Cracking of Fiber-Reinforced Self-Compacting Concrete due to Restrained Shrinkage

Fiber-reinforced self-compacting concrete (FRSCC) is a new type of concrete mix that can mitigate two opposing weaknesses: poor workability in fiber-reinforced concrete and cracking resistance in plain SCC concrete. This study focused on early-age cracking of FRSCC due to restrained drying shrinkage, one of the most common causes of cracking. In order to investigate the effect of fiber on shrinkage cracking of FRSCC, ring shrinkage tests were performed for polypropylene and steel fiber-reinforced SCC. In addition, finite element analyses for those specimens were carried out considering drying shrinkage based on moisture diffusion, creep, cracking resistance of concrete, and the effect of fiber. The analysis results were verified via a comparison between the measured and calculated crack width. From the test and analysis results, the effectiveness of fiber with respect to reducing cracking was confirmed and some salient features on the shrinkage cracking of FRSCC were obtained.