Project Profile

Synthetic Macro Fibers Improve
Durability
Tire Manufacturer Minimizes Concrete Cracking with STRUX ® 90/40 macro fibers

ProjectTire Manufacturing Machine Foundation

Owner

Continental Tire North America

Contractor

Robertson Construction

Ready-mix Supplier

Delta Industries, Inc.

Engineering Firm

Burns Cooley Dennis, Inc.

GCP Solutions

STRUX ® 90/40 macro fibers, ECLIPSE ® Floor 200

The ProjectContinental Tire’s manufacturing facility was designed to use thin concrete overlays surrounding
uniquely shaped pedestals to achieve the right elevation to house critical pieces of manufacturingequipment. Experience showed that traditionally reinforced concrete using welded wire reinforcement
would not be suitable to control cracking within these thin concrete slabs, so they needed a designthat could offer a high degree of protection against plastic and drying shrinkage cracks.

"We incorporated a shrinkage reducing admixture into the concrete andmacro synthetic fibers from GCP Applied Technologies to reduce curling
and to hold cracks tight."
Burns Cooley Dennis, Inc. Senior Concrete Materials Engineer Robert Varner, P.E.

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Project ProfileThe Challenge
All concrete slabs are susceptible to cracks, but this application was particularly prone to cracking, andrequired optimum protection to ensure the performance of the base plates and pedestals. The FRC
topping slab was just 3” thick, which made it a tremendous a challenge for crack reduction. Inaddition, the concrete pedestals were uniquely shaped, which resulted in areas of high stress in thetopping slabs where cracks tend to occur.

"To date, we have a crack-free topping slab, and plans are being made touse this same mixture to construct additional topping slabs within thisfacility."
Burns Cooley Dennis, Inc. Senior Concrete Materials Engineer Robert Varner, P.E.

The Solution
The engineering firm of Burns Cooley Dennis (BCD) consulted with GCP and together they came up witha solution: Focus on the fundamental cause of drying shrinkage cracking and control the cracks when
they occur. By working closely with the ready-mix producer, Delta Industries, to arrive at an optimized
mixture proportion, BCD was able to optimize the performance of this mixture by adding ECLIPSE ®
Floor 200 and lower drying shrinkage to an acceptable value. In addition, BCD worked with GCP
engineers and scientists to determine the appropriate amount of STRUX ®90/40 macro synthetic fibers
to ensure that any cracks that occurred were within an acceptable level of performance.
ECLIPSE ®Floor 200 acts chemically to dramatically reduce the primary internal forces that causes
shrinkage and curling. By reducing the surface tension of the water in the pores of the concrete, drying
shrinkage can be reduced as much as 50% over a control mixture. STRUX ®90/40 macro synthetic fibers
are made from a blend of polymers and are equally distributed throughout the concrete matrix toimpact long-term crack control properties. This impacts toughness as well as impact and fatigue
resistance while reducing plastic shrinkage cracking.
Unlike welded wire mesh, with macro synthetic fibers there is no risk of corrosion, and none of the jobsite risks of using welded wire or steel reinforcement. STRUX ®90/40 macro synthetic fibers provide all
the benefits of microfibers, in addition to increased durability, flexural toughness, and resistance toimpact and abrasion.
In particular to this project, STRUX ®90/40 fibers were able to mitigate the effects of plastic and drying
shrinkage cracking in a relatively thin, heavily loaded, uniquely shaped, unjointed, and bonded
overlay, which by all-rights should have not only cracked, but been subject to large crack widthopenings.
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Project Profile
STRUX ®macro fibers advance the field of fiber reinforced concrete, giving designers more flexibility inthe range of forms, enabling contractors to offer crack protection with less time, labor, and materials.
“This concrete placement presented several challenges to our team because it was a thin bonded
topping slab with no crack control joints,” said Burns Cooley Dennis, Inc. Senior Concrete Materials
Engineer Robert Varner, P.E. “In addition, this topping slab would be constructed adjacent to hundredsof inside and reentry corners built into the existing slab. We were concerned with shrinkage cracking,curling, and stress cracks at corners. To address these concerns, we incorporate a shrinkage reducing
admixture into the concrete and macro synthetic fibers from GCP Applied Technologies to reducecurling and to hold cracks tight. To date, we have a crack-free topping slab, and plans are being madeto use this same mixture to construct additional topping slabs within this facility.”

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Last Updated: 2023-07-12
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