You can find a detailed explanation of the difference between the two types of fiber, its advantages and utilities. You will find that long fibers and short fibers are used for totally different things and are neither competitors nor comparable. It is important that you perform the calculation online to determine if you need micro fiber or macro fiber for your work. Once this aspect has been clarified, we are going to delve into our “very special” Barchip synthetic macro fibers.

Today in the market you can find macro fibers of steel of 50-60 mm, of glass of 24 or 36 mm and synthetic of 30-58 mm.

Given that the macro fibers can hardly improve the properties of the concrete and consequently the resistance to first breakage due to bending, we will use this type of fiber only when we know that the concrete that we are going to use in our work will crack at the bottom of the slab due to to an overload. The function of our macro fiber will be to prevent the propagation of cracks after they have occurred.

In other words, these fibers will have to protect our slab “structurally”. In order to comply with the definition of “structural reinforcement” defined in Annex 14 of the EHE08, a minimum quantity must be dosed depending on the type of macro fiber (kg / m3).

• In the case of steel macro fibers, this quantity is at least 20 kg / m3.
• The 36 mm long macro glass fibers need a minimum dosage of 10 kg / m³ in order to comply with the requirement of the standard and show some type of structural character as defined in Annex 14 of EHE08. </ li>
• In the case of synthetic macro fibers on the market, most of them show structural reinforcement characteristics from 4 kg / m³.
• FIBRATEC BARCHIP 48 SHOWS A CHARACTER OF STRUCTURAL REINFORCEMENT FROM ONLY 2.5 KG OF DOSAGE, being the most efficient on the market to replace a double mesh in a concrete slab.

FIBRATEC offers 3 different synthetic macro fibers, each with differentiating features:

ØBARCHIP 48 is the most efficient macro synthetic fiber on the market. Therefore, with less kg of fiber per m3, we will achieve reinforcements superior to any other fiber on the market. It is also suitable for precast

ØBARCHIP MQ58, in addition to being more efficient than other synthetic macro fibers on the market, when applied it behaves like AR micro fiberglass. That is, n leaves no trace on the surface of the slab, all the fibers remaining inside the concrete after the passage of the polishing helicopter. The surface is ready for use without the need for a rolling layer. It does not leave any protruding fibers that have to be burned with a torch, as it happens with other fibers on the market.

ØBARCHIP 54 is a synthetic macro fiber that is mostly used for gunning tunnels or slopes and reinforcing precast parts.

In this video we explain the structural reinforcement with macro fibers. We compare the different macro fibers on the market, their advantages and disadvantages. With the macro fibers, we substitute the double mesh.

The synthetic macro fibers on the market bring out points on the surface. BARCHIP does not leave points on the surface because it has no memory effect and remains bent after the passage of the polishing helicopter.

Barchip compared to 36mm macro fiberglass. Barchip does not sharpen the surface of the slab, while the 36mm macro glass does not sharpen the surface.