Concrete materials are very brittle when subjected to normal tensile stresses and impact loads. There has always been a need to add reinforcement to concrete to compensate for this lack of ductility. In many cases, the concrete member is kept intact using steel bars or welded wire fabric reinforcement in one or two locations of potentially high stress. If the concrete cracks, the concrete is hinged together at those limited locations.
The introduction of randomly distributed steel fiber reinforcing throughout the concrete mix transforms the hardened concrete material into a more flexible composite system. The tensile stresses of the concrete are not just compensated for in one or two locations. The concrete material is reinforced throughout the entire concrete section, in multiple directions. Steel fiber reinforced concrete is able to withstand much greater stresses, both prior to and after cracking. Homogeneously reinforced concrete has substantially greater fatigue and impact resistance than conventionally reinforced materials greatly reducing the potential for fractures and spalling. If the concrete should crack, steel fiber reinforcement is able to minimize the crack width.Steel fibres, an alternate concrete reinforcing material are high tensile steel wire with Hooked End, Crimped round and Crimped Flat steel fiber together for compactness and uniform desperation in concrete. Steel fiber concrete flooring can provide superior resistance to minimize cracks in hardened concrete, as well as maximum to withstand heavy loads, either dynamic or static. If you decide to use steel fiber concrete flooring .You can select to use a joint- less floo joint less floors are floors that have minimal joints, providing spaces without joint as large as 40 or 50 meter span wide.
Fiber reinforced concrete (FRC) may be defined as a composite materials made with portland cement aggregate and incorporating discrete discontinuous fibers. Now why would we wish to such fibers to concrete? Plain unreinforced concrete is a brittle material, with a low tenside strength and a low strain capacity. The role of randomly distributes discontinuous fibers is to bridge across the cracks that develop provides some post cracking ductilit If the fbers are sufficiently strong, sufficiently bonded to material, and permit the FRC to carry significant stresses over a relatively large strain capacity in the post cracking stage.
Advantages of steel fiber for concrete flooring Increased load bearing capacity of concrete Reduction of concrete slab thickness Load capacity is not diminished by concrete cracks
- Increased durability
- Low maintenance costs
- Improved flexural properties
- Reduced absorption of water, chemicals ,etc
- Faster construction duo to eliminations of rebar reinforcement
- Easier positioning of joints
- Reduced site labor for managing steel reinforcement
- Reduced project costs
- Increased impact and abrasion resistance
- Even distribution of fibers throughout the concret
- Tougher sur face with fewer bleed holes
- Savings will be greater for heavier crack control system