Ready-mixed concrete is a construction material that is very strong in compression, but relatively weak in tension.
To compensate for this imbalance in behaviour, reinforcing steel mesh is often cast into the concrete to carry the tensile loads.
However, the handling and placing of reinforcing mesh is a time-consuming and costly practice.
Firstly, mesh needs to be delivered to site. Steel mesh is awkward in shape and dimension as well as being heavy, so consideration needs to be given to safe lifting and placing, all to a recognised code of practice.
Once stored, the mesh is manually carried and placed in-situ, where depending on the design there will be elements of ‘spacers’ to ensure correct positioning, as well as ‘fixing’ where mesh / reinforcement bars are tied together. These activities are time-consuming and labour intensive.
Steel mesh can, and is often, badly placed, limiting the effectiveness of the intended reinforcement. Concrete depth may often need to be increased to accommodate sufficient layers of mesh, and joint spacing needs to be considered.
On many occasions it is possible, and hugely cost effective, to remove all or most of the steel mesh from a concrete application, particularly external paved areas, or internal floor slabs.
Macro synthetic fibrescan then be used in a wide range of agricultural reinforced concrete applications to replace this conventional steel mesh reinforcement:
Tracks & Hardstandings
Tracks and hardstanding areas are a proven application area for synthetic macro fibres, saving time and maintaining the required performance through correct design. The use of macro fibres will eliminate significant risk of damage to machine tyres and livestock injury from exposed steel reinforcement.
Silage Clamps
The material stored in silage clamps can produce acidic liquid as it breaks down. This liquid puts any steel reinforcement used in the structure at high risk of corrosion, resulting in a shortened service life. The use of synthetic macro fibres to replace traditional steel mesh will eliminate this problem. In this application, precast wall sections reinforced with synthetic macro fibres are used extensively in Europe.
Grain Stores
A number of grain stores around the UK have successfully used synthetic macro fibres in place of traditional steel reinforcement in the concrete floor slab. Reduced build time and ease of construction are a significant benefit, whilst ensuring the surface finish and durability of the concrete floor is maintained.
Poultry Sheds
Poultry sheds floors are continuously exposed to acidic waste and liquids from the birds, putting traditional steel mesh reinforcement at high risk of corrosion and spalling. By using synthetic macro fibres, this problem is eliminated, and service life is maintained.
Cattle/Milking Sheds
Exposure to acidic animal slurry and milk, poses a high risk of corrosion to traditional steel mesh which can result in the concrete spalling and breaking up over time. The steel mesh can become exposed, causing injury to livestock and also shortening service life. The use of synthetic macro fibre reinforcement to replace conventional steel mesh will eliminate these problems in this aggressive environment.
(source: Adfil Construction Fibres)
BREEDON Fibreforce®contains discrete macro and micro synthetic fibres that are uniformly distributed throughout the concrete to create a 3-dimensional system of reinforcement
BREEDON Fibreforce®is a range of high-performance fibre-reinforced concretes providing an alternative to conventional steel reinforcement:
- No manual handling of mesh, reduced logistics
- Quicker and easier to place than conventional steel mesh systems
- Positive reinforcement location
- Reduced labour, construction times and costs
- Improved joint integrity
- Long term crack control
- Reduced carbon footprint
- Improved impact and abrasion resistance
- Chemically inert, alkali-proof and rust-proof
- Slab thickness may be reduced
- Potential to increase bay sizes
- Reduces storage requirements
- Health and safety benefits
- Reduces wastage
| BREEDON Fibreforce® PAVE | External paved areas / yards / hardstandings |
| BREEDON Fibreforce® FLOOR | Internal areas / industrial / shed floors |
| BREEDON Fibreforce® AGRI-PAVE | External yard areas / hardstandings / exposed to livestock excreta |
| BREEDON Fibreforce® AGRI-FLOOR | Livestock floors / stables etc. / areas exposed to livestock excreta |
| BREEDON Fibreforce® RAPID-PAVE | Very high early strength / external paved areas / yards etc. |
| BREEDON Fibreforce® RAPID-FLOOR | Very high early strength / internal areas / industrial / shed floors |
BREEDON Fibreforce®is part of a wide range of high-performance concretes, designed to meet the specific needs of your construction project. Further details please phone Rural Services Scotland.
Breedon Group plc is a leading construction materials group in the UK and Ireland. It currently operates two cement plants and around 80 quarries, 40 asphalt plants, 170 ready-mixed concrete and mortar plants, nine concrete and clay products plants, four contract surfacing businesses, six import/export terminals and two slate production facilities.
Neil Anderson Performance
Products Manager – Breedon Northern
If you have a construction project planned for 2019, don’t forget to get in touch and let us get some quotes for you for your project and the materials you will require. Call 01738 550 101 or email info@scotlandfarmer.co.uk
