Sometimes civil engineering infrastructures have been constructed in hot and cold weathering regions such as desert areas. In such situations, the concrete is not only smashed by hot and cold processes but also spoiled by shrinkage cracking. Therefore, this study intends to examine the influence of heat–cool cycles on high-strength concrete comprising various fibers, such as natural date palm, polypropylene, and steel fibers, and their different volume percentages. The most popular technique for improving the structural behavior of concrete is fiber insertion. Fibers decrease cracking occurrences, enhance early strength under impact loads, and increase a structure’s ability to absorb additional energy. The main goal is to examine the effects of three different types of fibers on regular concrete exposed to heat–cool cycles. For each type of fiber, three dosages of 0.2%, 0.6%, and 1% were used to create high-strength concrete. After 28 days of regular water curing and six months of exposure to heat-and-cold cycles, all specimens were tested. The heat–cool cycles entailed heating for two days at 60 °C in the oven and cooling for another two days at room temperature. The results of the experiment showed that fiber reinforcement in concrete improves its strength and durability. The flexural strength was substantially improved by increasing the date palm, polypropylene, and steel fibers into the high-strength concrete with and without heat–cool cycles. Adding increments of date palm, polypropylene, and steel fibers into high-strength concrete revealed a significant improvement in energy absorption capacity in both cases, i.e., with or without the implementation of heat–cool cycles. Therefore, the natural date palm fibers might be utilized to produce sustainable fibrous high-strength concrete and be applicable in severe weathering conditions.
In this research, the effect of heat–cool cycles (HCCs) on high-strength concrete (HSC) containing steel fibres (SFs), polypropylene fibres (PPFs), and date palm fibres (DPFs), which were named fibrous high-strength concrete (FHSC), was studied. To produce FHSC, three doses of 0.2, 0.6, and 1 percent of each fibre were used. All samples were tested after 28 days of normal water curing and 270 days of exposure to HCCs (continuing the authors’ project and research published at 28 and 180 days). This entails heating for 2 days at 60 C in the oven and cooling for another 2 days at room temperature for 270 days. The experiment’s findings revealed that fibre reinforcement in concrete enhances its strength and durability. By incorporating the three types of fibres into high-strength concrete, with and without HCCs, the modulus of rupture was significantly increased. In both conditions, including with or without the implementation of HCCs, incorporating the three fibre types into the HSC showed a significant increase in toughness. As a result, natural date palm fibres can produce sustainable FHSC that can withstand harsh environmental conditions. Moreover, compared to the previous study conducted by the authors at 180 days, there is a slight severity in both the pattern of decrease and increase of the studied characteristics at 270 days caused by the effect of thermal cycles and fibres.
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