Define small earthquakes

In CA. it is being used for slabs to replace SOME rebar, walls, it ain't happening here

From what I found awhile back, it's good for shrinkage cracks and not worth much for strength.

One of my ICF distributors has told me that I should be able to do away with 10M rebar this summer and replace with Helix fibre that will come with me ICF shipment. It will not replace lintel steel, but it shoud save time. One installer in the area has tested it and have saved 20-30% in labour going this route. Cost of fibre works about the same as rebar but saves in labour to install. Haven't tried it yet but would like too. Won't work everywhere I supose, like in Chris J's neck of the woods, but for us non-earthquake prone folks, might be something to look at!
Paul Stevens

We have used Helix successfully.  It won't replace all steel but works for the "crack control" steel.  Have your engineer make recommendations.  It will cut down on the labor during the pour.  Much easier consolidation.  No trouble with vibrators.

I have been keeping my on eye on this technology, but haven't tried it yet. I just checked out Helix and their data shows 3 different "levels" of application based on the amount of fiber added per cubic yard (the dosage).

Level 1 is crack control (as icfblocks says)
Level 2 is medium load carrying capacity which adds to the strength of the rebar that is still used
Level 3 is heavy load carrying capacity which replaces the rebar in the main portions of the wall (not lintels, etc).

In their FAQ they state that helix can absolutely replace primary rebar in concrete (it's all in the dosage). The question is the what is the cost for the required dosage to replace primary rebar in the wall.

We have reciently used Helix fibers to elimate most of the horizontal bar. We used it in 6" walls 4" floors and 4" roofs. Our last project was a 26' tall gym and pool wall. these walls were 10" and 6" thick.
The main advantage for us was time saved.

With no horizontal bar you can easly build a single wall all the way to the top of wall with little stair steping of forms at the corners. This reduces material and equipment handling greatly. Sometimes we will simply use a rolling schfolding and brace behind as we roll ahead.

Without fiber this would be difficult.

Has anyone done helix or anything else without vertical rebar too? It looks like it is possible...

If you read the Helix specs the dosage charts coincide with the persciptive method for replacing vertical rebar.

The folks at Helix are being very helpful and positive as far as rebar replacement, etc. The other folks have left me out to dry. As follows:

"Daniel, Thank you for your interest in Helix. We routinely do structures more than 2 stories however, we only publish the tables for residential1 and 2 story buildings. To do a side by side design with Helix we will need the "dosagerequest form" downloadable at www.helixfiber.com/info completed and sent back to us. Basically its going to ask for wall thicknesses and rebar configurations of all of the typical wall sections. Once we have this info, we can turn the design around in 24 hours or less. For estimating purposes, there will always be a 20% savings with Helix. If you like I can also have a sales representative contact you about Helix. Luke"

dwak

When I was getting close to the building permit stage for my ICF house I inquired about using Helix fibers. They wanted to see a set of prints with all the rebar specs completed. They would then come up with the design to replace the rebar. They won't, or wouldn't, come up with a fiber mix recommendation from scratch. They are in the rebar replacement business, not the reinforcement design business. The only rebar they pretty much flat out said can't be fully replaced and save money is in lintels.

I didn't pusue Helix further because of the timing of the project at that time. I really should have, and wish I would have, pursued it later after I had the building permit because the ground froze and I couldn't get started on construction until 2 months later.

We tried Helix in a large project and the building department rejected the materials because there was no code approvals. Helix would not obtain a code approval using the argument that standard reinforcement does not require code approval. Thus we were blocked based upon Helix not wanting to obtain code compliance data.

With a large part of the rebar going around openings and that rebar is what the engineering specifies, I think it will be a while before it gains momentum with ICFs.

For flat-work steel fibers would have more hope, an evenly distributed steel. From what I recall on reading on ferro-cement weight of steel and distribution is key.

Just finished another ICF job in central GA using Helix. We replaced all the bar but around windows and doors. Also didn't replace bar in safe room. It saved money on rebar and lobor on the installation. It also makes the placement of concrete much easier. There are less concolidation problems. Much easier to vibrate.

It is a little odd the way Helix proposes to match your engineered rebar specs with their equivalent but won't come out with start from scratch specs.
I think they, Helix, are a great idea and perfect for the environment I'm working in but ,like all new tech, it is a very hard sell.
Just had another thought, I wonder if Helix would work in block mortor as "block tie" or even in stucco as mesh?
Thanks for the input.
dwak

I've had the same experience with helix. So far I like it and will use it again for certain homes and commercial applications.

Jonr summed it up correctly. It's for T&S only. Part of the reason is as icfblocks stated. It would be tough to hit the situations for code approvals. But I don't think we'll ever see it replace rebar for several reasons.
I'm a big believer in fibers. If you want to use them, you'll have to find an engineer to look at that route. But keep in mind that it will only be uses where the concrete can be designed as "Plain Concrete", that is, where NO rebar is required for strength. Probably not very much of the concrete in the situation you describe is Plain.