Polypropylene concrete fibers
Polypropylene concrete fibers that cannot corrode
Polyguard Fibers makes polypropylene concrete fibers — PP concrete fiber in 100% virgin resin, textured surface, dispersed through the full section. Unlike steel mesh, it never rusts.
Why polypropylene
Polypropylene versus steel, in one sentence
Polypropylene is inert to the alkalinity of concrete, to chloride and to sulfate. Steel is not. When moisture reaches mesh through microcracks, corrosion starts; the corrosion product occupies more volume than the steel it came from, and the concrete it was meant to reinforce spalls from the inside.
Fiber is added at the batching plant or in the truck mixer and disperses in three dimensions rather than sitting in one plane. Wherever a crack forms, filaments bridge it and carry load across the opening.
Technical data
What appears on the data sheet
These are the base material properties. Filament length and dose vary by grade and are stated on each grade’s data sheet.
- Material
- 100% virgin polypropylene
- Tensile strength
- > 550 MPa
- Modulus
- ≥ 7.5 GPa
- Melting point
- 160-170 °C
- Standards
- ASTM C1116 · EN 14889-2 · ISO 9001
- Packaging
- 3 kg and 5 kg water-soluble bags
Tensile strength and modulus are nominal values for the polymer, not a batch guarantee. The test report behind a given grade, and the batch certificate for the consignment you receive, are issued on request.
What changes
On the project, not just on paper
- Can replace crack-control mesh and temperature steel where the design permits
- Controls early-age and long-term cracking
- No corrosion, unlike reinforcing steel
- Resists chemical attack, salt water and freeze-thaw cycles
- Shortens the programme and cuts labour
- Compatible with ready-mix, batching plants and truck mixers
Test data
Numbers, not claims
Polyguard Fibers products are tested in accredited laboratories against international standards:
- ASTM C1609 — flexural performance and crack control
- ASTM C1550 — round-panel energy absorption, gains of up to 250% reported in shotcrete; the figure moves with dosage and mix, so ask for the panel report at the dose you intend to use
- Durability against chloride and sulfate attack
- Thermal resistance up to 250 °C
- Behaviour through freeze-thaw cycling
Where it is used
Six fields of application for polypropylene concrete fibers
- Industrial flooring — warehouses, cold stores and car parks
- Shotcrete — tunnelling, metro works and underground structures
- Precast units — walls, barriers, stairs and industrial slabs
- Fiber-reinforced asphalt — roads, hardstanding and airfield aprons
- Slabs on grade — factories, retail and distribution centres
- Water structures — dams, treatment plants, jetties, tanks and canals
Project economics
Why can a few kilograms of fiber take over a crack-control mesh layer?
In many industrial floors and slabs on grade, a designed dose of polypropylene fiber — typically a few kilograms per cubic metre — can take over the crack-control role of mesh and temperature steel. This is not a fixed kilogram-for-kilogram ratio: whether mesh can be reduced or replaced, and the final fiber dose, must be designed from slab thickness, loading, subgrade conditions and the required residual strength. The effect is not confined to the purchase line.
- Materials. Steel purchase disappears, and with it the offcut and lap waste that always rides on top of it
- Labour. Cutting, hauling, tying and fixing all go
- Programme. Mesh fixing leaves the critical path and the pour starts sooner
- Logistics. No mesh deliveries to unload; fiber arrives in 3 kg and 5 kg water-soluble bags added at the batching plant
- Site safety. No handling or stacking of heavy mesh sheets
Because both fiber and steel prices move, we publish no fixed figure. The calculators let you compare with your own current rates.
Effect on the concrete
What changes in the section
- Fewer plastic and drying shrinkage cracks, through even three-dimensional dispersion
- Higher tensile strength and ductility
- Lower permeability and better freeze-thaw behaviour
- Improved impact and fatigue resistance
- Better surface integrity and finish quality
- Structural integrity retained at elevated temperature
- Non-toxic and non-corrosive
Unlike mesh, which sits in a single plane, fiber is distributed through the whole section.
Common questions
What engineers ask before specifying
Does fiber replace rebar? No. Where the engineering design and the required residual performance permit, it can reduce or replace crack-control mesh and temperature steel. Structural reinforcement designed for flexural capacity stays.
Does fiber reduce concrete strength? No. In most applications it raises resistance to cracking, impact and tension.
What mixing equipment is needed? None beyond the usual. It disperses in standard batching plants and truck mixers.
Does the concrete cost more? On the purchase line it can. Once removed mesh, shortened programme and reduced repair are counted, project cost falls.
Test it in your own mix before you commit
Send the section, loading and exposure. You get a recommended grade, a designed dose, the data sheet and a free sample.