Flow characteristics and acceptance criteria of fiber-reinforced self-compacted concrete (FR-SCC)

Self-compacting concrete (SCC) possesses exceptional flowability characteristics in its fresh state. While fibers are specified for their ability to limit concrete shrinkage cracks at early age and to enhance some of the concrete properties, inclusion of such fibers is expected to affect the flowability characteristics of SCC. This study investigates how the inclusion of fibrillated polypropylene fibers with different fiber content and the inclusion of steel fiber types with different aspect ratio and volume content affect the flowability of SCC. The flow characteristics were assessed by considering the slump flow test, V-funnel test and filling box test. It was found that it is quite possible to achieve self-compacting properties while using fiber reinforcement. While the mix composition and fiber type can greatly influence concrete flowability, there exists a maximum fiber content that could be used to produce fiber reinforced self-compacting concrete (FR-SCC). Moreover, our observations were used to develop a new acceptance criterion for FR-SCC.