LITERATURE REVIEW ON CARBON FIBER

REINFORCEMENT
GENERAL:

In this chapter, an elaborative discussion is made regarding works done so far in this area as
literature review. Fiber reinforced concrete with different fibers and their behavior studies are
discussed at the initial subheadings. Works on waste materials are discussed in the subsequent
headings comprehensively.

INTRODUCTION:
Carbon fiber is not an absolutely new material; it is successfully applied in such fields as:
aviation and aerospace industry, car industry, production of sport equipment, production of
working clothes and military accoutrements, electronic industry, etc. Rather new is the idea of
using carbon fiber in building structures. At the present time methods of strengthening of the
structures with fibers are applying for different structures. Also very prospective directions of
using carbon fiber is fiber-concrete and fiber-cement, reinforced with carbon fibers, using carbon
fiber as post-tension or pretension reinforcing bars in new reinforced concrete structures,
applying polymeric and metal composites for structures. The main reason that carbon fiber is
considered as construction material so rarely, is its high price, but the general trend of increasing
production of carbon fiber and reducing its cost can said might change this situation in the
construction industry.

HISTORY:
Initially production and application of carbon fibers was suggested and patented by Thomas
Edison in 1880 for use as filaments in
electrical lamps. These fibers were made of
cotton or rayon fibers by pyrolysis. This fiber
was very fragile and porous and has been
replaced by tungsten. During the next 20 years
he suggested to obtain carbon and graphitic
fibers from different natural fibers.
The second time interest to carbon fibers
appeared in the middle of the XX century,
when suitable material for reactive engine parts was needed. Carbon fiber with its properties
turned out to be one of the most suitable reinforcing materials for this purpose, because it was
quite heat-resistant, has good heat insulation, has corrosion resistance against gas and fluid
agents, high strength and stiffness. In 1958, Dr. Roger Bacon created high-performance carbon
fibers at the Union Carbide Parma Technical Center, located outside of Cleveland (United
States), Ohio. Those fibers were manufactured by heating strands of rayon until they carbonized.
This process proved to be inefficient, as the resulting fibers contained only about 20% carbon
and had low strength and stiffness properties.
DEVELOPMENT IN TECHNOLOGY:

 The concept of using fibers in a brittle matrix was first recorded with the ancient
Egyptians who used the hair of animals and straw as reinforcement for mud bricks and
walls in housing. This dates back to 1500 B.C. (Balaguru et al, 1992).
 Ronald F. Zollo (1997) presented an overview regarding the history and development of
Fiber Reinforced Concrete 30 years ago. According to this report, in the early 1960s, the
works on fiber reinforced concrete had been started. A lot of research work has been
conducted by many researchers on different fashions. But these projects have studied
about steel fibers alone. So far, there were only a few works which have studied the other
fibers like nylon, plastic, rubber and natural fibers. But those researches are completely
different from the current study, since they have concentrated along the material strength
properties not on their structural behavior.

MECHANICAL PROPERTIES:

 Kukreja (1980) conducted some experiments and reported that, based on the results of
three methods such as split tensile test, direct tensile test and flexural test, split tensile
strength test was recommended for fibrous concrete. Also increase in tensile strength and
post cracking strength, toughness were reported.
 Researchers like Goash (1989) studied tensile strength of SFRC and reported as inclusion
of suitable short steel fibers increases the tensile strength of concrete even in low volume
fractions. Optimum aspect ratio was found as 80 and the maximum increase in tensile
strength was obtained as 33.14% at a fiber content of 0.7% by volume. Also it was
reported that cylinder split tensile strength gave more uniform and consistent results than
the modulus of rupture test and direct tension test.

Stress & Strain Characteristics and Orientation of Fibers:

 Sabapathi and Achyutha (1989) stress – strain characteristics of steel fiber reinforced
concrete under compression. Cube compressive strength and Initial Tangent Modulus of
Elasticity were obtained and equation for stress-strain relation was also proposed.
 Distribution and orientation of fibers in FRC significantly affects the properties of FRC.
Based on this concept, Paviz Soroushian and Cha-Don Lee (1990) have carried out some
investigation, by counting the number of fibers per unit cross sectional area of various
volume fractions of different fibers. Theoretical expressions were derived for the number
of fibers per cross sectional area in fiber reinforced concrete as a function of volume
fraction and length, assuming the cross sectional boundaries as the only factors
distributing the 3-D random orientation of fibers. They made comparisons between
number of fibers per cross sectional area and the reorientation fibers in concrete due to
vibration.
 Another interesting investigation was carried out by Yaghoub Mohammadi and Kaushik
(2003) about the effect of mixed aspect ratio of fibers on mechanical strength properties
of concrete. 25 mm – 50 mm long crimped type flat steel fibers were mixed in different
proportions with concrete and tested for split tensile, compressive and static flexural
strength. Compressive toughness and flexural toughness were obtained from the test
 results. It is found that 65% of long fibers and 35% of short fibers gave the optimum
composite properties when compared with other mixes. An important note also was given
in that literature that use of mixed aspect ratio of fibers does not have a significant effect
on the static modulus of elasticity.

Compressive Strength, Tensile Strength and Temperature Behavior:

 Dragica Jevtić, Dimitrije Zakić and Aleksandar Savić et at (2008) The addition of steel
fibers in the amount of 60 kg/m3 (0.45% of volume), combined with admixture type
super plasticizer, gave higher strength, both flexural and compressive, at all ages. Due to
high mechanical strengths and presence of silica fume, these composites can be
successfully used, both in new construction and in repairs and reconstruction of already
existing structures.
 M. Zhu and D.D.L. Chung at (1997) Carbon fibers decreased the drying shrinkage of
mortar. The drying shrinkage from 2 to 24 h is important, though it is usually neglected.
Due to the drying shrinkage reduction, brick/brick joint strength was increased by adding
carbon fibers to the mortar. The highest joint strength was attained at a fiber content of
0.5% by weight of cement.
 P. Rathish Kumar and K. Srikanth et at (2008) There was no considerable change in
compressive strength with optimum fiber addition but addition of fiber is effective in split
tensile and flexural strength, with Glass fiber giving higher strength than Polypropylene
fibers. The post peak strains are more for polypropylene based specimens as compared to
Glass fiber based specimens, but they carried lower flexural strength.
 Ahsan Habib, Razia Begum and Mohammad Mydul Alam at (2013) they tried to show a
comparative study on the mechanical properties of different fibers containing mortar
composites. They also put emphasize on the fibers content and fibers length, because
these are also important to contribute the mechanical strength of mortars similarly as type
of fibers.
 Mohammed Ezziane, Laurent Molez, Raoul Jauberthie and Damien Rangeard et at (2011)
A study has been made of the mechanical behavior of standard mortars, steel fiber
mortar, polypropylene fiber mortar and a hybrid (Steel fiber + Polypropylene fiber)
mortar, subjected to thermal exposure at 400°C, 600°C, 800°C and 1000°C. The hybrid
mortars appear to offer a good compromise: the polypropylene fibers reduce internal
pressure that causes cracking during heat exposure and steel fibers limit cracking during
the heat exposure and under subsequent mechanical loading.

The Application of Carbon Fiber Concrete:

 Due to the excellent performance of conductive concrete, in 1982 carbon fiber concrete
composite board was firstly used in a monument in Baghdad city.
 In 1986, the carbon fiber concrete was applied to the ARK building, Tokyo Medical
University in Tokyo, Japan.
 In China, the smart structure of carbon fiber concrete was already used in the cofferdam
of the Yangtze Three Gorges construction site and good results were achieved.
  Huo Zuofu reported the development of carbon fiber conductive concrete slab, the results
showed that the input power of the carbon fiber conductive concrete slab reached
2000W/m2, met the requirement of melting ice.
 Su Jianbo and Li Sizhi introduced the wide application of carbon fiber concrete since
1996, such as the east ring, west ring and south ring expressway pavement of Guangzhou
city, not only solved the problem of the non-magnetic requirement in toll station, but also
effectively met the demands for the crack resistance, abrasion resistance and impact
resistance of pavement.
 In the oversize transforming layer girder of Chongqing world trade center, the application
of PAN-based carbon fiber reinforced concrete successfully solved the crack resistance
and promoting toughness problems of the construction of high-grade mass concrete.

The Manufacturing Process of Carbon Fibers by (Morgan 2005)

(PAN) and Pitch are the two most common raw products used to produce carbon fibers.

 In the thermo set treatment, the fibers are stretched and heated to no more than 400 C.
This step cross-links the carbon chains so that the fibers will not melt in subsequent
treatments.
 In the carbonize treatment, the fibers are heated to about 800° C in an oxygen free
environment. This step removes non-carbon impurities.
 The fibers are graphitized; this step stretches the fibers between 50 to 100%
elongation, and heats them to temperatures ranging from 1100° C to 3000° C.
 The last two treatment steps are surface treatment and epoxy sizing, are preformed to
enhance the carbon fiber / epoxy bonding strength.

Raw Material:

 Polyacrylonitrile (PAN)
 Petroleum pitch

Gases, liquids, and other materials used in the manufacturing process create specific effects,
qualities, and grades of carbon fiber.
Carbon Fiber Manufacturing From Pan:

Carbon Fiber Manufacturing From PITCH:

Manufacturing Challenges:
 The need for more cost effective recovery and repair.

 Close control required to ensure consistent quality.

 Health and safety issues.

 Skin irritation

 Breathing irritation.

Future of Carbon Fiber:

 Energy: Windmill blade, natural gas storage and transportation, fuel cells.

 Automobiles: Currently used just for high performance vehicles, carbon fiber technology
is moving into wider use.

 Construction: Lightweight pre-cast concrete, earthquake protection, soil erosion barriers

 Aircraft: Defense and commercial aircraft. Unmanned aerial vehicles.

 Carbon nano tubes: Semiconductor materials, spacecraft, chemical sensors, and other
uses.

 Audio equipment, loudspeakers for Hi-fi equipment, pickup arms, robot arms.

 Medical applications in prostheses, surgery and x-ray equipment, and tendon/ligament

repair.

 Textile machinery
CONCLUSIONS:

 Based on the literature review, following conclusion are obtained:

 The addition of steel fibers in the amount of combined with admixture type super

plasticizer, gave higher strength, both flexural and compressive, at all ages.

 Better effects were observed in flexural strength tests but the compressive strengths were

significantly increased. There was no considerable change in compressive strength with

optimum fiber addition but addition of fiber is effective in split tensile and flexural

strength, with carbon fiber giving higher strength than glass fibers.

 It is use in concrete repair work by grunting.

 The fiber content and fiber length, because these are also important to contribute the

mechanical strength of mortars similarly as a type of fiber.

 The fiber mortar increases the brick bond strength.

 Fiber mortar also increases the plaster strength and decrease the permeability.