ACRONYM OF THE PROJECT:

NG_TPfib

Project Title

New generation of fibers for the reinforcement of cementitious matrix materials

Project Number

033719

Project Duration

36 months

DATE OF START OF THE PROJECT:

July 1, 2018

Composition of the Consortium:

- Exporplás - Exports Industry of Plastics, S.A.
- CiviTest - Search for New Materials for Civil Engineering, Lda.

Project Summary:
 

The project "NG_TPfib - New Generation of Fibers for the Reinforcement of Cement Matrix Materials", promoted by Exporplás - Indústria de Exportação de Plásticos, SA and by CiviTest - Research of New Materials for Civil Engineering, Lda., POCI 01 0247 FEDER 033719, funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) through the Operational Competitiveness and Internationalization Program (POCI), aims to develop a new generation of thermoplastic fibers (TP) for the reinforcement of cementitious matrix materials in the civil construction market.
It is intended to develop fibers with geometric properties and optimized materials that guarantee technical performance and economic competitiveness superior to that registered with the fibers existing in the market, especially for the large segments of market where fiber reinforced concrete (BRF) is used, namely: pavements supported on soil and stakes, tunnels, slopes, and pre-fabrication.
To achieve this goal, the developments and changes to be made by Exporplás in the processes currently practiced in the manufacture of TP fibers will be guided by a solid knowledge of the reinforcement mechanisms that discrete fibers introduce in cementitious matrix materials. This knowledge requires the participation in the consortium of an entity that has proven expertise in BRF technology, evaluation of its behavior at the material and structural level and experience in the design of BRF structures.
The copromotor, CiviTest, brings together all these skills, having human resources, laboratory and advanced calculation center to achieve the desired objectives. Under the present project, CiviTest intends to develop automatic calculation tools for use in the BRF structure design market, as well as for the internationalization of its BRF design and development services and the execution of experimental tests for characterization of the behavior of new construction systems and quality control of the built environment.

Objectives

This project aims to achieve two sets of objectives that, although complementary, meet the strategy and motivations of each of the promoters and their target markets.

Exporplás Objectives

- Manufacture of a new generation of thermoplastic fibers (NG_TPfib) for the large markets where fiber reinforced concrete is applied, namely pavements, tunnels, slopes and pre-fabrication;
- It is intended that NG_TPfib fibers guarantee performance levels higher than those presented by current TP fibers, both produced by Exporplás and by the main competitors;
– Otimizar o processo de fabrico das fibras de forma a evitar que ocorra segregação das fibras NG_TPfib durante a produção de BRF;
- Take into account the economic performance of the NG_TPfib fiber manufacturing process, and the final cost of sales to the customer should not exceed the average values ​​of the competitors;

CiviTest Objectives

- Development of an advanced numerical analysis tool for fiber optimization in reinforcement of cementitious matrix materials;
- Development of an analytical model to determine the relationship between stress and crack aperture (fundamental law in the modeling of the benefits provided by fiber reinforcement in cementitious matrix materials), which will be performed based on experimental results obtained in carved beam tests performed according to Model Code 2010 and in circular plate tests;
- Development of a computational tool to support the evaluation of the technical and economic performance of fiber reinforced concrete.