Developments and Standardisation of Flowable Concrete Reinforced with Fibres for Structural Design, Update of fib TG 4.3

Abstract

The fib Model Codes aim at integrating in a single document the relevant knowledge for the structural design with concrete. Fibre reinforced concrete is already integrated in fib Model Code 2010 (fib MC2010) as a general category of materials. The group of flowable concrete consists of clusters of different types of concrete among others Self-Compacting Concrete, Ultra High Performance Concrete and Strain-Hardening Cementitious Composites. Being highly flowable is the distinguishing characteristic, flowable concrete might contain or not contain fibres. Although the fibre contribution on the structural level can be assessed on short-term, the structural behaviour also depends on the behaviour of the fibres and the matrix in which they are embedded. fib Task Group 4.3 worked on identifying and characterising different types of flowable concrete and discusses in a fib bulletin the most relevant aspects with regard to mix design, manufacturing, material performance and structural behaviour of flowable concrete which can allow innovative applications to be developed and realised. This paper discusses recent developments with regard to flowable concrete in a broader perspective and addresses the progress with regard to standardisation.