Fibre-Reinforced Concrete: What is it and How Does it Help?

Concrete is one of the strongest and most durable of man-made materials. Sometimes, however, additional strength is needed because of the loads the concrete will have to support as part of its everyday use in important and/or large projects.

Here Madmix, who supply fibre reinforced concrete in Newmarket and the surrounding area, explain why this particular admixture offers extra strength compared to other types of concrete, as well some aesthetic advantages.

What is Reinforced Concrete?

Most concrete admixtures have a strong compressive strength, which means that it can withstand the weight of heavy loads without showing signs of wear and tear. However, conventional admixtures have a poor tensile strength – that is, they will be less resistant to being pulled or stretched.

Reinforced concrete solves this problem; this is not via the key ingredients of cement, water and aggregates, but through the addition of either steel mesh or fibres to the mixture. This provides additional strength, meaning that the concrete is likely to last longer, and be more resistant to heavy loads, high winds and (in a worst-case scenario) earthquakes.

What is Fibre-Reinforced Concrete?

This type of concrete contains polypropylene fibres; these are synthetic (and usually quite short) and are evenly distributed throughout the admixture. This will ensure the concrete is less likely to shrink or crack. It also has an attractive finish that is often preferred compared to standard concrete admixtures.

At Madmix, we also supply steel-reinforced concrete; however the fibre-reinforced variety is our speciality.

How Does Fibre-Reinforced Concrete Help?

There are some locations where fibre-reinforced concrete is particularly useful, this includes storage facilities and warehouses. This is because reinforced concrete is excellent at load bearing and supporting heavy weights, even if they are not moved for some time.

As you might expect, roads are also a good application of fibre-reinforced concrete. While most roads in the UK now use tarmac or asphalt, some A-roads and motorways have used reinforced concrete. Even though the bulk of these were built in the 1960s, they are still going strong today. Reinforced concrete still retains high compressive strength, so it can cope with lots of vehicles travelling over it over a long period of time.

Fibre-reinforced concrete is also used in the construction of bridges, dams, and piers – although these may need an extra additive to give the admixture waterproof qualities as well.

The admixture is also ideal for farms, which have storage facilities, a lot of heavy vehicles (such as tractors and combine harvesters) as well as irrigation channels and tunnels.

In terms of industrial uses, reinforced concrete can support the weight of heavy machinery in production plants. It also won’t be affected by chemical or moisture leaks and is unlikely to be infested with pests or vermin.

In fact, many small outdoor projects benefit from fibre-reinforced concrete because it provides extra protection from the elements – not just high winds but rain as well. This is why even a domestic driveway could use a strengthened admixture as a sub-base.

Fibre-reinforced Concrete in Newmarket from Madmix

At Madmix, we can supply steel- or fibre-reinforced concrete across Cambridgeshire, including Cambridge, Royston, St Ives and St Neots. If you do need steel-reinforced concrete – for example as part of a local authority contract – then, please endeavour to let us know at an early stage.

You can work out how much concrete you will need by using our online calculator here. If you do order too much, then don’t worry, because we will take any excess away at no extra cost. All our concrete is accredited, so you are guaranteed a high-quality admixture for your project.

We offer deliveries from Monday to Friday, as well as on Saturday mornings at a small premium. For more details see our delivery page.