Framework to predict the orientation of fibers in FRC: A novel philosophy

This paper aims at providing a link between fiber orientation and the properties of FRC, the structure to be built and its respective production process. Since the proposed framework is to a large extent new, the main components are described in the beginning. Then, two major subjects are approached from a theoretical perspective: fiber orientation in 3-D and the wall-effects of fibers in anisotropic conditions. Finally, in the last part, the main steps of the proposed framework are analyzed in detail and validated with experimental results. This comprehensive and straightforward model has shown to be capable of estimating the average orientation of fibers with very good accuracy. Thereby, this paper is a meaningful contribution to create an engineering toolbox for the prediction of fiber orientation in practical applications of fiber reinforced concrete. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.