Concrete fibre

Concrete is used extensively in civil and structural engineering with its high compressive strength, abundant raw materials and low cost. However, 'common' concrete is prone to cracking and shrinkage, low toughness, low tensile, low flexural strength, low shock resistance and high brittleness. To overcome these problems, additional materials can be added to the mix to improve the performance of concrete.

Concrete fibre is as composite material consisting of a mixture of cement, concrete or mortar and discrete, discontinuous, evenly dispersed suitable fibres.

Fibres used to reinforce concrete include synthetic; fibres, steel fibres, basalt fibres and glass fibres among others. Steel fibres dominated, with more than 45% of the total market in 2014. Synthetic fibre is another key product, predicted to show robust growth during forecast period. The increasing use of basalt fiber as a strengthening material for concrete reinforcement is driving market growth, however, high operating costs and capital-intensive R&D may pose a challenge to the market in the near future.

The concrete fibres market is driven by growing urbanisation and improving construction industry standards worldwide. Concrete fibre finds wide spread applications in the road industry, construction, industrial uses, mining and so on. Construction was the major user in 2014. Growth in construction industry worldwide is expected to drive the demand for concrete fibres in the years to come.

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