Geometric characterization of polymeric macrofibers

The geometric characteristics of synthetic macrofibers are important because they affect the behavior of fiber-reinforced concrete (FRC). Because there is a lack of specific, relevant publications in Brazil, the European standard EN14889-2:2006 was adopted as a reference to perform the characterization. Thus, an experimental plan was developed to assess the adequacy of testing procedures for the qualification of synthetic macrofibers for use in FRC. Two types of macrofibers were evaluated. The length measurement was performed using two methods: the caliper method, which is a manual measurement, and the digital image analysis method using the ImageJ software for image processing. These aforementioned methods were used to determine the diameter together with the density method, which is an indirect method that uses the developed length obtained by one of the previous methods. The statistical analyses revealed that the length results are similar regardless of the method used. However, the macrofibers must be pre-stretched to maximize the accuracy of caliper measurements. The caliper method for diameter determination has the disadvantage of underestimating the macrofiber cross-section because of the pressure applied by the load claws. In contrast, the digital image analysis method obtains the projected diameter in a single plane, which overestimate the diameter because the macrofibers are oriented with the pressure of the scanner cover. Thus, these techniques may result in false projections of the diameters that will depend on the level of torsion in the macrofibers. It was concluded that both the caliper method using previously stretched macrofibers and the digital imaging method can be used to measure length. The density method presented the best results for the diameter determination because these results were not affected by the method chosen to determine the length.