozzolanic activity of fly ashes are considered. For the above

mentioned reasons, a poor correlation has been reported between the compressive
strength ratios and the sum of silica + Alumina + iron oxides. It has further been reported

that carbon content did not significantly influence pozzolanic activity index in terms of
compressive strength ratios.

Fineness of fly ashes is one of the most important physical properties affecting
pozzolanic reactivity. Best correlation between compressive strength and pozzolanic
activity has been found with the specific surface of the fly ash.

Since most of the fly ashes are composed of glass phases, fly ash with glass phase

containing a large acid soluble part may exhibit high pozzolanic reactivity. Another

report confirmed that the reactivity, of fly ashes is highly correlated with the acid soluble
amounts of slica + alumina.

The effect of temperature on the pozzolanic activity of natural and artificial pozzolana

has been reported by many investigators. Increasing temperature accelerates the

hardening of pozzolana containing as it does with Portland cements It was observed that

at 800C, a certain strength was reached in only 4% of the time it took at 200C. At higher
tempearatures, Portland cements show a strength decrease, whereas those containing 35%
fly ash shows a sharp increase that reaches a maximum value at 28 days.
Proportioning Concretes Containing Fly Ash

In most applications, the objective of using fly ash in concrete is to achieve one or more
of the following benefits

Reducing the cement content to reduce costs

Improving workability

Obtaining reduced heat of hydration

Attaining required levels of strength in concrete at ages >90days

Improving durability

The properties of any particular fly ash will greatly affect the properties of the concrete in

which it is used. The mixture proportioning method can minimize the effects that the
inclusion of different fly ashes has on concrete performance.

In practice, fly ash can be introduced into concrete in one of the two ways

A blended cement containing fly ash may be used in place of Portland cement.

Fly ash can be introduced as an additional component at the concrete mixing stage

The use of blended cement is the simpler of the two, since it is free from the
complications of batching additional materials and may ensure more uniform control. The

relative proportions of fly ash and cement are predetermined and this limits the range of
mixture proportions.

The addition of fly ash at the concrete mixing stage is flexible and allows for more

complete exploitation of the qualities of fly ash as a component of concrete. It does,

however, demand that the unique properties of fly ash be considered in determining the
proportions of the mixture.

Fly ash plays more than one role in concrete. In the freshly mixed concrete, it generally
acts as fine aggregate and to some degree may reduce the demand for water. In the
hardened state, because of its pozzolanic reaction, it becomes a component of the

cementitious matrix and influences strength and durability. Thus, the use of fly ash in a
concrete introduces a number of complexities regarding proportioning, if the accepted

relationships between workability, strength, and water-cement ratio are taken into

account. Two common assumptions are made in selecting an approach to mixture

proportioning of fly ash concrete

Fly ash usually reduces the strength of concrete at an early ages

For equal workability, concrete incorporating fly ash usually requires less water
than concrete containing only Portland cement

Neither of the assumption is universally true, and both are influenced by the presence of

other common concrete components. However, both assumptions have strongly

influenced the approach to mixture proportioning of fly ash concrete. As a consequence
of these effects, three basic mixture proportioning approaches have been developed

Partial replacement of cement-the simple replacement method

Partial replacement of cement, fine aggregate, and water

Addition of fly ash as the fine aggregate the addition method

(a) the modified replacement method

(b) The rational proportioning approach

Simple Replacement Method

The simple replacement method requires a direct replacement of a portion of the Portland
cement by fly ash. Research has shown that any percentage of Portland cement by fly ash

results in lower compressive and flexural strengths for the first 3months of moist curing

and the development of higher strengths after 6motnhs. In mass concrete applications,
where fly ash was first used, this reduced early strength was of little structural
consequence when considered in the light of desired reduction in temperature rise. So the
simple replacement method has commonly been used in mass concrete applications.
Addition Method

In the addition method, fly ash is added to the concrete without a corresponding reduction

in the quantity of cement. This increases the effective cementitious material content of
the concrete, especially after longer long periods of the moist curing.

The modified replacement method and rational proportioning approach both require
replacement of a part of the cement by an excess of fly ash, with adjustments made in

fine aggregate and water content. The original form of this practice has been termed the
modified replacement method; in recent practice, developments have led to the rational
proportioning approach.

Modified Replacement Method

The modified replacement method showed that by modification of mixture proportions,

fly ash concretes could be made with strengths at early ages comparable to those of
control mixtures. The following is the main point

In order to obtain approximately equal compressive strengths at early ages, between 3

and 28 days mixes made with fly ash must have a total weight of Portland and fly ash

greater than the weight of the cement used in the comparable strength Portland cement
mixes.

Rational Proportioning Approach

Smith was probably the first to propose a rational method of proportioning fly ash

concrete. He modified the conventional mixture proportioning procedure to obtain values

for cement content and water cement ratio by introducing a fly ash cementing efficiency
factor (k). This factor was assumed to be unique for each fly ash and could be determined
from the performance of fly ash concrete mixtures or from an initial testing programme.

Effects of Fly Ash on the Properties of Fresh Concrete

Influence of fly ash on the setting time of Portland cement concrete

The rate at which concrete sets during the first hours after mixing is expressed as initial

and final setting time. Fly ash may be expected to influence the rate of hardening of
cement for number of reasons:

The ash itself may be cementitious (High Calcium)

Fly ash may contain sulphates that react with cement in the same way as the
gypsum added to Portland cement does

The fly ash cement mortar may contain less water as a consequence of the
presence of fly ash, and this will influence the rate of stiffening

The ash may absorb surface active agents added to modify the rheology of
concrete and again this influences the rate of stiffening.

There seems to be general agreement in the literature that low calcium fly ashes retard the
setting of cement.

It has been shown by Naik and Ramme that the initial setting time increased by about an
1h for each 10% increase in fly ash for concrete with a nominal 28 days compressive

strength of 21 MPa. The final setting time for this concrete increased by 90minutes for
each 10% increase in fly ash. They also concluded that the high lime fly ash from 35%

cement replacement to 55% did not have any significant impact on the initial and final
setting times.

Effect of Fly ash on Workability, Water Requirements and Bleeding of Fresh

Concrete

The small size and the essentially spherical form of low calcium fly ash particles

influence the rheological properties of cement paste, causing a reduction in the water
required or an increase in workability compared with that of an equivalent paste with out

fly ash. Davis et al noted that fly ash differs from other pozzolanas which usually
increase the water requirements of concrete mixtures. The improved workability allows a

reduction in the amount of water required in concrete. Owens has shown that substitution
of 50% by mass of the cement with fine particles fly ash can reduce the water
requirements by 25%.

The results has also confirmed that the fly ash themselves were effective in reducing

water content but differed considerably in their effectiveness as water reducing

admixtures. However, contrary results are also available from older thermal power plants

which rather show that water requirement increased with the addition of fly ash. This has
been the case when the fly ash was coarser in nature.

Concrete using fly ash generally shows reduced segregation and bleeding and is more
satisfactory when placed by pumping. In line with the improved rheological properties
and as a result of the fine particulate content, some fly ashes give a markedly improved

finish when used as a replacement for either sand or cement. Effects such as these make

fly ash particularly valuable in lean mixtures and in concretes made with aggregates
deficient of fines.

Effect of fly ash on temperature rise of fresh concrete

The hydration or setting of Portland cement paste is accompanied by an evolution of heat

that causes a temperature rise in concrete. Replacement of cement by fly ash results in a
reduction in the temperature rise in fresh concrete. This is of particular importance in

mass concrete, where cooling following a large temperature rise can lead to cracking. It

has been estimated that the contribution of fly ash to early age heat generation is 15-30%
of equivalent mass of Portland cement. The results have further shown that the larger the
quantity of cement replaced by fly ash or slag, the slower is the rate of temperature rise
and the lower is the maximum temperature reached at any point in the concrete mass.

Although it seems reasonable to assume that all low calcium fly ashes will reduce the rate
of temperature rise when used as cement replacement, high calcium fly ashes do not

necessarily cause reduced heat evolution. In general, the rate of heat evolution parallels
the rate of strength development. Some high calcium ashes react very rapidly with water,
thus generating excessive heat.

Effect of Fly ash on Air Entrainment in Fresh Concrete

Cycles of freezing and thawing are extremely destructive to water saturated concrete that
are not properly proportioned. Concrete will be frost resistant if it is made with sound ,
coarse aggregate and is properly protected until some maturity is attained.

To obtain the desired number of correctly spaced air voids in hardened concrete
necessary for frost resistance, an AEA is added to the concrete during mixing. Two

attributes are important: the AEA must produce the required volume of air bubbles of the

desired size and spacing in the concrete: it must do so in a manner that allows the air
content to remain as stable dispersion while the concrete is mixed, transported and
placed.

However, the results have shown that the primary effect of fly ash was on AEA
requirement rather than on air entrainment as such.

Gebler and Klieger offered the following summary of the findings and conclusions
relevant to air entrainment in fresh concrete

Generally, concrete containing Class C fly ash require less air entraining
admixture than those concrete with Class F fly ash. All concretes with fly ash

required more air entraining admixture than the Portland cement concretes

without fly ash.

Plastic concretes containing Class C fly ash tended to lose less air than concretes
with Class F fly ash

As the air entraining admixtures requirements increases for a concrete containing

fly ash, the air loss increases.

Air contents in plastic concrete containing Class F fly ash were reduced as much

as 59%, 90minutes after completion of mixing.

As the organic matter content, carbon content and loss on ignition of fly ash

increase, the air entraining admixture requirement increases as does the loss of air
in plastic concrete.

Generally, as the total alkalis in fly ash increases, the air entraining admixture
requirement decreases.

As the specific gravity of a fly ash increases, the retention of air in concrete

increases. Concrete containing a fly ash that has a high lime content and less
organic matter tends to be less vulnerable to loss of air.

Generally, as the SO3 content of fly ash increases, the retained air in concrete
increases.

Fly ash is not only the cause of increased AEA requirement in fresh concrete. Other

mineral by products behave in a similar manner and some Portland cements also
require excessive additions of AEA.

Control

Air Content

Fly ash

Silica fumes

Slag

Dosage, % of the binder

Effect of Fly Ash on the Structural Properties of Hardened Concrete

Fly ash affects most of the properties of hardened concrete in one way or another. This
part is concerned with the ways that the use of fly ash influences the following properties

Strength Development

Creep Shrinkage and Thermal expansion

Elasticity

The strength development of concrete in presence of fly ash is further dependent on many
factors

The properties of fly ash

Particle size

Chemical Composition
Pozzolanic Reactivity

Temperature and other curing conditions

Effect of Fly ash Type on Concrete Strength

The first difference among fly ashes that should be recognized is that some are

cementitious even in absence of Portland cement. Frequently, these are high calcium fly
ashes usually produced at power plants burning sub-bituminous or lignitic coals.

In general, the rate of strength development in concretes tends to be only marginally

effected by high calcium fly ashes. A number of authors have noted that concrete
incorporating high fly ashes can be made on an equal weight basis without any significant
effect on strength at early ages.

However, in case of low calcium fly ash (Class F), exceptionally low development of
strength has been observed. This has led to the view that fly ash reduces strength at all

ages. It has been found that Class F fly ash concretes required more initial moist curing
for long term than did the concretes containing class C fly ash. In some cases it has
further been observed that compressive and flexural strengths of fly ash concretes were

slightly lower at early ages than those of control concretes but exceeded those of

concretes without fly ash at later ages. The creep of fly ash concretes was reduced for

similar applied stress/strength and shrinkage was similar or reduced under similar curing
conditions when compared with control concretes.
Particle Size and Strength of Fly ash Concretes

It has been found that at 10 and 20% replacements, the finer fly ashes imparted greater
strength. The coarse fraction appears not to have contributed significantly to strength.

Effect of Temperature and Curing Regime on the Strength Development in Fly Ash
Concretes

When concrete made with Portland cement is cured at temperature of >300C, there is an
increase in strength at early ages but a marked decrease in strength in the mature
concrete.

Concretes containing fly ashes and control concretes behave significantly differently as
shown in figure.

1.1

Fly ash Concrete

1.0
28 days

Compressive
Strength

Control Concrete

0.7
0.6
10

20

30

40

50

Temperature

60

Whereas ordinary Portland cement losses concrete strength as a consequence of heating,

fly ash concretes show strength gains. This is of great value in the construction of mass
concrete or in concrete construction at elevated temperature.

The following conclusions can be derived from the research data available so far:

The rate of reaction of fly-ash- cement systems is clearly increased by

temperature as is the case for Portland cement. Yet the products of hydration do
not exhibit the poor mechanical properties associated with curing Portland cement

at elevated temperatures. This suggests that the products of fly ash-cement

hydration, their relative proportions and their morphology are significantly

different from those formed from thermally accelerated hydration of Portland

cement alone.

The rate of hydration of fly ash in cement systems is so significantly increased by

temperature that the effects of particle size on pozzolanic behaviour are largely
overcome. This suggests that some pozzolanic activity tests that use thermal

acceleration may give misleading results.

The pozzolanic reaction, once initiated by heat appears to continue when the

source of external heat is removed even with coarse fly ash. This indicates the
possibility of an activation effect similar to that observed for slags which has not
previously been associated with pozzolanic activity.

The sensitivity of fly ash to elevated temperature implies that it will also be sensitive to

reduced temperature, with a consequent reduction in the rate of strength development.

This has been observed in practice and it is generally noted that fly ash concretes require
more attention to curing in cold weather.

Curing regime is more important to the compressive strength development of fly ash

concrete, compared with plain concrete. Gopalan and Haque found that the 91 days air

cured specimens had less strength than that of 7 days fog cured specimen. On air curing,

the percentage loss of strength increased both with an increase in fly ash content and
curing period.

Effect of Fly Ash on Elastic Properties of Concrete

It has been reported that for same strength, the modulus of elasticity of fly ash concretes
is generally equivalent to that of reference concrete.

Effect of Fly Ash on Creep Properties of Concrete

The following results have been reported

Replacement of 15% of cement by fly ash was found to be optimum for strength,

Creep Vs time curves for plain and fly ash concretes were similar with creep

elasticity, shrinkage and creep for the fly ash concretes

linearly related to the logarithm of time.

Increase in creep with 15% fly ash content was negligible. However, slightly
higher creep took place at fly ash contents >15%.

The creep coefficients were similar for concretes in the range of 0-25% of fly ash
replacements.

Effect of Fly Ash on Volume Changes of Concrete

The effect of fly ash on drying shrinkage has not been reported to vary significantly.

There are however data which indicate a reduced drying shrinkage with the addition
of fly ash.

Effect of Fly Ash on the Durability of Concrete

Effect of Fly ash on Permeability of Concrete

The movement of aggressive solutions into a concrete mass or the removal from
concrete of dissolved reaction products must play a primary role in determining the

rate of deterioration caused by chemical attack. Permeability of a concrete mass is

therefore fundamental in determining the rate of mass transport relevant to destructive

chemical action.

The data available on permeability of concrete made with fly ash suggest that the
permeability increases with the percentage increase in replacement with fly ash. The

permeability of fly ash concretes has been found to increase at 28 days. However, the
trend reversed itself after 6 months.

Effect of Fly ash on Carbonation of Concrete

Calcium hydroxide and to a lesser extent calcium silicates and aluminates in hydrated

Portland cement react in moist conditions with CO2 from the atmosphere to form
calcium carbonate. The process termed carbonation occurs in all Portland cement
concretes. The rate at which concrete carbonates is determined by its permeability,

the degree of saturation with water and the mass of calcium hydroxide available for

reaction. Well compacted concrete and properly cured concrete at low water cement
ratio will be sufficiently impermeable to resist the advance of carbonation beyond the
first few millimeters.

If carbonation progresses into a mass of concrete two deleterious consequences may

follow: shrinkage may occur; and carbonation of concrete immediately adjacent to
steel reinforcement may reduce its resistance to corrosion.

It has been shown that the initial curing period affects the carbonation of concrete

cured indoors; hence, it is necessary for fly ash concrete to have a longer curing
period in water at early ages. It has been further reported that the carbonation
increased with an increase in the replacement ratio of fly ash.

In general it appears that good quality fly ash concrete is comparable to plain concrete
in its resistance to carbonation.

Effects of Fly Ash on the Durability of Concrete Subjected to Repeated Cycles of

Freezing and Thawing

It has been observed that the freezing and thawing resistance of concrete depends
upon the replacement of cement by fly ash. The concrete with 20% fly ash was found

to be more durable than controlled concrete. As the quantity of fly ash in air entrained

concrete was increased more scaling damage was noted after 400cycles. Following
observations have also come forward

The air content has the greatest influence on the freeze thaw resistance of

Addition of fly ash has no major effect on the freeze thaw resistance of

concrete

concrete if the strength and air content are kept constant

The addition of blast furnace slag or fly ash may have a negative effect on the

freeze thaw resistance of concrete when a major part of the cement is

replaced by them.

Effect of Fly Ash on the Durability of Concrete Exposed to Elevated

Temperatures

In general, the incorporation of fly ash appears not to influence the behaviour of

concrete at elevated temperatures. Loss of strength and changes in other structural

properties occur at approximately the same temperatures for both types of concrete.

Effect of Fly Ash on Abrasion and Erosion of Fly Ash Concrete

In general, regardless of the type of test performed, the abrasion resistance of

concrete is usually found to be proportional to its compressive strength. Similarly, at

constant slump, resistance to erosion improves with increased cement content and
strength.

It has been observed that the abrasion resistance of concrete containing <30% fly ash

was similar to that of controlled concrete. However, the abrasion resistance was

lower for concrete with >40% fly ash. The abrasion resistance of concrete containing
Class C fly ash was greater than that of the concrete containing Class F fly ash or no
fly ash.

Effect of Fly Ash on Sulphate Resistance of Concrete

The data available on this aspect is contrary in nature. A few researchers have
reported that the longevity of concrete exposed to sulphate solutions increased with

fly ash. Whereas a few have reported decreased longevity in sulphate solutions with
the inclusion of fly ash.

Effect of Fly Ash on Alkali Silica Reaction of Concrete

There is substantial data which suggest that low calcium fly ashes are effective in

reducing expansion caused by alkali silica reactions when the fly ashes are used at a

replacement level in the range of 25-30%. In case of high calcium fly ash the
replacement level can be higher.

Effect of Fly Ash on Corrosion of rebars in Concrete

The rebars are protected in concrete with the alkaline medium which is present in the
surroundings. Therefore, the concrete cover is used over the reinforcement. With the

inclusion of fly ash, concrete can become less permeable as well as less alkaline.

Therefore, contradictory data are available. However, it has been reported that
concrete containing fly ash were effective in lowering the corrosion rates. However,
at higher water cement ratio, fly ash concrete showed higher corrosion rates than
controlled concrete.

Polymer Concrete

It is well known fact that concrete is porous in nature. This porosity is due to air voids,
water voids or due to the inherent porosity of gel structure itself. On account of the

porosity, the strength of the concrete is naturally reduced. It is conceived by many

researchers that the reduction of porosity will result in increase of strength of concrete.
Therefore, process like vibration, pressure application etc have been applied mainly to

reduce porosity. All these methods have been found helpful to a great extent but none of
these methods could really help to reduce the water voids and the inherent porosity of gel,

which is estimated to be about 28%. The impregnation of monomers and subsequent

polymerization is the latest technique adopted to reduce the inherent porosity of the
concrete, to improve the strength and other properties of concrete.

Polymer concrete is as such a material in which aggregate is bonded by a synthetic resin

instead of hydraulic cement. The binder consists of a resin and a hardener which interacts

and hardens rapidly. Epoxy resins are thermosetting but are not suitable for exposure to
fire. The chief advantages of epoxy concretes are a high strength rapidly developed,
dimension stability, toughness, excellent adhesion, to a wide range of materials, high
resistance to chemical attack by many acids, alkalis and solvents, and to weathering and
abrasion.

The chief disadvantage of polymer concrete is its very high cost so that the material is
unlikely to become of general structural interest except under very severe corrosion

conditions. In practice, the use of polymer concrete is usually governed by durability

considerations and not by strength.

Terminology Used in Polymer Concretes

1. Monomer: Low viscosity, low molecular weight, organic material from which
polymers are made.

2. Polymer: They are high molecular weight materials formed by the

polymerization of the monomers.

3. Catalyst: Chemical agents added to initiate the polymerization

4. Promoters: Chemicals used to accelerate the polymerization

5. Polymerization: Chemical process by which a monomer is converted into a

polymer

(a) Thermal Catalytic Polymerization: Heat is used to bring about conversion of

monomer into polymer

(b) Radiation Polymerization:

utilized for polymerization

Gamma radiation from radio active sources are

6. Latex: A milk like emulsion of polymer in water phase

Polymer concrete is used with the following reasons:
(i)

to improve strength and durability of hardened concrete

(iii)

to modify the flow characteristic of fresh concrete

(ii)

(iv)

to improve chemical resistance and impermeability of hardened concrete

to improve the bond characteristic between old and new concrete for repair
work.

Classification of Polymer Concrete

Concrete based on polymer are divided into five categories

i)

Polymer impregnated concrete

iii)

Polymer cement concrete

ii)

iv)

Polymer concrete

Polymer modified concrete

Polymer concretes are based on synthetic resins or monomers and fillers and

aggregates without using mineral binders and water. The composition of polymer
concretes consists of three fractions of fillers and aggregates: finely dispersed fillers

with particle size of less than 0.16mm; aggregates sand with a grain size upto 5mm
and coarse aggregates upto 40-50mm in size. These mineral filler and aggregates

have significant influence on the properties of polymer concrete. They act as inert
additives reducing the cost of product. Mineral fillers and aggregates also help in

controlling the temperature and shrinkage deformations. They also control the
density, hardeners and other physical and mechanical properties of polymer concrete.

Crushed wastes of polystyrene, polyvinyl chloride, polypropylene and other polymer

articles can be used as aggregates in polymer concretes. Ground glass is a fine

grained inert aggregate that can be effectively used in making of polymer concrete.
Properties of Constituent Materials

Epoxide Resins: Epoxide resin is a transparent liquid of light yellow colour having

low viscosity. Commonly used epoxide resins are ED-16, Ed-20 and ED-22 in the
production of polymer concretes. These resins have high mechanical and dielectric
characteristics, low shrinkage, high adhesion, etc. Polyethylene, polyamine,
hexamethylene diamine etc are used as hardeners for these resins.
Polyester Resins:

These are characterized as polyster maleinates and polymer acrylates. Polymer

maleinates belong to thermosetting polymer class which are produced by

polycondensation, whereas polyster acrylaltes are produced by simultaneous

condensation of unsaturated diabasic acids with glycols, glycerine in the presence of

monobasic unsaturated acid.

Polymer Impregnated Concrete

To produce polymer-impregnated concrete, low viscosity liquid monomers or

polymers are partially or completely impregnated into the pore systems of the

hardened cement concrete and are then polymerized. The partial or surface

impregnation enhances the durability and chemical resistance of concrete. However,

the total or in-depth polymer impregnation of concrete, involves some or all the
following operations:
(i)

Removal of free moisture by drying the concrete by heating to develop

surface temperature of the order of 1050C to 2000C. About 5 to 7 hours

heating is generally required to expel most of the free water present in

the concrete. Cooling of concrete surface is done to safe levels to
(ii)

(iii)

avoid flammability.

Evacuation of the air from the pore system of the concrete. This can be
achieved by subjecting the dry specimen to vacuum in a process
vessel.

The concrete is immersed in the chosen monomer or the monomer is

applied to the surface of concrete. The immersion time depends upon

the viscosity of monomer, preparation of the specimen prior to

immersion, and the characteristic of concrete. To reduce the time

required to achieve a desired depth of monomer penetration, external

(iv)
(v)

pressure using nitrogen gas or air is generally applied.

The impregnated concrete is sealed to avoid loss of monomer.

Polymerization by heating the catalyzed monomer to the required

temperature levels are called thermal catalytic method. The heating

can be done under water or by low pressure stream injection, or by

infra-red heaters or in an air oven.

Depending on the type of polymer 2 to 6hrs are generally required for this operation. The

heating decomposes the catalyst and initiates the polymerization reaction. This is called

thermal catalytic reaction. After monomer has penetrated into concrete, polymerization
can be initiated using ionizing radiation such as gamma rays. After complete
polymerization, polymers becomes solids in nature and thus occupies the volume in
which they have been incorporated.

Casting of
Concrete
Curing
Drying
Cooling
Monomer
Impregnation
Polymerization
Finished Product

Catalyst
Monomer

Polymers can be broadly classified as thermoplastic and thermosetting resins.

Thermoplastics get soften at an elevated temperature of 100 to 1500 C and because of

this advantage of using thermoplastic impregnated concrete is lost at such

temperatures. These monomers have low viscosity and are able to penetrate the
hardened concrete well and fill a large part of pores.

Thermosetting resins are more viscous and are impregnated into concrete with
difficulty. However, they can withstand higher temperatures without softening.
The monomers used are
i)

MMA (Methyl methacrylate)

iii)

Acrylonitrile

ii)

iv)
v)

vi)

Styrene

Ehtyl acrylate

Polyester styrene
Vinyl Chloride

Improvements in compressive and tensile strengths with the introduction of polymer into

concrete depend upon the porosity of concrete and hence potential improvement of a
particular concrete is large if the concrete is weak and highly porous. If the concrete is of
high strength and of low porosity, the improvement is small.

In fact by careful mix design it is possible to produce concrete with workability having
28days strength of the order of 100MPa whereas most polymers impregnated concrete

irrespective of the basic unmodified concrete having cube strengths in the range from
125MPa to 155MPa. These high strengths are stable and does not increase with age but
the strength of the plain concrete continue to rise.
Properties of Polymer Impregnated Concrete

Polymer impregnated concrete normally has cube strength in excess of 100MPa

irrespective of strength of original untreated concrete. The weaker concrete will absorb a

higher proportion of the monomer and hence will have higher material costs. The flexural
strength is usually about 16MPa, which is slightly higher than that for high strength plain

concrete that can be made from normal constituents. The elastic modulii generally lie in
the range 28 to 64kN/mm2 values which are similar to those for high strength plain
concrete. The stress strain behaviour has been shown below in figure.

(MMA)

Compressive Strength
(MMA-BA)
Cement Concrete

Strain

Compressive

Tensile

Strength

Strength

Polymer Loading % by weight

High strength conventional concrete and polymer concrete both tend to be brittle and
cracks once initiated propagate rapidly and frequently through the aggregates.

Polymer impregnated concrete during the manufacturing process often been heated to

1500C and as a consequence of this and of reduced porosity and permeability of the

concretes have low shrinkage and creep characteristics. If the temperature is above
ambient, it is possible that the creep will be greater.

All the polymer impregnated concretes tested have improved resistance to sulphate,
chloride and acid attack compared with the plain concretes from which they are made.
Applications
(i)

Surface Impregnation of Bridge Decks

Bridge decks can be made more durable through the impregnation of polymers as they
become more impervious to the intrusion of moisture, chloride ions, and deicing
chemicals.
(ii)

Prefabricated Structural Members

Polymer impregnated concrete is ideal for precast structural members. It can be suitably
used in the industrialization of building elements. This is possible because of their higher
strength, smaller and lighter sections, which makes handling and errection easier.
(iii)

Hydraulic Structures

Cavitations and erosion in hydraulic structures can be catastrophic. Conventional repair

techniques of the damaged hydraulic structures are expensive and enormous losses are
likely to be there. In these cases, the polymer impregnated treatment may be cost

effective. To do polymer impregnation, concrete is to be removed from the place of

damage and the damage areas are patched, dried and treated by impregnation.
(iv)

Marine Applications

High surface hardeners, very low permeability, very less water absorption and increased

resistance to chemical attack make polymer impregnated concrete an ideal material for

marine applications, as aggressive nature of sea-water, abrasive action of waves and

greater porosity impair the durability of conventional concrete in marine applications.
Polymer Concrete

In polymer concrete, polymer replaces the cement matrix in the cement concrete. The

process of manufacturing polymer concrete is similar to that of cement concrete. To make

polymer concrete, monomers or pre-polymers are added to the graded aggregates, and the
mixture is mixed thoroughly to attain maximum density and minimum void volume. The

polymer concrete material is placed in a mould and then vibrated to take a definite shape.

The specimen so prepared is then polymerized by either of the three methods (i) thermal
catalytic reaction (ii) catalyst promoter reaction (iii) radiation.

The aggregates to be used in polymer concrete should have a low moisture content and

should be graded so as to produce good workability with a minimum amount of monomer

or resin. The aggregates should be dry as the presence of moisture causes a serious
deterioration in the properties of the concrete.

The polyester resins are attractive because of their relatively lower cost compared to

other products. Epoxy resins are higher in cost but may offer advantages such as adhesion
to wet surfaces.

An important reason for the development of this material is the advantage it offers over
conventional concrete where the alkaline Portland cement on curing forms internal voids.
Water can be entrapped in these voids which on freezing can readily crack the concrete.
Also, the alkaline Portland cement is easily be attacked

by chemically aggressive

materials which results in rapid deterioration whereas polymers can be made compact
with minimum voids and are hydrophobic and resistant to chemical attack.

The properties of PC are largely dependent on the amount and properties of polymers in

the concrete; for example, PC made with MMA is brittle material that shows a nearly
linear stress strain relationship with high ultimate strength but the addition of butyl
acrylate produces a more ductile material.

(a)

(b)
(c)

Stress

Strain

Applications of Polymer Concrete

Polymer cement concretes are several times more expensive than plain concretes so they
can be used only for special applications. The principal advantages shown by these
concretes are

(a) Good bond with old concrete

(b) Improved durability and resistance to chemical attack

(c) Improved resistance to abrasion
(d) Greater failure strain

Accordingly, followings are the applications of polymer concrete

(a) For surfacing steel bridge or ship decks

(b) For factory floors, particularly where chemicals or oils are liable to be split
(c) For repair of old or damaged concrete
(d) For flooring in a frozen food factory

(e) For concrete subjected to large doses of de-icing salts.

Polymer Cement Concrete

Polymer cement concrete is made by mixing cement, aggregates, water and monomer.

Such plastic mixture is cast in moulds, cured, dried and polymerized. The monomers
which are used are

(a) Polyester-styrene
(b) Epoxy-styrene
(c) Furnas

(d) Vinylidene Chloride

However, the results obtained by the production of PCC in this way have been

disappointing and have shown relatively modest improvement of strength and durability.
In many cases, materials poorer than ordinary concrete are obtained. This behaviour is

explained by the fact that organic materials (monomers) are incompatible with aqueous
systems and some times interfere with the alkaline cement hydration process.
Polymer Modified Concrete

Concretes with polymers added during mixing to modify the properties of the hardened
concrete are classified as polymer modified concrete. Polymers are added to concrete
mixes either as an aqueous emulsion or in dispersed form in an attempt to improve

The tensile strength and extensibility of concrete

The abrasion resistance

Properties

The impact resistance

Durability and resistance to aggressive fluids

Bond between old and new concretes

One of the earliest polymers used is polyvinyl acetate(PVA) but the range of polymers
that have been tried is now extremely wide and includes PVA copolymers, acrylics,
vinyls, natural rubbers and styrene butadiene rubber. The proportions of polymers

incorporated also vary considerably and range from under 1% to over 30% of the solid
volume of cement.

The addition of these polymers has certain common effects. Concrete mixes become

more workable and so the water content can be reduced. Despite the higher workability,
more air is entrained in polymer cement concretes. PMC usually contain at least 3% more
entrained air than plain concretes of similar workability. Reduction in water content

increases the crushing strength but the extra voids have reverse effect and in consequence
the polymer admixtures generally have only a small effect upon the crushing strength.
However, there is normally a significant increase in the flexural strength of the concrete,
which may be attributed to an improved bond between the aggregate and the matrix.

As the elastic moduli of polymers are generally lower than those of cement pastes and
concretes, the moduli of polymer cement concretes are lower than those of the equivalent
plain cement concretes. The additional entrained air reduces the moduli further.

At least 5% polymer by weight of cement is required to obtain substantial changes in the

properties of the hardened concrete. The addition of polymer usually increases the setting
time of the cement significantly.

The polymer concretes have a greater resistance to abrasion than plain concretes, wear
rates being reduced by as much as 75%. For this reason and because of improved

durability, polymer cement concretes have been used for factory floors, where abrasion
resistance of conventional concretes may be inadequate.
Applications

Polymer cement concretes are several times expensive than plain concretes. Therefore,
they are used only for special applications. The principal advantages shown by these

concretes are (a) a greater failure strain (b) good bond with old concrete (c) improved

resistance to abrasion and (d) improved durability and resistance to chemical attack.

Some typical applications in which these properties have been worthwhile are the
followings

(a) For factory floors, particularly where chemical or oils are liable to be split
(b) For repair of old or damaged concrete

(c) For surfacing steel bridge or ship decks

(d) For flooring in frozen food factories

(e) For concrete subjected to large doses of de-icing salts.

FERROCEMENT
Ferro cement is a kind of composite material where the filler material, usually brittle in

nature called matrix is reinforced with fibres dispersed through out the composite
resulting in better structural performances than that of the individual one. In general,

Ferro cement is considered as a highly versatile form of composite material made of

cement mortar and layers of wire mesh or similar small diameter steel mesh closely
bound together to create a stiff structural form. This material which is a special form of
reinforced concrete exhibits a behaviour so different from conventional reinforced

concrete in performance, strength and potential application that it must be classed as a

separate material. In rational designed Ferro cement structures, the reinforcement consists

of small diameter wire mesh in which the proportion and distribution of the
reinforcement are made uniform by spreading out the wire meshes through out the

thickness of the element. This dispersion of fibres in the brittle matrix offer not only
convenience and practical means of achieving improvements in many of the engineering

properties of the material such as fracture, tensile and flexural strengths, toughness,

fatigue and impact resistances but also provide advantages in terms of fabrication of
products and components. These potential advantages and novelty of the concept have

simulated what is considered a worldwide interest in the use of Ferro cement. Therefore,
Ferro cement can be defined

Ferro cement is a type of thin wall reinforced concrete construction where usually
hydraulic cement is reinforced with layers of continuous and relatively small diameter
mesh.

Mesh may be made of metallic or other suitable material

The basic idea behind this material is that conventional concrete can sustain large

deformations in the neighborhood of the reinforcement and the magnitude of the strains

depends on the distribution and sub division of the reinforcement throughout the mass of
concrete.

The wire meshes are usually 0.5mm to 1.0mm in diameter and spaced at 5mm to 25mm
apart and the volume of the mesh ranges from 1% to 8% of the total volume of the

structural element. The thickness of Ferro cement sections vary from 10 to 40mm. The

cover to the outermost layer to wires is usually 1.5mm to 2mm. The concrete mortar

consists cement, water and finely grained aggregate which rarely exceeds 5mm to 7mm
in size and is often around 2mm in order to permit a more closely spaced mesh.

Ferro cement has closely spaced wire mesh and therefore uniform distribution and high
surface area to volume ratio of its reinforcement results in better crack arrest mechanism
i.e. the propagation of cracks are arrested resulting in high tensile strength of the material.

Within certain loading limits, it behaves as a homogenous elastic material and these
limits are wider than for normal concrete.

Ferro Cement is used in thin walled structures where strength and rigidity are developed

through form or shape. It has distinct advantage of being moldable and of one piece
construction. Other major advantages are its low cost and its non-flammability and high

corrosion characteristics. It has been confidently used in terrestrial and marine uses i.e.

roofing, wall elements, water tanks, silos, fishing vessels, pontoons, and other working
craft specially in developing countries.
Constituent Materials

A ferro cement panel which is usually a thin section consists of layers of wire mesh
impregnated with a very rich mix of cement mortar and cured for specific period of time.

Reinforcing Mesh

One of the essential components of ferro cement is wire mesh. Different types of wire

meshes are available almost every where. These generally consist of thin wire, either
woven, or welded into a mesh, but the main requirement is that it must be easily handled

and if necessary, flexible enough to be bent around sharp corners. The function of the
wire mesh and reinforcing bar in the first instance is to act as a lath providing the form
and to support the mortar in its green state. In the hardened state its function is to absorb
the tensile stresses on the structure which the mortar on its own would not be able to

withstand. The mechanical behaviour of Ferro cement is highly dependent upon the type,
quantity, orientation and strength properties of the mesh and reinforcing rod.
Hexagonal Wire Mesh

This is the most popular and commonly used mesh readily available in most countries. It

is known to be the cheapest and easiest to handle. This mesh is commonly known as
chicken wire mesh and is fabricated from cold drawn wire which is generally woven into

hexagonal patterns. The wire mesh used in Ferro cement is usually 0.5mm to 1.0mm in
diameter and the mesh openings vary from 10mm to 25mm.

Hexagonal Wire Mesh

Welded Wire Mesh

The wires in this type of wire mesh are made of low to medium tensile strength steel and

are much stiffer than hexagonal wire mesh. Some builders prefer this type of mesh as it

can be molded more easily to conform with desired curves of the structures producing

much fairer lines. Unfortunately, welded wire mesh has the possibility of weak spots at
intersections resulting from inadequate welding during the manufacture of the mesh. This
deficiency can impose serious limitations even when higher tensile stress wire is used to

give an improved mesh. Tests have shown that in many cases mesh made from higher
quality wire has a greater tendency to fail than other types of mesh when the intersections
are subjected to loading.

Welded Wire Mesh

Woven Mesh

In this type of mesh, the wires are simply woven into the grid size and have no welding at
the intersections. The mesh wires are not perfectly straight and a certain amount of

waviness exists. However, tests indicate that this mesh performs as well as either welded

or hexagonal netting if not better than these. One of the difficulties encountered is that it

is difficult to hold in position but when stretched it readily conforms to the desired
curves.

Expanded Metal Mesh

There is another type of mesh sometimes used in ferrocement construction known as

expanded metal or metal plasterers lath. It is formed by cutting a thin sheet expanded
metal to produce diamond shape openings. The manufacturing process is less labor

intensive than the method used for hexagonal wire mesh or welded mesh. It is widely
known that weight for weight, expanded metal is not as strong as the woven mesh, but on

a cost to strength ratio, expanded metal has the advantage. Investigations into the
possibility of using expanded metal have shown an alternative to wire mesh as

reinforcement. There appears to be no major disadvantage in the use of expanded metal,

and in fact there are inherent advantages such as good mechanical bond and ease of
placing.

Expanded Metal Mesh

One minor disadvantage of expanded metal is that it tends to split due to scissors action
of diamond mesh. Therefore, there appears to be a limit to the size and weight of
expanded metal which can be used in order to avoid this scissor action.
Watson Mesh

A new type of mesh known as Watson mesh has been developed in New Zealand and

shown in the figure below. The mesh consists of straight high tensile wires and a

transverse crimped wire which holds the high tensile wires together. The high tensile

wires are placed in two planes parallel other and are separated by mild steel wire

transverse to high tensile wire. It is only the tie crimped wire that has its elasticity limit
exceeded and only in the vicinity of the crimp. This means that a vast proportion of the

wire is straight without twists, crimps, pressings, punching and welds. The result is very
strong mesh that is not subject to breakage during handling or stressing in the set mortar.
The mesh enables complete flexibility and freedom of shape.

Watson Mesh
One of the most attractive features of the Watson Mesh is the possibility of significant

labour savings, essentially for three reasons (a) because of its geometric form and higher
tensile wires, the need for frequent tying, joggling, lacing and twitching is reduced as

well as panel beating required in the final fairing process (b) because one layer is

equivalent to multiple layers of other meshes mesh application time is reduced (c)
Placement of skeletal steel rods for smaller structure can often be eliminated because of
high strength of the mesh.
Skeletal Steel

Skeletal steel as the name implies is generally used for making the frame work of the
structure upon which layers of mesh are laid. Both the longitudinal and transverse rods

are evenly distributed and shaped to form. The rods are spaced as widely as possible up
to 12in (30cm) apart where they are not treated as a structural reinforcement and are often
considered to serve as spacer rods to the mesh reinforcements. In some cases skeletal

steel is spaced as near as 3in centre to centre thus acting as a main reinforcement
component with wire mesh in highly stressed structures. In general, mild steel rods are
used for both longitudinal and transverse directions. In some cases high tensile rods and

pre-stressed wires and strands are used. Rod size varies from 4mm to 10mm whereas

6mm is the most common. Ferro cement panels with longitudinal and transverse rods of
this size are about 1in thick.
Cement

The binding material or matrix in Ferro cement is known as mortar. It is normally made
of Portland cement and ordinary silica sand. The properties of mortar are governed by the

type and quality of the constituent materials, the proportions in which they are combined,

their conditions of preparation and environmental factors. There are a great many
variables which can have an effect on the properties of the end product. The general
requirement of Ferro cement composites are that they should have the highest possible
compressive strength, impermeability, hardness, resistance to chemical attack and

perhaps the most important of all, the consistency should remain uniform, compacted,
without voids, behind concentrations of reinforcement and mesh. The strength of mortar

is inversely proportional to its water-cement ratio whereas the workability is directly

proportional to the amount of water used. As various properties of the mortar are in

general related to its compressive strength, it could be seen that the use of excessive
water in the mix, to allow the ease of placing the mortar, adversely affects most of the
essential properties. In this situation, a suitable compromise must therefore be arrived at
in order get a satisfactory end product.

Cements of Portland variety produced today are satisfactory enough to serve the purpose
of Ferro cement construction.
Aggregates

The aggregates to be used for the production of high quality mortar for Ferro cement

structures must be strong, impermeable and capable of producing a sufficiently workable

mix with a minimum water cement ratio to achieve proper penetration into the mesh. The

aggregate normally used is natural sand which can be a mixture of many types of material
such as silica, basalt rock, lime stone or even soft coral. Great caution should be

exercised in the selection of such sands as very soft sands can be seriously affected by
abrasion and chemical reaction. Porous material will allow moisture to penetrate into the
very thin sections affecting durability and structural performance of the mortar.

The grading of the sand particles is important and should, if possible, comply with the
specifications. It has been established that there is no effect on tensile strength of Ferro

cement due to variations in sand grading, volume and types of sand. On the other hand,

compressive strength, which is primarily dependent on the mortar characteristics, is

sensitive to varying types of sand. The sand should not have in excess of fine particles.
Organic debris, clay, silt and fine dust should be washed out.
Water

Admixtures

CONSTRUCTION PROCEDURES

Construction of Ferro cement product requires four major steps

1. Placement of wire mesh in proper position
2. Mortar Mixing

3. Mortar Applications
4. Curing

Reinforcement

For highly stressed structures like boats, barges etc steel rods, along with wire mesh, is
considered as a component of the reinforcement imparting structural strength and
stiffness, whereas in most of the terrestrial structures wire mesh is treated as the main

reinforcement. The reinforcing rods, pipes, and mesh are evenly distributed and shaped to

the desired form. The steel content of Ferro cement varies from 1% to 8% by volume. In

highly reinforced structures, the arrangements of the steel rod and mesh should be in such
manner as to allow adequate penetration of the mortar, thereby resulting in a void free
dense material. The reinforcement network should be securely welded or otherwise

fastened together so that it remains in its original position during the application of the
mortar and vibrations. The rods at the joints are generally tied up with steel wires but in

some cases welded joints are used. Wire mesh is placed on both the inside and outside of

the steel rods. The number of layers varies from two to as high as eight layers depending
on the design. The wire meshes are tied up with steel rods at 15cm to 30cm intervals with
galvanized wires.

It is of utmost importance to allow the mesh to take its own lay as far as possible, even if

this means a very large overlap in some parts. If the overlaps are likely to cause
difficulties in workmanship then surplus mesh may be cut away. However a minimum
overlap of 5cm is necessary.

Mortar Preparations

Mixing of the mortar should be done in such proportions as to give consistently the

required design strength. The proportions of the mix are by weight ratio. The proportions

of cement sand generally vary from 1 part cement with 1.5 to 2 parts sand. The water

cement ratio is to be maintained as low as possible to give the material a consistent

quality and workability. In all constructions, the water cement ratio should be maintained

at nearly 0.40 by weight if possible. In practice, sand and cement are mixed together

properly and then the required amount of water is added to them. The batches are to be
mixed until a uniform mix is formed. The minimum mixing time is three minutes.

Experience shows that for most cases hand mixing is satisfactory if properly carried out.

But for large structure and factory made components, mixer can be used for highest
quality mixing.
Plastering

Plastering is often considered as the most critical phase in the whole Ferro cement
construction technique. Before beginning to plaster a structure, it should be ascertained

that all steel rods and wire meshes are in proper position. The reinforcement used should
be clean and free from millscale, grease or any other contaminants so that proper bond
can be ensured.

Plastering by hand has proved to be the most satisfactory method. Fingers and trowels are
used to apply the mortar in the wire mesh formed structure. The mortar remains in

position after placing due to stiff mix. However, in some cases a plank of wood or iron

sheet can be used as temporary support to the mortar and can be removed immediately
after placing the mortar and vibrating.

Different methods of plastering techniques have been developed specially in the

boatbuilding industry i.e. one stage and two stage techniques.
One Stage Technique

It is recommended practice to force the mortar from outside to the inside of the mesh and

subsequently finishing it off to a smooth surface. However, this technique is very difficult

and requires considerable skill in getting the mortar to penetrate thoroughly the layers of

the wire mesh and steel rods without any voids being left inside. Under no circumstances

should the mortar be applied until that from the other side has fully penetrated. Plastering

from both sides at the same time should never be done as this invariably results in air
becoming trapped between layers causing lamination in the skin of the hull.

When using the one stage technique, perhaps the most desirable way is to place the

mortar from one side with thin sheets of plywood or similar wooden planks on the other
side as a temporary frame work against which the vibrators can work. In most of the

cases, a hand vibrator with a piece of wood with a handle attached to it is enough for
complete penetration of the mortar to the mesh and for assuring good compaction.
Two Stage Technique

As a result of the many difficulties experienced in single stage plastering, practicing

people prefer the two stage plastering technique in most of the cases. In this process the

main advantage is that when other side is plastered, mortar can be forced into the solid
surface with less change of voids. However, vibration is essential when the second layer

of plaster is applied. Failure to do so will result in trapped air and voids between the two
layers. The use of vibrator removes air and ensures thorough compaction. After the first

mortar application in the two stage operation is complete and the surface smoothed over
in usual manner, the structure must be left to wet cure for at least 10 to 14 days. Before

applying the second stage of mortar application, it is essential to clean off the surface and

all loose material removed. Then a cement grout, consisting of water and cement mixed

to a thick consistency can be spread or painted onto the surface prior to the application of

mortar. This technique eliminates the risk of separation between two layers but doubt still
remained regarding the absolute quality of the joint between the two layers.
Finishing

In the course of the normal plastering operation surface finishing job should be
completed before the final set has occurred. The clear cover to reinforcement in Ferro

cement should not be more than 2mm, however, 1.5mm is considered desirable in most
of the cases.

Mechanical Properties

In general, a composite material consists of a matrix and a reinforcement which act

together to form a new material with superior characteristics than either of its constituents
alone. Ferro cement a homogenous composite material which contains a high percentage

of ductile steel wire mesh with a high surface area to volume ratio in a brittle cement

mortar matrix enables the matrix to assume the ductile characteristics of the
reinforcement.

The strength of Ferro cement as in ordinary concrete is commonly considered as the most

valuable property, although in many practical cases other characteristics such as

durability and permeability may in fact be important. Nevertheless, strength always gives
an overall picture of the quality of Ferro cement, as strength is directly related with the
properties of its hardened cement paste and reinforcement.
Elastic Range

The stress strain curve is essentially linear in this stage. Elastic deformation occurs at this
stage in both metal and crystalline grids as well as in colloids. There is no evidence of

any crack formation even when observed with magnifications. The limit of elasticity of
ferro cement is also higher than that of un-reinforced concrete.

Stage II

Compressive
Stress

Stage I

Strain

With a further increase of stress, Ferro cement becomes quasi- elastic. The relatively
small plastic strains of the colloids are restrained by the elastic deformation of the metal
wires. The micro cracks are invisible to the naked eyes and are difficult to observe even

when optical instruments are used. These two stages the linearly elastic and quasielastic constitute the practical elastic working range of Ferro cement.
Cracked Range

Further increase of stress causes very definite plastic deformation of the colloids as well

as the crystalline grids, which in turn is resisted by reinforcements. This is the time of the
formation and widening of the exploitational cracks. The stress strain curve deviates from

linearity and an increasing number of cracks rather than increasing width of cracks are
seen with increasing stress. The cracks are very fine in this stage and have been observed
to be function of the specific surface of the reinforcement.
Ferro Cement under Tension
Behaviour in Elastic Range

In a composite material consisting of a matrix reinforced with fibres uniformly dispersed

through out the composite, it is assumed that the fibres are firmly bonded so that no

slippage occurs at the surface of the fibres. For a composite with continuous fibres in the
direction of the load, the total load or composite load Pt, is shared between the fibre load
Pf and the matrix load Pm

Pt = Pm + Pf

and in terms of stresses

P
Pf

Pt

t Ac = mAm + fAf

Pf
Pm

Factors Affecting the Cracking Behaviour of Ferro cement

Ferro cement specimens exhibit finer and more numerous cracks than conventionally
reinforced concrete. Research studies have shown that crack width in reinforced concrete

structures can be reduced by increasing the bond between the reinforcement and the
concrete, by increasing the distribution of the reinforcement and by reducing the

thickness of the cover. All these factors are favorable for Ferro cement. Crack width is
nearly zero at the interface between the steel and the mortar and increases from interface
towards the surface. Therefore, the smaller the distance between the interface and the

surface of the structure, i.e., the cover, the smaller is the crack width. Specific surface and

volume fraction of the reinforcement are found to play a significant role in the cracking
behviour of Ferro cement and their influences are described below:
Effect of Specific Surface on the First Crack Strength

It has been shown that the first cracking stress increases linearly with increase in specific

surface irrespective of size, type, and spacing of the wire mesh. This means that the total
bond forces between the steel and the mortar play an important role in influencing the
cracking behaviour of Ferro cement. The number of cracks increases with increasing load

after the occurrence of first crack. The optimum value of specific surface considering
stresses at first crack seems to lie in between 1.4cm2/cm3 to 2.0 cm2/cm3.
Effect of Volume Fraction on First Crack Strength

Experimental results have shown that increasing volume of reinforcement increases the

stress at first crack. However, this increase is different for each size of mesh employed. In
addition, it did not always appear that the smaller the dimension of mesh, that is smaller
the spacing between the longitudinal wires, the higher the first crack stress for the same

volume. Similarly, the results showed that the same first crack stress was obtained for

both woven square mesh and welded square mesh. However, it has been shown that ferro
cement specimens reinforced with welded mesh develop visible cracks well before failure

whereas specimens with expanded metal exhibit virtually no visible cracking until just
before failure and cracks if they exist at all were very closely spaced and extremely fine.

Various parameters that influence the theoretical values of the modulus of elasticity of

ferro cement in the cracked range are the modulus of elasticity of the composite in the

cracked range, the stress and strain of the composite in the uncracked range, the stress

and strain of the composite at first crack and the stress and strain of the composite at
yielding. The yield strength of the composite is influenced by the yield strength of the

wire mesh and the volume fraction of the equivalent aligned fibre which in turn is

influenced by the modulus of elasticity of the mortar, fibre and of the composite in the
un-cracked range.

Tensile Strength

Effect of Mesh Type and Orientation

The effect of orientation of the reinforcing layers is most prominent for expanded metal

and is only partially associated with differences in the effective area of steel as shown in

figure. The effect of orientation is also important for welded mesh where the areas of

steel are equal in both the directions. In terms of effective longitudinal area of steel,
expanded metal and welded mesh in their normal orientation offer approximately equal
strength i.e 10-20% more than expected for steel alone.

Toughness and elongation are directly related to each other as toughness can be measured

as the area under load deflection curve. It is established that increasing the percentage of
reinforcement increases the elongation and hence the toughness at ultimate load.

Effect of Skeletal Steel

The use of skeletal steel rods in ferro cement has been shown laboratory tests to be very
ineffective under direct tension, principally for the following reasons:

The surface area bond is not equal to the allowable stress for the rod, so that rods are not

loaded to take advantage of their strength. Because of the spacing of the reinforcing rods,
regions of unreinforced mortar exist in the ferro cement which contribute to material

weight, but not to its strength. Finally, the rods act as holes or stress concentrators, when

stresses are perpendicular to their axes. Small scale mechanical properties tests of ferro
cement have demonstrated remarkable increase in strength to weight ratio by use of mesh

alone. Pama et al and Lee et al concluded that the skeletal steel of Ferro cement has no
contribution on the ultimate tensile strength because of premature bond failure due to its
poor dispersity in the matrix as characterized by its low specific surface.
Effect of Mortar Composition

It has been found that different sand gradation, sand to cement ratio or type of sand has
no significant effect on the tensile strength of reinforcement.
Impact

The impact resistance of Ferro cement is considered to be reasonably higher than than

conventional concrete because of its high energy absorption capacity. Experimental

results show that the properties of mesh reinforcement and skeletal steel have significant

influence on the impact resistance capacity of Ferro cement. It has been found that panels
with higher specific surface of the meshes and higher strength of the mesh gives better
impact resistance.
Creep

The test results indicate that specimen reinforced with mesh and skeletal steel show
higher deflection than the specimens reinforced with mesh alone.

The durability of Ferro cement has been found better than conventional concrete under
aggressive environment.

Applications

Ferro cement has been used in the followings

Marine Applications
1. Boats

2. Docks

3. Floating and submerged oil reservoirs

4. Floating Bridges

Housing

1. For roofing purpose

2. Corrugated roofing sheets

3. Domes

4. Water Tanks
5. Silos