Fiber orientation during casting of UHPFRC: electrical resistivity measurements, image analysis and numerical simulations

Fibers are added to cementitious materials to enhance their mechanical behavior in hardened state. This reinforcement is strongly influenced by the fiber preferred orientation induced by casting flow. In this paper, a model derived from the evolution of a single rigid fiber orientation in a Newtonian medium is proposed to numerically predict fiber orientation in a cementitious structure in hardened state. The main characteristics of fiber orientation during a pouring representative of industrial castings are detailed. Experimental measurements taken on the same reference casting confirm this hardened state orientation.