EN 14889-1:2006

Fibres for concrete - Part 1: Steel fibres - Definitions, specifications and conformity

This Part 1 of EN 14889 specifies requirements for steel fibres for structural or non-structural use in concrete, mortar and grout.  
NOTE   Structural use of fibres is where the addition of fibres is designed to contribute to the load bearing capacity of a concrete element.  This standard covers fibres intended for use in all types of concrete and mortar, including sprayed concrete, flooring, precast, in-situ and repair concretes.

Fasern für Beton - Teil 1: Stahlfasern - Begriffe, Festlegungen und Konformität

Fibres pour béton - Partie 1 : Fibres d'acier - Définitions, spécifications et conformité

La présente Partie 1 de l’EN 14889 spécifie les prescriptions relatives aux fibres d’acier pour une utilisation structurelle ou non structurelle dans le béton, le mortier ou le coulis.
NOTE   L’utilisation des fibres est structurelle si l’ajout de fibres est conçu pour contribuer à la capacité portante d’un élément en béton. La présente norme traite des fibres destinées à être utilisées dans tous les types de béton et de mortier, y compris le béton projeté, le béton pour dallage, le béton pour préfabrication, le béton coulé en place et le béton de réparation.

Vlakna za beton – 1. del: Jeklena vlakna – Definicija, specifikacije in skladnost

General Information

• Status: Published
• Publication Date: 22-Aug-2006
• ICS: 91.100.30 - Concrete and concrete products
• Technical Committee: CEN/TC 104 - Concrete ( performance, production, placing and compliance criteria )
• Drafting Committee: CEN/TC 104/WG 11 - Fibres for concrete
• Current Stage: 9093 - Decision to confirm - Review Enquiry
• Completion Date: 16-Jun-2022
• Directive: 305/2011 - Regulation (eu) No 305/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 march 2011 laying down harmonised conditions for the marketing of construction products and repealing council directive 89/106/eec
• Directive: 89/106/EEC - Construction products
• Mandate: M/128 - Mandate to CEN/CENELEC concerning the execution of standardization work for harmonized standards on products for concrete, mortar and grout
• Ref Project: SIST EN 14889-1:2006 - Fibres for concrete - Part 1: Steel fibres - Definitions, specifications and conformity

Overview

EN 14889-1:2006 - Fibres for concrete - Part 1: Steel fibres - Definitions, specifications and conformity (CEN) specifies requirements for steel fibres intended for structural and non‑structural use in concrete, mortar and grout. It covers fibres for all common concrete applications including sprayed concrete, flooring, precast, in‑situ and repair concretes. The standard defines fibre types, required properties, test and declaration rules, and procedures for demonstrating conformity.

Key topics and technical requirements

• Scope and classification

  • Applies to steel fibres intended to be homogeneously mixed into concrete or mortar.
  • Fibres are grouped by production method: Group I (cold‑drawn wire), II (cut sheet), III (melt extracted), IV (shaved cold‑drawn wire), V (milled from blocks).
  • Fibres may be straight or deformed; coatings and bundling must be declared.

• Dimensional properties

  • Declared values and tolerances are required for length, equivalent diameter, and aspect ratio. Sampling and measurement methods are specified (e.g., micrometer, callipers, mass/length for irregular cross sections).

• Mechanical properties

  • Tensile strength (Rm) - determined per EN 10002-1 (for many groups from source material); tolerances given (typical acceptance: ±15% for individual values and ±7.5% for mean for Groups I and II; alternative minimum values allowed for some groups).
  • Modulus of elasticity - to be declared (typical steel value ~200 000 MPa noted as guidance).
  • Ductility - may be declared and tested (bending tests) where applicable.

• Performance in concrete

  • Effects on consistence (workability) and strength (residual flexural strength at specified CMODs) shall be determined using referenced test methods (prEN 14845‑1 / EN 14845‑2, EN 12350‑3).
  • Manufacturers declare the fibre dosage (kg/m³) required to achieve specified residual strengths.

• Safety and conformity

  • Release of dangerous substances must not exceed applicable limits.
  • Conformity assessment requires initial type testing and factory production control (FPC) (see standard for procedures). Annex ZA links the standard to EU Construction Products Directive and CE marking requirements.

Applications and practical value

• Use this standard to:
  • Specify and procure steel fibres with known mechanical and dimensional performance for building, civil and repair works.
  • Design fibre‑reinforced concrete mixes (sprayed concrete, industrial floors, precast elements, repair mortars).
  • Support product declarations, CE marking and compliance documentation.
• Practical benefits: clearer supplier declarations, predictable mix performance, and harmonised testing for quality control.

Who should use EN 14889-1

• Steel fibre manufacturers and suppliers
• Concrete and mortar producers
• Structural and geotechnical engineers specifying fibre‑reinforced concrete
• Contractors (spraying, flooring, repair works)
• Testing laboratories and certification bodies

Related standards (examples)

• EN 10002‑1 (tensile testing of metallic materials)
• EN 10218‑1 (wire test methods)
• EN 12350‑3 (Vebe test for fresh concrete)
• EN 14845‑1 / EN 14845‑2 (test methods for fibres in concrete)

Keywords: EN 14889-1, steel fibres for concrete, fibres for concrete, residual flexural strength, tensile strength, fibre dosage, conformity, CEN, construction products.

Standards Content (Sample)

2003-01.Slovenski inštitut za standardizacijo. Razmnoževanje celote ali delov tega standarda ni dovoljeno.Fibres for concrete - Part 1: Steel fibres - Definitions, specifications and conformityVlakna za beton – 1. del: Jeklena vlakna – Definicija, specifikacije in skladnostFibres pour béton - Partie 1 : Fibres d'acier - Définitions, spécifications et conformitéFasern für Beton - Teil 1: Stahlfasern - Begriffe, Festlegungen und KonformitätTa slovenski standard je istoveten z:EN 14889-1:2006SIST EN 14889-1:2006en91.100.30Beton in betonski izdelkiConcrete and concrete productsICS:SLOVENSKI
STANDARDSIST EN 14889-1:200601-december-2006

EUROPEAN STANDARDNORME EUROPÉENNEEUROPÄISCHE NORMEN 14889-1August 2006ICS 91.100.30 English VersionFibres for concrete - Part 1: Steel fibres - Definitions,specifications and conformityFibres pour béton - Partie 1 : Fibres d'acier - Définitions,spécifications et conformitéFasern für Beton - Teil 1: Stahlfasern - Begriffe,Festlegungen und KonformitätThis European Standard was approved by CEN on 26 June 2006.CEN members are bound to comply with the CEN/CENELEC Internal Regulations which stipulate the conditions for giving this EuropeanStandard the status of a national standard without any alteration. Up-to-date lists and bibliographical references concerning such nationalstandards may be obtained on application to the Central Secretariat or to any CEN member.This European Standard exists in three official versions (English, French, German). A version in any other language made by translationunder the responsibility of a CEN member into its own language and notified to the Central Secretariat has the same status as the officialversions.CEN members are the national standards bodies of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France,Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania,Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and United Kingdom.EUROPEAN COMMITTEE FOR STANDARDIZATIONCOMITÉ EUROPÉEN DE NORMALISATIONEUROPÄISCHES KOMITEE FÜR NORMUNGManagement Centre: rue de Stassart, 36
B-1050 Brussels© 2006 CENAll rights of exploitation in any form and by any means reservedworldwide for CEN national Members.Ref. No. EN 14889-1:2006: E

Tensile strength of fibres.8 5.4 Modulus of elasticity.8 5.5 Ductility of fibres.9 5.6 Mixing.9 5.7 Effect on consistence of concrete.9 5.8 Effect on strength of concrete.9 5.9 Release of dangerous substances.9 6 Evaluation of conformity.9 6.1 General.9 6.2 Initial type testing.10 6.3 Factory production control (FPC).11 Annex A (normative)
Conditions for switching between the control regimes T-N-R.15 Annex ZA (informative)
Relationship between this European Standard and the Essential Requirements of EU Directive for Construction Products (89/106/EEC).17 ZA.1 Scope and relevant characteristics.17 ZA.2. Procedure(s) for the attestation of conformity of products.19 ZA.3
CE Marking and labelling.22 Bibliography.26

This European Standard shall be given the status of a national standard, either by publication of an identical text or by endorsement, at the latest by February 2007, and conflicting national standards shall be withdrawn at the latest by May 2008. This document has been prepared under a mandate given to CEN by the European Commission and the European Free Trade Association, and supports essential requirements of the Construction Products Directive. For relationship with EU Directive(s), see informative Annex ZA, which is an integral part of this document. This European Standard should be given the status of a national standard.
No existing European Standard is superseded.
Not all fibre characteristics that may be relevant to the performance of a fibre concrete, structural or non-structural, such as early age effects, creep and chemical attack, have been addressed in this standard due to the difficulties of formulating meaningful and reproducible standardised test methods.
According to the CEN/CENELEC Internal Regulations, the national standards organizations of the following countries are bound to implement this European Standard: Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and United Kingdom.

1 Scope This Part 1 of EN 14889 specifies requirements for steel fibres for structural or non-structural use in concrete, mortar and grout.
NOTE Structural use of fibres is where the addition of fibres is designed to contribute to the load bearing capacity of a concrete element.
This standard covers fibres intended for use in all types of concrete and mortar, including sprayed concrete, flooring, precast, in-situ and repair concretes. 2 Normative references The following referenced documents are indispensable for the application of this document. For dated references, only the edition cited applies. For undated references, the latest edition of the referenced document (including any amendments) applies. EN 10002-1, Metallic materials – Tensile testing – Part 1: Method of test at ambient temperature EN 10218-1, Steel wire and wire products - General – Part 1: Test methods EN 12350-3, Testing fresh concrete - Part 3: Vebe test prEN 14845-1, Test methods for fibres in concrete – Part 1: Reference concretes EN 14845-2, Test methods for fibres in concrete - Part 2: Effect on concrete 3 Terms and definitions For the purposes of this document, the following terms and definitions apply. 3.1 steel fibres straight or deformed pieces of cold-drawn steel wire, straight or deformed cut sheet fibres, melt extracted fibres, shaved cold drawn wire fibres and fibres milled from steel blocks which are suitable to be homogeneously mixed into concrete or mortar 3.2 length distance between the outer ends of the fibre 3.2.1 developed length (for deformed fibres with irregular cross section) length of the deformed fibres after straightening the fibre without deforming the cross section 3.3 equivalent diameter diameter of a circle with an area equal to the mean cross sectional area of the fibre. For circular fibres, the equivalent diameter is equal to the diameter of the fibres 3.4 aspect ratio ratio of length (l) to equivalent diameter of the fibre

or to δj where δj > δFL (j = 1,2,3,4) 3.8
crack mouth opening displacement (CMOD) linear displacement measured by a transducer installed on a prism subjected to a centre-point load F 3.9 elastic modulus
initial slope of the tensile stress versus tensile strain curve 3.10 declared value value for a product property, determined in accordance with this standard, that a manufacturer is confident of achieving within the given tolerances taking into account the variability of the manufacturing process 4 Symbols Symbols used in this part of this standard are defined as follows: A area of the cross section of the fibre, in mm2; d diameter or equivalent diameter of the fibre, in mm; Rm tensile strength of the fibre, in MPa; l length of the fibre, in mm; ld
developed length of the fibre in mm; m mass of the fibre in g;
= l / d and is the aspect ratio of the fibre;
density of steel in kg/m³. 5 Requirements 5.1 General The steel fibres shall conform to one of the groups or one of the shapes listed below:

Steel fibres shall be classified into one of the following groups, in accordance with the basic material used for the production of the fibres. Group I : cold-drawn wire Group II : cut sheet
Group Ill : melt extracted Group IV : shaved cold drawn wire Group V : milled from blocks
b) Shape Fibres shall be either straight or deformed.
The manufacturer shall declare the shape of the fibre. The control and tolerances on the shape shall be specified for each different shape separately, and may be performed using optical equipment. When applicable, the type of bundling shall be declared. When steel fibres are supplied with a coating (e.g. zinc coating), the type and characteristic quantity in g/m² shall be declared. The control of the quantity shall be a function of the type of coating and shall be declared by the manufacturer. 5.2 Dimensions and tolerances 5.2.1 General For fibres of group I and II, the length, equivalent diameter and aspect ratio shall be declared. The tolerances shall be as given in Table 1. Specimens of fibres, when sampled in accordance with 6.2.2 and measured in accordance with 5.2.2 and 5.2.3 shall not deviate from the declared value by more than the tolerances given in Table 1. At least 95 % of the individual specimens shall meet the specified tolerances in both cases. For fibres of group III, IV and V, the range of lengths, equivalent diameters and aspect ratio’s shall be declared. Specimens of fibres, when sampled in accordance with 6.2.2 and measured in accordance with 5.2.2 and 5.2.3 shall be within the specified range. At least 90 % of the individual specimen fibres shall meet the specified tolerances in both cases.

Table 1
— Tolerances on fibre length and diameter Property Symbol Deviation of the individual value relative to the declared value
Deviation of the average value relative to the declared value Length and developed length
>30 mm
≤ 30 mm
l , ld (if applicable) ± 10 %
± 5 %
± 1,5 mm (Equivalent) diameter
>0,30 mm
≤ 0,30 mm
d ± 10 %
± 5 %
± 0,015 mm Length/diameter ratio
± 15 % ± 7,5 %
5.2.2
Determination of length The length shall be measured with a marking gauge (callipers) with an accuracy of 0,1 mm.
In the case of an irregular cross section, the developed length of the fibre shall also be determined to calculate the equivalent diameter. If straightening of the fibre is necessary, it shall be done by hand or, if this is not possible, by hammering on a level of wood, plastic material or copper using a hammer of similar material. During the straightening the cross section should not be changed. 5.2.3 Determination of (equivalent) diameter 5.2.3.1 Round wire fibres The diameter of the fibre shall be measured with a micrometer, in two directions, approximately at right angles, to an accuracy of 0,01 mm. The fibre diameter shall be the mean of the two diameters.

d = ρπ.10.4d6lm nominal density ρ of mild steel may be taken as 7850 kg/m³ nominal density ρ of stainless steel may be taken as 7950 kg/m³ 5.3
Tensile strength of fibres The tensile strength (Rm) shall be determined in accordance with EN 10002-1, except as indicated below, and shall be declared.
For Group I (cold drawn wire), the tensile strength shall be determined from the source wire before deformation. The acceptable tolerance on the declared value of Rm shall be 15 % for individual values and 7,5 % for the mean value. At least 95 % of the individual specimens shall meet the specified tolerance. For Group II (cut sheet), the tensile strength shall be determined from the source plate before deformation. The acceptable tolerance on the declared value of Rm shall be 15 % for individual values and 7,5 % for the mean value. At least 95 % of the individual specimens shall meet the specified tolerance. For Group III (melt extracted fibres), Group IV (shaved cold drawn wire) and Group V (milled from steel blocks) the tensile strength shall be determined from fibres with a minimum length of 20 mm clamped within the jaws of the testing machine. These fibre types have irregular cross-section and therefore the fibres will break at the minimum cross-section. The nominal tensile strength shall be determined by dividing the maximum load during the tensile test by the cross-section calculated from the equivalent diameter. The manufacturer may determine the cross-section at the break by an optical method, in which case the tensile strength obtained by dividing the maximum tensile load during the tensile test by the fracture cross-section, may also be declared, giving the precision of the area measurement.
For Groups III, IV and V the manufacturer may instead declare a minimum tensile strength and at least 90 % of the individual specimens of fibres shall then comply with this value. 5.4 Modulus of elasticity The manufacturer shall declare the modulus of elasticity of the fibres. The modulus of elasticity may be determined for Groups I and II fibres using the tensile test as described in EN 10002-1. The test shall be done on the basic material before deformation of the fibre and the modulus of elasticity shall be calculated using the stress and the deformation at 10 % and 30 % of Rm.

The typical modulus of elasticity for stainless steel fibres depends on the material composition and is approximately 170.000 MPa. 5.5 Ductility of fibres If applicable, the manufacturer may declare a value for the ductility which shall be determined according to EN 10218-1 where the test is performed on the end diameter before deformation. The material shall be bent over a cylindrical support with a radius of maximum 2,5 mm. The average number of bends shall be declared. 5.6 Mixing Mixing instructions shall be supplied by the manufacturer which recommend the mixing sequence to be adopted when introducing the fibre into both a centrally mixed concrete plant and for a dry batch truck mixed plant.
5.7 Effect on consistence of concrete The effect of fibres on the consistence of a reference concrete conforming to prEN 14845-1 shall be determined.
The consistence according to EN 12350-3 shall be determined on the reference concrete without fibres and then on an identical mix with fibres. The effect on consistence shall be declared. The amount of fibres added shall be declared by the manufacturer and shall be the minimum amount of fibres needed to obtain the required strength specified in 5.8.
If a plasticiser or superplasticer is needed in order to meet the consistence requirements when determining the required addition level of fibres, the amount and type shall also be declared by the manufacturer. The fibre manufacturer may additionally declare the consistence for the reference concrete with a range of dosages of fibres.
5.8 Effect on strength of concrete The effect on strength shall be determined according to EN 14845-2 using a reference concrete conforming to prEN 14845-1.
The unit volume of fibres in kg/m³ shall be declared by the manufacturer that achieves a residual flexural strength of 1,5 MPa at 0,5 mm CMOD (equivalent to 0,47 mm central deflection) and a residual flexural strength of 1MPa at 3,5 mm CMOD (equivalent to 3,02 mm central deflection). 5.9 Release of dangerous substances Materials used in products shall not release any dangerous substances in excess of the maximum permitted levels specified in a relevant European Standard for the material or permitted in the national regulations of the member state of destination. 6 Evaluation of conformity
6.1 General The conformity of a fibre to the requirements of this standard and with the declared values shall be demonstrated by the manufacturer by carrying out both: - initial type testing of the product
(see 6.2.) - factory production control (see 6.3.)

The appropriate initial tests shall be repeated whenever a change in the basic materials or manufacturing procedures occurs, or a new product type is being produced. The tests to be conducted shall be the tests and/or calculations as described in this standard for the following properties: shape (see 5.1.b) dimensions and tolerances (see 5.2) tensile strength (see 5.3) ductility (see 5.5.) Table 1 — con
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