ACI Committee 544

Fiber Reinforced Concrete

Main Committee Meeting Minutes
Tuesday, March 25, 2014
ACI Spring Convention 2014
Grand Sierra Resort Hotel
Tahoe Room
Reno, Nevada
3:00 - 5:30 P.M.

ATTENDANCE
Voting Members:
Mobasher, B., Chairman
Krstulovic, N., Secretary
MacDonald, C., Members. Secret.
Aldea, Corina-Maria
Attiogbe, Emmanuel
Bakhshi, Mehdi
Bonakdar, Amir
Ekenel, Mahmut

Ferrara, Liberato
Fischer, Gregor
Forgeron, Dean
Mahoney, Michael
Milligan, James
Novak, Jeff
Plizzari, Giovanni
Rieder, Klaus
Vossoughi, Fariborz

Consulting Members:
Naaman, Antoine
Visitors:
Kaushlendra, Das
Smith, Harley

1. CALL TO ORDER AND APPROVAL OF AGENDA

The meeting was called to order by Chairman Mobasher at 3:00 PM. The meeting agenda was unanimously approved.
2. PREVIOUS MINUTES
Minutes from the previous meeting held on Tuesday October 22, 2013, in Phoenix were approved unanimously.
3. ANNOUNCEMENTS
A) Upcoming and Recent Events

GRCA International will hold its Congress April 19-21, 2015, at the Radisson Blue Hotel in Dubai, UAE. A Call for Papers has
been issued, with abstracts due October 1, 2014. Additional information can be found at: http://www.grca.org.uk/congress/.
International Workshop on Fiber Reinforced Concrete: Material Properties, Design Guidelines & Applications, November 1718, 2014, Stanford University, USA. Abstract due: August 31, 2014. Registration: September 30, 2014. Paper submission:
October 31, 2014. The workshop is intended as a discussion forum on research and development of Fiber Reinforced
Concrete, including the engineering of specific material characteristics and their influence on structural behavior. Selected
topics will be presented by keynote speakers to initiate a discussion with participants from the research community, material
suppliers, the construction industry including current as well as prospective users of fiber reinforced concrete. Contact:
Gregor Fischer at gf@byg.dtu.dk.

4. MEMBERSHIP ATTENDANCE & VOTING RECORD

MacDonald reported on efforts to align TAC requirements on the sub-committee membership requirements and participation.
MacDonald also asked members to verify their personal data and membership status on web pages to identify any possible
discrepancies due to recent web page changes.

5. SUBCOMMITTEE REPORT
544-SC Steering Committee (Mobasher) Mobasher reported that SC discussed processing of new reports as well as old
reports under review for renewal. Reports 544.1R, 544.3R and 544.4R have been marked for removal for being outdated.
However, the reports are currently being updated and thus SC decided not to remove them until the updated versions have
been published
544-A FRC-Production and Applications (Mahoney) Mahoney reported that the sub-committee is currently working on
the 544.1R document. The report is being significantly reorganized in order to focus it more on actual applications. The
committee is also working on a few Technical Notes (TN), some of which are currently being balloted.
544-B FRC-Education (MacDonald) - MacDonald reported on the progress of the bowling ball competition organization.
Feedback is being provided to the S801 Student Activities committee and to staff on how to further improve the contest (e.g.,
bowling ball size, density, etc.) Future bowling ball competition will also include a poster session.
544-C FRC-Testing (Ferrara) - Ferrara reported that the sub-committee is working on Measurement of Properties of FRC
document. The first chapter has already been balloted and resulting negatives are currently being discussed. It is expected
that the full document will be presented during the next convention.
544-D FRC-Structural Uses (Mobasher) Mobasher reported that the sub-committee document titled Report on Design
and Construction of Steel Fiber-Reinforced Concrete Elevated Slabs has been reviewed by TAC. TAC comments will be
addressed next. The sub-committee is also revising the 544.4R Design Considerations for Steel FRC document, which
was first developed in 1988.
The sub-committee is working on the ETR on Design and Construction of Steel Fiber-Reinforced Precast Concrete
Tunnel Segments. Bakshi summarized progress of the ETR which is being developed in collaboration between ACI 544
members (Bakhshi, Plizzari, and Invernizzi) and TG consulting members: Verya Nasri, Giuseppe Tiberti, Sylvie GuilianiLeonardi. The ETR presents a procedure for analysis and design of FRC segmental tunnel linings. The procedure is based
on (a) the post-crack residual tensile strength proposed by ACI 544.FR, and (b) specified compressive strength. Application of
proposed design approaches to tunnel segments is presented and key material parameters to design these elements are
summarized. Finally full-scale tests to evaluate and support designed performance are discussed.
544-E FRC-Mechanical Properties (Krstulovic-Opara) Krstulovic reported on the current status of sub-committees
reports. The committee has met TAC during the Remo TAC meeting and has received TACs comments on the ACI 5544.FR
report on the Report on Indirect Method to Obtain a Stress-Strain Diagram for Strain-Softening Fiber-Reinforced Concretes
(FRCs). The comments have been reviewed during the 544-E subcommittee meeting and responses are being drafted. The
goal is to have all responses drafted and pre-reviewed before the Washington meeting, with the goal of having the final subcommittee discussion during the Washington meeting.
544-F FRC-Durability (Corina) Chairwoman Corina reported:
1) ACI SP on the FRC for sustainable structures is being edited. 6 of 8 papers are currently in their final form. The SP is
expected to be published (CD version) by the next convention.
2) 544 has been invited to co-sponsor a technical session titled What is new in cellular concrete organized by ACI 523 on
Cellular Concrete. One or two sessions will be requested for Kansas or Denver conventions. It is anticipated that ACI
544 members will be contributing with at least one to two papers on the use of fibers in cellular concrete.

6. LIAISON REPORTS

ACI 223: Hoff reported that the committee has inspected the FRC taxiways at the Chicago airport The taxiway dimensions
are 1,200 ft x 75 ft with joints spaced at 600 ft. FRC exhibited a very satisfactory performance. No cases of any fibers being
sucked into the turbo engines have been reported.

ACI 360: Milligan reported that the ACI 360 committee is developing two documents referencing fibers. The committee is
working on assuring alignment with ACI 544.
ACI 506: Novak reported that the committee ACI 506 has developed a TN Guide to Shotcrete 506-R-XX. The TN also
covers FRC shotcrete.
ACI 440: Ekenel reported that ACI 440 committee has just completed a material specification document 440.8M-13
Specification for Carbon and Glass Fiber-Reinforced Polymer Materials Made by Wet Layup for External Strengthening. The
document will be released to public after the convention (May 1, 2014).
ACI 549: Jones reported that the committee has just published the new document on 549.4R-13 Guide to Design and
Construction of Externally Bonded Fabric-Reinforced Cementitious Matrix (FRCM) Systems for Repair and Strengthening
Concrete and Masonry Structures.
ACI 701: MacDonald reported that the committee has balloted a reinforcement document. Ballot comments are presently
being addressed.
ASTM C 09.42 on FRC: Mitchell reported that the committee is currently balloting response to negative votes on the round
panel test document. The committee has also completed the update and is currently balloting the C 1609 standard on the
Test Method for Flexural Performance of Fiber-Reinforced Concrete (Using Beam With Third-Point Loading).
FIB 8.3: - Ferrara reported that the 8.3 task group will be meeting in May to complete the Model Code Commentary
document. The already completed FIB model code allows structural use of FRCs in the flexural and shear design.
FRCA Mahoney reported that the Fiber Reinforced Concrete Association is developing a series of "Fibers in Practice"
documents geared towards contractors. The documents will rely on ACI terminology. This Fall FRCA will also start its third
annual awards program and will be looking for submissions.
RILEM: RILEM will be holding its next meeting in Vancouver in 2016.

7. OTHER BUSINESS
Charron gave a presentation on the 1st ACI-FIB Joint Workshop on FRC: From Design to Applications to be held in Montreal
on July 24-25, 2014. The 2 day workshop aims at providing a State-of-the-Art on the recent international FRC specification
developments and field use of FRC structures. Presentations of case studies will focus both on structural design and on the
specific use of FRCs in beams, elevated floors, tunnel linings, slabs, pavements, precast elements, bridges and other
applications. The workshop themes include
1. Design specifications for structural applications
2. Structural applications
3. Non-structural elements

8. ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at 4:30 P.M.
Respectfully submitted,
Neven Krstulovic-Opara
Secretary, ACI 544