Influence of reinforcing bar layout on fibre orientation and distribution in slabs cast from fibre-reinforced self-compacting concrete (FRSCC)

Fibre orientation and volume distribution affect the post-cracking tensile strength, which is one of the main design parameters of fibre-reinforced concrete (FRC). This paper discusses the influence of unidirectional and grid reinforcement on fibre orientation and distribution in FRC slabs. Slabs without conventional reinforcing bars were used as a reference. The slab size was 1200 × 1200 × 150 mm. Numerical simulations were used to predict the fibre orientation and X-ray computed tomography (CT) to determine the actual fibre orientation and distribution. Beams were sawn from each slab, CT-scanned and tested in three-point bending tests in accordance with EN 14651. Both the numerical simulations and the CT results show that the rebars caused a more isotropic fibre orientation in the lower halves of the slabs. This was confirmed in the bending tests, where the lowest variation and highest residual tensile strengths were documented for beams sawn from slabs with grid reinforcement. Fibre migration from the upper layer to middle and lower layers of the slabs due to gravity was observed in all slabs, and in the reinforced slabs, migration also depended on the distance from the casting point. The reinforcement led to an accumulation of fibres above the rebars in the middle layer of each reinforced slab. A set of mechanisms is proposed to explain the experimental results.