Fibre Concrete Mixes Blending Plain and Reinforced Concrete

Fibrous concrete has a history in pavements. In the 80ties fibrous concrete became popular thanks to pperspectives such as reduced pavement thickness and increased joint distances. Unfortunately, not all promises were kept and the fibrous concrete ‘silently’ disappeared from the pavement construction scene. However, in industrial floor construction material research continued and new concrete mixes consisting of polypropylene and different types of new steel fibers’ were developed. The track record in industrial floors with fibers is a sound one. Over the years, the new fibrous concrete returned to the pavements. Several successful projects were constructed and at the instigation of the developers of these mixes a working group for the investigation of fibrous concrete was formed at the Dutch Technology Platform for Transport, Infrastructure and Public Space (CROW). A team of steel fiber producers, concrete experts and in the field became the task to evaluate the performance of recently constructed pavements. Today the initial literature survey to scan the state-of-the art of fibrous concrete is near completion. A blueprint to monitor several new roads during construction was made, focusing on mix characteristics, mechanical characteristics of the hardening concrete and the possible development of cracks in the early age concrete stage. The study could lead to recommended practices for the application of fibrous concrete in the Netherlands. The recommendations are expected to be published in 2008. The paper elaborates on the fibrous mixes currently in use and presents some results of recently constructed projects.