Steel fiber

Steel fiber refers to fibers with a length-to-diameter ratio of 40 to 80, which are produced by cutting fine steel wires, cold rolling steel strip shearing, ingot milling, or rapid cooling of molten steel. When the fiber cross-section is not circular, the diameter is calculated based on the equivalent circular area of the cross-section.

Different production methods yield steel fiber with varying properties. Although steel fiber has been around for a short time, its applications are increasingly widespread and the types are becoming more diverse.

Steel fiber reinforced concrete has the same mixing, operation, and construction properties as normal concrete. The fibers do not ball up in the concrete, distribute evenly, and can be produced at commercial concrete batching plants and used for pumping construction. The early slump loss of milled steel fiber reinforced concrete is significant, with a 32% loss after 30 minutes and a 42% loss after 2 hours. The workability of steel fiber reinforced concrete is superior to that of normal concrete with the same slump. Steel fiber reinforced concrete exhibits excellent material properties; compared to normal concrete, it has a compressive strength increase of 2-20%; flexural tensile strength increase of 20-50%; splitting tensile strength increase of 20-40%; and wear resistance improvement of about 40%. Its physical properties fully meet the technical specifications for urban road projects and associated components such as manhole covers. The rough and clean surface of the steel fibers can firmly bond with the cement paste in the concrete, which is the fundamental reason for the enhancement of various concrete properties by steel fibers.