DC-conductivity testing combined with photometry for measuring fibre orientations in SFRC

The orientation distribution of fibres has an important impact on the properties of short-fibre reinforced composites. This article introduces a methodology for defining fibre orientations in steel fibre reinforced concrete (SFRC). The main method under consideration is the slicing, where two approaches are introduced, i.e. the photometric analysis and DC-conductivity measurements by a special robot. The advantage of presented slicing method is the fact that a combined analysing approach is utilized; DC-conductivity testing is joined together with the image analysis. As a result, significant benefits are achieved, e.g. the ability of measuring the orientation of an individual fibre, the measuring of the in-plane angle in the interval [0°, 360°]. An additional important aspect in the presented slicing method is the possible usage of the structural parts extracted from the full-size floor-slabs as specimens, as it is done here. The authors present the statistics of fibre orientations, which are based on the experimental data received by the application of the mentioned analysing approaches. The presented slicing method with its possible extensions offers possibilities to improve the quality control while producing SFRC products.