When macro fibers are used in lieu of steel reinforcement, they reduce the system cost down, lower the carbon footprint, increase the construction speed and help extending the service life of concrete as do not corrode like steel.

Please see the product page for more information.

Macro fibers can be used in any concrete application to provide residual flexural strength, toughness, ductility, energy absorption capacity, minimize both early and late age cracking such as shrinkage and temperature cracks and thereby improve overall durability of concrete. 

In many applications, macro fibers are used as temperature and shrinkage crack control reinforcement and, therefore, used to replace traditional reinforcement completely for non-structural purposes.

In certain applications, macro fibers are often referred to as structural fibers and are intended to carry load and, therefore, used to replace traditional reinforcement completely or partially for load-bearing purposes.

Please see the product page for more information.

Micro fibers can be used in any concrete and mortar application to provide plastic shrinkage and plastic settlement crack reduction, thereby enabling concrete to be more durable and more resilience over the entire span of service life.

Please see the product page for more information.

It is essentially the geometric size differentiation between fibers. Dimensions alter the behavior of fibers in the concrete matrix subsequently the purpose of usage. 

There are two main categories of synthetic fibers:

If equivalent diameter ≥ 0.3 mm (0.012”), it is macro fiber.

If equivalent diameter < 0.3 mm (0.012”), it is micro fiber.

Fibrillated fiber is generally considered a type of micro fiber. Its function in concrete is somewhat between micro and macro fiber. It helps to reduce plastic shrinkage cracking while providing some toughness to concrete that could be useful for light loading applications.

Synthetic fibers solely function mechanically in concrete. They do not interact with any chemical reaction occurring in the concrete matrix. Most of the time, the mix design can remain as is.

When macro fibers are used at more than 4 pcy dosage, it is advised to increase the sand and cement content slightly in the mix design to improve surface area coverage within the mix since the addition of fibers increases surface area that needs to be covered by the paste.

Fiber reinforced concrete applications are essentially performed in the same way as conventional concrete applications.

Macro fibers can reduce the “apparent” slump by 1 inch for every 3 lb. added in 1 cy of concrete which has no significance. However, at high dosages, it is recommended to increase the initial slump of the concrete with a plasticizer additive to compensate for the drop and maintain workability.

For the best practices please see the surface finishing guide page

Synthetic fibers are under the spec category of Concrete Reinforcing - Fibrous Reinforcing (Fiber Reinforcement) 03 24 00.

General notes to be included in project specifications:

1. SYNTHETIC MICRO FIBER: CONFORMING TO ASTM D7508, ASTM C1116 TYPE III VIRGIN POLYPROPYLENE MICRO FIBERS, 0.25 TO 0.75 INCH LONG, MONOFILAMENT.
   
   TYPICAL DOSAGE: 0.5 - 1.0 LB PER CUBIC YARD OF CONCRETE. BASIS OF DESIGN: MICROMONO 1/2" OR 3/4" BY CONTINENTAL BUILDING MATERIALS
2. SYNTHETIC MICRO FIBRILLATED FIBER: CONFORMING TO ASTM D7508, ASTM C1116 TYPE III VIRGIN POLYPROPYLENE MICRO FIBRILLATED FIBERS, 0.75 INCH LONG.
   
   TYPICAL DOSAGE: 1.5 LB PER CUBIC YARD OF CONCRETE. BASIS OF DESIGN: MICROFIBRIL 3/4" BY CONTINENTAL BUILDING MATERIALS
   
   
3. SYNTHETIC MACRO FIBER: CONFORMING TO ASTM D7508, ASTM C1116 TYPE III, VIRGIN POLYPROPYLENE COPOLYMER MACRO FIBERS, 1.5 TO 2.25 INCH LONG, ASPECT RATIO OF 60 TO 100, TWISTED BUNDLES OF FILAMENTS OR EMBOSSED PUCKS OF FIBERS. DOSAGE FOR SYNTHETIC MACROFIBERS TO BE DETERMINED BASED ON THE REQUIRED RESIDUAL STRENGTH (fe3) IN ACCORDANCE WITH ASTM C1609 AND GENERAL RECOMMENDATIONS OF ACI 544.4R-18.
   
   BASIS OF DESIGN: POLYMACRO PM54 | 2 1/8" OR POLYTWIST PT54 | 2 1/8" BY POLYFIBERS – DISTRIBUTED BY CONTINENTAL BUILDING MATERIALS
   
   CONSULT FIBER DISTRIBUTOR FOR RECOMMENDATIONS REGARDING DOSAGE, MIX DESIGN, MIXING, PUMPING, FINISHING, AND POLISHED CONCRETE FINISHES WITH FIBERS.