Design of macro-synthetic fibre reinforced concrete pipes

•Experimental campaign of PFRCPs with internal diameter of 1000 mm.•Computer-aided optimum design of PFRCPs.•Proposal of an analytical methodology for the design.

This paper presents an experimental campaign in which concrete pipes were manufactured using plastic fibres as the sole reinforcement material. In this regard, it has been demonstrated that the use of plastic fibres is compatible with pipe production systems, and that, when subjected to the crushing test (CT), plastic fibre reinforced pipes yield strength classes that are attractive in terms of the growth of this material in the concrete pipe industry. Moreover, the results obtained from both the characterisation of the material and the mechanical behaviour of the pipes have been used to verify that the Model for the Analysis of Pipes (MAPs) is an appropriate tool for the design of such pipes. Finally, this paper presents a direct design methodology which was used to establish the firsts design tables for fibre reinforced concrete pipes presented in the scientific literature. This methodology can be used to estimate the strength requirements of the fibre reinforced concrete needed to reach the strength classes set out in EN 1916:2002, without having to resort to the CT as an indirect design method.