The National Precast Concrete Association is an international trade association representing manufacturers of plant produced precast concrete products and companies that provide the equipment, supplies and services to make these products. The NPCA is dedicated to expanding the use of quality precast concrete.
NPCA's MC Magazine is the voice of the manufactured concrete industry, and features detailed articles about the latest industry technologies and developments, perspectives on current industry events, profiles on leading precast concrete companies and case studies of various manufactured concrete applications.
Focus on Fibers
"As a supplement to reinforced steel, fiber has come a long way," says Dean Frank.
Synthetic fibers can best benefit concrete at early ages when it is most vulnerable. This is especially beneficial to precasters who need to strip the product from the forms and handle it within a day or so of casting. The fibers can decrease plastic- and drying-shrinkage cracking and increase impact resistance in young concrete products.
With appropriate design criteria and performance-testing requirements in place, the use of fiber reinforcement along with standard reinforcing steel will likely increase dramatically, and with adequate understanding of the potential benefits and realistic expectations of FRC, precasters can increase efficiency, quality, value, and permanence inherent in precast-concrete products.
Read the full article at http://www.precast.org/publications/mc/TechArticles/01_Summer_FocusFibers.html
Originally published by the National Precast Concrete Association (NPCA) in the Manufactured Concrete Magazine.
