An Overview on the Dispersion of Steel Fiber in Ultra-High-Performance Concrete

ABSTRACT Ultra-high-performance concrete (UHPC) is widely recognized for its high toughness, which is directly affected by the dispersion of steel fiber and its loading mode. To investigate the reinforcement effect of steel fiber, this paper summarizes the influencing factors, evaluation methods, and theoretical models of steel fiber dispersion in UHPC. First, the results reveal that a scientifically designed mixture can reduce the cost of steel fiber dosage in UHPC and improve fiber dispersion by adjusting matrix rheological properties. The optimum plastic viscosity of the slurry should range from 30 to 80 Pa·s for achieving the best fiber dispersion effect. Second, during slurry placement, the orientation of fibers in UHPC can be improved by up to 80 % through flow induction and the wall effect, which increases the bending strength, tensile strength, and toughness of UHPC matrix by 5–67 %, 30–90 %, and 13–200 %, respectively. Moreover, although the dispersion of fiber in two-dimensional space has been extensively studied, further characterization in three-dimensional space is required. Lastly, some theoretical simulation results have been achieved on fiber orientation, but factors such as aggregate or reinforcement must be considered.