Fibre-reinforced concrete at Southampton Container Terminal

This article describes the design of a concrete reinforced with both steel and polypropylene fibres, for use at a container terminal at the port of Southampton, south-west England. The new concrete was required to withstand continual vehicle and container movement as well as stacking and storage of the containers. The concrete mix included steel fibres, polypropylene fibres, ground-granulated blast-furnace slag and a superplasticising admixture. The superplasticiser reduces the water : cement ratio. The steel fibre, Novocon FE1050, is a cold drawn-wire fibre deformed with flat ends: the polypropylene, Sika Fibrepack, is a micro-reinforcement fibre system made from homopolymer polypropylene monofilament fibres. The fibres were added on site from a portable conveyor. Fibre-reinforced concrete can be used in precast, sprayed and in-situ applications.