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John Lee, P.E. & Jim Grothaus, P.E.
March 22, 2024
Cemstone’s RESOLVE fiber-reinforced concrete can be used to reinforce and improve all surfaces from driveways, patios and sidewalks to commercial parking lots and interior slabs.
Known as temperature and shrinkage reinforcing, macro synthetic fibers are used to control contraction joints or saw cuts and random crack widths, should they occur, due to thermal changes. Unlike rebar and welded wire mesh, fibers provide three-dimensional reinforcement so that when a crack forms, ideally in a control joint, there are numerous fibers bridging the joint, thereby minimizing the width and length of the crack. In addition, fibers increase the toughness of the concrete, which aids in limiting deterioration due to impact, abrasion, and fatigue.
Do fibers prevent cracking?
Concrete is designed to crack which is why joints are installed in pavements and interior slabs at regular intervals. Fibers are used to minimize the joint widths, thereby maintaining aggregate interlock which provides load transfer at the joint. Random cracks can happen and their occurrence can be greatly minimized by following guidelines established by the American Concrete Institute (ACI) for concrete slab installation which includes:
The American Concrete Institute (ACI) recognizes the use of macro-synthetic fibers as a suitable replacement for reinforcing bars (rebar) and welded wire mesh (WWM) when used to control drying shrinkage cracking and thermal changes (ACI 544.4R). Fiber reinforced concrete has many benefits, including but not limited to:
To learn more about Cemstone’s RESOLVE and to see if it’s the right solution for your project, contact Cemstone’s Business Development Engineers. We’ll use the latest industry tools to analyze your specific application and offer you recommendations with the goal of creating a successful, cost effective, long lasting concrete pavement or slab.
