CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS RESEARCH PROJECTS AT COVENTRY UNIVERSITY

GLASS FIBRE MAT IN CONCRETE Back to home page

Status:  This work has been started with a number of final year undergraduate projects.

Chopped strand alkali-resistant glass matt was first produced in 1993, and its use as a shutter lining material has been pioneered at Coventry University.  When used as a shutter liner, the material ends up just below the surface of the concrete and is only just visible when the shutter is removed.  It is left in place as a permanent part of the structure.

The work which has been carried out to date has shown that this material promotes the formation of better concrete in the cover layer, as well as reinforcing it and inhibiting cracking. It therefore offers considerable potential for the construction of durable structures.

We have also investigated its excellent ability to reduce fragmentation on impact.  In one project a student took some samples to a range and found that the glass greatly reduces the loss of material when a rifle bullet goes through concrete.

This shows a block after the bullet had gone through it.  The glass is only visible where it has burst out around the hole.