Distribution Solutions
WireSolutions
Steel fibres
Flooring applications
FE
TABIX
HE
From the world leader
in steel and wire solutions
Who are we?
WireSolutions is the wire drawing 30 years of experience
division of ArcelorMittal, the world's in steel fibres manufacturing
number one steel and mining company.
WireSolutions has been producing steel
WireSolutions is one of the world’s
fibres for over 30 years and is one of the
largest wire drawers, bringing solutions
world's leading suppliers of steel fibres.
to more than 4,000 customers.
Through a local presence, WireSolutions
aims to be closer to its customers to
With 14 plants throughout the world,
improve its service.
WireSolutions offers a diversified portfolio
of low and high carbon wires, steel cord,
All the fibres manufactured by WireSolutions
strands, ropes and corrosion-resistant
are made of cold drawn, high tensile steel
solutions. Automotive, construction,
wire produced using the most modern
energy and agriculture are all important
equipment.
segments for WireSolutions.
Our policy of continuous investment helps
Staying close with customers and partners,
guarantee the durable performance of
WireSolutions is constantly looking to
our products which are manufactured
develop new solutions with the Research
according to ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and
and Development centres of ArcelorMittal.
OHSAS 18001 standards compliant.
Today the company is recognized
All our fibres have CE-marking.
worldwide for the quality of its corrosion
resistant product range.
Transforming tomorrow.
Where are our steel fibres produced?
ArcelorMittal Sheffield, United Kingdom
WireSolutions has been
producing steel fibres
for over 30 years and is
one of the world's leading
ArcelorMittal Syców, Poland
suppliers of steel fibres
ArcelorMittal Bissen, Luxembourg
Durable solutions for
your flooring applications
State-of-the-art floors with steel fibre reinforcement
As the function of buildings varies from WireSolutions offers several types of
manufacturing, storage and distribution to industrial floor solutions by design for
name a few it is important that the design slab on grade construction (ground
is considered thoroughly and executed supported):
to the highest standards with your � Floors with saw-cut joints (TAB-Fiber™)
requirements in mind.
� Jointless floors (TAB-Floor™)
Although some may consider an � External areas (TAB-Fiber™)
industrial floor as just another part of the
construction process of little importance it Some advantages of using steel fibres
should be noted that this thinking ignores for flooring solutions for client and
the health and safety issues that must be contractor are:
considered if the ultimate limit state of the � Time savings in construction as
floor is exceeded. compared to mesh solutions
By contrast, industrial floors are subjected � Improved durability
to extensive and heavy use and often � Impact resistance
onerous wide ranging loading conditions. � High ductility
Well designed and constructed floors
impact positively and significantly toward � Crack control
the life cycle costs of a given structure. � Easier concrete placement compared to
Such floors provide reduced downtime use of traditional reinforcement
for operations and maintenance cost � Higher level of health and safety
contributing toward improved profits for
the client. � Use of Laserscreed possible
Over the last 30 years steel fibres have
proven their reliability and suitability as
a preferred method of reinforcement for
floors.
In the last three decades
steel fibre reinforced
concrete has proven to be
a reliable and most suitable
construction material for
typical industrial floors
Applications
Steel fibre solutions for every need
Floors with joints Jointless floors External areas
Possible shrinkage cracking is avoided Joints are the weakest point in every Steel Fibre Reinforced Concrete (SFRC)
through weakening the cross section slab. In order to improve the technical is also suitable for external areas. The
of the slab by saw-cutting joints into properties of the floor, especially for construction of external slabs is similar
the surface of the slab up to a depth of heavy traffic and high static loads, to saw cut joint floors.
1/3 of the slab thickness. ArcelorMittal has developed the
jointless TAB-Floor™ concept. However there are some differences.
Cuts are intended to relieve the In addition to heavy statical and
� TAB-Floor™ allows the casting of
shrinkage induced tensile stress. dynamical loading, there is also
bays up to 2500 m² without any
Therefore saw-cuts must be executed the significant impact of weather
saw-cut joints. It is necessary to
in due time after concrete placement conditions. It is necessary in these
maintain a maximum length to width
(depending of the hardening of the cases to use air entrained concrete
ratio of 1:1,5. By doing this significant
concrete). with slightly higher dosage rates of
maintenance costs normally
fibres.
associated with joints are reduced or
The initial width of the saw-cut joint
avoided. Through the use of suitable
opening is 3-5 mm. Panel size varies Due to weather conditions, in
construction joints, the durable shear
between 5 x 5 m² and 12 x 12 m². particular moisture, small points of rust
load transfer can be guaranteed and
on top of the slab may be visible. This
optimised, while allowing for free
� TAB-Fiber™ floors can be used is caused by corrosion of steel fibres
shrinkage in all directions.
where joints cut into the slab do lying close to the surface. This is only
not disrupt the general use of the � With TAB-Floor™ one can reduce an aesthetic problem and does not
floor. The use of the TAB-Fiber™ slab thickness compared to that of affect on the load bearing capacity of
solution eliminates the handling traditional solutions with improved the concrete slab.
of reinforcement and simplifies crack control and ductile behaviour.
job site operations. This leads to a The joint edges are protected by a � External SFRC slabs are used for
reduction in construction time and steel profile thus reducing the spalling parking areas, roads, container
reduces the slab costs. effect under heavy traffic. storage, transit warehouses and
The use of steel fibres improves the more.
impact resistance of the floor as
there is no unreinforced concrete
cover. Due to the high number
of fibres within the concrete the
width of shrinkage cracks is limited.
However it is not possible to avoid
cracking completely. TAB-Floor™
jointless slabs should only be
constructed by specialized flooring
contractors.
Planning
Design note
ArcelorMittal floors are designed for
the ultimate limit state as well as for the
serviceability limit state. Load cases and design basics
The methods of analysis used differ from
country to country, from linear elastic Forklift (FLT) or similar
analysis (e.g. France) to plastic analysis Uniform
Distributed
(e.g. United Kingdom, Germany, Load (UDL)
Scandinavia). By applying linear elastic Truck loads
analysis the real load bearing effect of
Steel Fibre Reinforced Concrete (SFRC) will Rack or
not be utilised, thus plastic analysis is used other point
whenever possible. loads
In the ultimate limit state, SFRC floors are Surface: .............. m² Thickness: .............. mm Concrete quality: ................
designed according to yield line theory,
Insulation (if required)
based on the British recommendation
“TR 34” using design approaches of Underground EV2 ≥ .................. MN/m² | Ratio EV2/EV1 ≤ ........................
Meyerhof & Losberg. Bending as well as
punching shear are verified. Alternative
approaches according to German “Stahl- The design note will allow for the Sub-base
faserrichtlinie”, Austrian “Richtlinie determination of the concrete grade, Even more important is to have a well
Faserbeton” or Dutch “CUR 36 & CUR 111“ fibre type and fibre dosage rate. For prepared sub-base, in order to achieve a
are possible. certain loads it is extremely important to professional industrial floor. The sub-
In the serviceability limit state, the slab considers various aspects such as: base supports the entire floor. Thus it is
should remain macro-crack free at small crucial to have uniform soil parameters.
� Base plate size and distance for point
deflections. Design approaches and safety Performance of the slab depends on
loads e.g. [150 x 150] x [1’100 x
concepts used (according to “DTU 13.3“ flatness and levelness of sub-base as well.
300 x 1’100] (mm)
for France and “TR 34“ elsewhere) assure
that the flexural tensile resistance of SFRC � Gangway width and pallet storage Insulation
is not exceeded. The combined effects of widths for UDL The use of insulation under the slab
loading, shrinkage and thermal effects are � Precise load description and drawing reduces the soil bearing capacity. This
considered in our design method. for UDL ≥ 70 kN/m² leads to higher stresses in the slab.
� Tire contact pressure specified in
Before constructing an industrial floor, Heating system
N/mm² for a FLT
it is important to have a prepared design Our systems also work for slabs with an
note based on static and dynamic load � Soil date can give as CBR – value also integrated flooring heating system.
information. of subgrade reaction k (N/mm3) or
modulus of deformation EV2 and EV1
(MN/m²), both determined from a
plate loading test, preferably with a
plate diameter of 750 mm.
Prior to design
Load cases
Soil parameters
Subgrade Uniformly distributed load
Gravel with 1× polythene sheet = TAB‐Fiber™
Gravel with 2× polythene sheet = TAB‐Floor™ � Two loaded surfaces with gangway
� Soil
–– EV2 = 100 MN/mm²
–– EV2/EV1 = 2,2
QUDL (kN/m²) QUDL (kN/m²) a = 1,30 m
k = 0,083 N/mm3
b = 2,60 m
Slab characteristics QUDL = 80 kN/m²
b a b
� TAB‐Fiber™ (slab with saw‐cut joints)
–– Concrete class C25/30
–– Distance between cutting joints 6 m
Point load
� TAB‐Floor™ (slab without saw‐cut joints)
–– Concrete class C25/30 � Point load combinaison with forklift truck
–– Distance between day joints 30 m
aR1 aR2 aR3
aR1 = aR3 = 1 m ; aR2 = 0,3 m
qR (kN) qR (kN) qR (kN) qR (kN)
aL = 0,075 m TAB-Fiber™
The use of a premium 1 joint 2 3 4
aL = 0,3 m TAB-Floor™
fibre or a jointless solution aL
yR xR = yR = 0,15 m
increases the efficiency of xR
the solution
WF
Single wheel
contact pressure: 6 N/mm²
2.qF (kN)
qF = 22,5 kN
IF
Solution examples
� TAB-Fiber™ H = 15 cm � TAB-Fiber™ H = 16 cm
63 68
Maximum loads qr (kN)
Maximum loads qr (kN)
58 63
53 58
48 53
43 48
20 25 30 35 40 20 25 30 35 40
Fibre dosage (kg/m3) Fibre dosage (kg/m3)
HE 1/50 HE 75/35 HE 75/50 HE 75/60 HE 1/50 HE 75/35 HE 75/50 HE 75/60
Prior to design
Solution examples
� TAB-Fiber™ H = 18 cm � TAB-Fiber™ H = 20 cm
82 95
77 90
Maximum loads qr (kN)
Maximum loads qr (kN)
85
72
80
67
75
62
70
57 65
20 25 30 35 40 20 25 30 35 40
Fibre dosage (kg/m3) Fibre dosage (kg/m3)
HE 1/50 HE 75/35 HE 75/50 HE 75/60 HE 1/50 HE 75/35 HE 75/50 HE 75/60
� TAB-Floor™ H = 15 cm � TAB-Floor™ H = 16 cm
95 100
85 90
Maximum loads qr (kN)
Maximum loads qr (kN)
75 80
65 70
55 60
45 50
20 25 30 35 40 20 25 30 35 40
Fibre dosage (kg/m )
3
Fibre dosage (kg/m3)
HE 1/50 HE 75/35 HE 75/60 HE 1/50 HE 75/35 HE 75/60
� TAB-Floor™ H = 18 cm � TAB-Floor™ H = 20 cm
120 140
110 130
Maximum loads qr (kN)
Maximum loads qr (kN)
120
100
110
90
100
80
90
70 80
60 70
20 25 30 35 40 20 25 30 35 40
Fibre dosage (kg/m )
3
Fibre dosage (kg/m3)
HE 1/50 HE 75/35 HE 75/60 HE 1/50 HE 75/35 HE 75/60
N.B. Generally, we recommend to limit the foot loads at 80 kN for HE 75/35 fibre type
Jobsite preparation
Our recommendations
� Foremost, it is necessary to control
and maintain the current status of the
soil. Plate-tests are required in order
to provide control and ensure that the
assumed or requested design values
have been reached (CBR or EV2/EV1 or
k-value).
� Control of the top surface flatness of
the sub-base is critical in helping to
control early-age shrinkage cracking of
the slab as well as avoiding a reduction
of the load carrying capacity of the slab
to an unacceptable extent.
� The control of the finished floor level
is essential to ensure the required
thickness of the concrete floor as per
the design requirements.
� In-situ control of all additional
reinforcement and profiles according to
design requirements is essential.
� Ensure that the building is “dried in”,
such that the floor is protected against
rainwater, wind and other climatic
conditions. This will help to eliminate
cracking at an early stage prior to the
concrete developing its final strength.
� The optimum conditions for dosing the
steel fibres is in the ready-mix batch
plant. It is normal and customary to use
a conveyor belt either static or mobile
for the dosing the steel fibres into the
ready-mix truck or into the plant mixer.
� The concrete mix should be checked
prior to commencing work on site to
ensure the correct composition and
consistency.
Concrete mix requirements
Planning, mixing and placing
The intended concrete mix must achieve Pure Portland cement, composite cements
the required compressive strength. It with moderate additives of limestone
should also optimize the anchorage of the ore slag are useful. Material with high
fibres while providing good workability. slag content (CEM III) requires special
In addition to the concrete grade consideration. The cement should produce
intended steel fibre reinforced concrete a moderate hardening with requisite early
is characterised by its residual flexural or strength.
equivalent flexural strength.
The minimum cement content should be
Typically C25/30 Concrete is used between 310 to 340 kg/m³.
although C30/37 and C35/45 concrete Water-cement ratio should be between
are used where required. The slump 0.50 and 0.55.
should be Class S4 or S3 with mechanical
placement methods are implemented.
The concrete at any slump should be stable
with no segregation of materials.
The concrete mix design should show The mix should have enough fines to allow Curing blankets and membranes work well.
a stable gradual curve with a maximum for easy integration of the fibres and The chosen method of curing should be
aggregate size of 16 or 22 mm in some promote stability of the mix. discussed and decided on prior to concrete
areas. The concrete must be cured immediately placement. If curing compounds are used
after the final finishing process is completed. it is important that the contractor verifies
The maximum aggregate size in any case The means and methods of curing are many the curing agent does not interfere with
is 32 mm for fibre dosage rates. The and vary according to the type of concrete the final floor finish. It is mandatory that
maximum aggregate size used should used, the use of the floor and the final finish freshly placed concrete slabs are cured
in any case be smaller than the average that is to be applied if any. in order to prevent early age, plastic
distance between fibres. Using aggregates The best method of curing concrete is shrinkage cracking. The purpose of curing
larger than the average distance between through the use of water. This is not is that the rate of evaporation of water
fibres increases the risk of balling. always practical as the water must be kept within the concrete needs to be slowed
continually on the entire slab area. in order to allow the hydration process to
occur without causing cracks.
dm = average fibre distance (mm)
122 x d
dm = ________ d = fibre diameter (mm)
√Vf Vf = fibre content (kg/m3)
WireSolutions’ steel fibres
High performance solutions
The selection of the steel fibre is
related to the required performance and
workability. Technical data
Fibre type Diameter Length Performance Workability Dosing recommendations
In all cases fibres should be CE marked in
accordance with EN 14889-1. TABIX 1/50 1,00 mm 50 mm ** * Blast machine
TABIX 90/35 0,90 mm 35 mm * *** Manually or conveyor belt
The performance of the fibre depends on: HE 1/50 1,00 mm 50 mm * *** Manually or conveyor belt
� Aspect ratio HE 1/60 1,00 mm 60 mm ** ** Manually or conveyor belt
= higher performance obtained but HE 90/60 0,90 mm 60 mm *** ** Manually or conveyor belt
workability may be reduced HE 75/35 0,75 mm 35 mm ** *** Manually or conveyor belt
� Tensile strength of wire HE 75/50 0,75 mm 50 mm *** * Blast machine
= higher performance with higher HE 75/60 0,75 mm 60 mm *** * Blast machine
concrete grade
HE+ 1/60 1,00 mm 60 mm *** ** Manually or conveyor belt
FE 60/36 0,60 mm 36 mm * *** Manually or conveyor belt
* Normal ** Good *** Excellent
HE
Suitable steel fibre per application
Fibre type Saw cutted Common Jointless floors Jointless floors with
joints jointless floor with high loads big joint distances
TABIX 1/50 ** ** ** **
TABIX 90/35 *** ** - **
HE 1/50 ** * * *
TABIX HE 1/60 * * ** *
HE 90/60 * ** ** *
HE 75/35 * ** - ***
HE 75/50 * * *** **
HE 75/60 * * *** **
FE HE+ 1/60 * * ** *
FE 60/36 * (1) (1) (1)
* Normal ** Good *** Excellent - Not recommended
(1) In combination with other fibres for improving impact resistance
Product storage and packaging
The fibres have to be stored in a dry area.
Pallets and big-bags are additionally wrapped in a plastic film.
10*/20*/25 kg boxes Big-bags
on 1.2/1.5 ton pallets from 500 to 1100 kg
* On demand
Case studies
TAB-FiberTM
Industrial floor for production halls and warehouses TAB-Fiber™ for heavy duty uniform distributed loads Parking area
TAB-FloorTM
TAB-Floor™ system with heavy traffic TAB-Floor™ system with panels up to 50 x 50 m TAB-Floor™ for unique applications: aircraft
(forklift, truck) maintenance
External areas
Container terminal External area in front of logistics warehouse with high Parking garage roof
with very heavy container point load traffic loads and frost/thaw resistance with large panels and moderate loads
ArcelorMittal Bissen & Bettembourg
PO Box 16
L-7703 Bissen
T +352 83 57 72 1
F +352 83 56 98
fibresupport@arcelormittal.com
www.arcelormittal.com/steelfibres
www.arcelormittal.com/wiresolutions
Company certified ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001
All information in this promotional material shall illustrate products and services in a non final way and invite to further technical or commercial explanation; they are not contractual.
Copyright ArcelorMittal 01/2015.
