Non-destructive test approach for assessing the amount of fibre in polymeric fibre reinforced concrete

•A NDT test to assess the content of polymeric fibres embedded in concrete is presented.•The NDT test is based on electrical impedance measurements.•The capacity of the test as a quality control method was experimentally proved.•Reliable results were obtained with the test approach proposed. Over the past decade, significant efforts have been made to develop polymeric-based macro-fibre reinforced concrete (PFRC) for structural applications. Consequently, remarkable growth has been reported in the use of this type of fibres as concrete reinforcement. However, advances in quality control methods for PFRC lie behind any progress observed in polymeric fibre (PF) technology. In particular, cost-effective and efficient test procedures for quantifying the amount of fibre in fresh/hardened concrete matrices are, to the author’s best knowledge, non-existent, hindering the expansion of this innovative concrete reinforcement. This paper discusses a non-destructive method based on measuring electrical impedance to assess the content of polymeric fibres embedded in concrete matrices. A detailed experimental programme was performed to prove the capacity of the test method to obtain reliable results. The results confirm that the test approach proposed herein has interesting potential as a quality control method.