Impact of Fibres on the Mechanical and Durable Behaviour of Fibre-Reinforced Concrete

Abstract

Numerous studies have been conducted recently on fibre reinforced concrete (FRC), a material that is frequently utilized in the building sector. The utilization of FRC has grown in relevance recently due to its enhanced mechanical qualities over normal concrete. Due to increased environmental degradation in recent years, natural fibres were developed and research is underway with the goal of implementing them in the construction industry. In this work, several natural and artificial fibres, including glass, carbon, steel, jute, coir, and sisal fibres are used to experimentally investigate the mechanical and durability properties of fibre-reinforced concrete. The fibres were added to the M40 concrete mix with a volumetric ratio of 0%, 0.5%, 1.0%, 1.5%, 2.0% and 2.5%. The compressive strength of the conventional concrete and fibre reinforced concrete with the addition of 1.5% steel, 1.5% carbon, 1.0% glass, 2.0% coir, 1.5% jute and 1.5% sisal fibres were 4.2 N/mm2, 45.7 N/mm2, 41.5 N/mm2, 45.7 N/mm2, 46.6 N/mm2, 45.7 N/mm2 and 45.9 N/mm2, respectively. Comparing steel fibre reinforced concrete to regular concrete results in a 13.69% improvement in compressive strength. Similarly, the compressive strengths were increased by 3.24%, 13.69%, 15.92%, 13.68% and 14.18% for carbon, glass, coir, jute, and sisal fibre reinforced concrete respectively when equated with plain concrete. With the optimum fraction of fibre reinforced concrete, mechanical and durability qualities were experimentally investigated. A variety of durability conditions, including the Rapid Chloride Permeability Test, water absorption, porosity, sorptivity, acid attack, alkali attack, and sulphate attack, were used to study the behaviour of fiber reinforced concrete. When compared to conventional concrete, natural fibre reinforced concrete was found to have higher water absorption and sorptivity. The rate of acid and chloride attacks on concrete reinforced with natural fibres was significantly high. The artificial fibre reinforced concrete was found to be more efficient than the natural fibre reinforced concrete. The load bearing capacity, anchorage and the ductility of the concrete improved with the addition of fibres. According to the experimental findings, artificial fibre reinforced concrete can be employed to increase the structure’s strength and longevity as well as to postpone the propagation of cracks. A microstructural analysis of concrete was conducted to ascertain its morphological characteristics.

Alkaline Degradation of Plant Fiber Reinforcements in Geopolymer: A Review

“…Different types of PFs absorb water differently. More et al [ 40 ] found that the water absorption of coir, jute, and sisal fibers was 130–180%, 20–40%, and 75–80%, respectively. Wei et al [ 57 ] found that sisal fiber water absorption in Ca(OH) 2 solution increased by 5% compared to ordinary water.…”

“…Due to repeated expansion and contraction of PFs under the action of water, stress is generated inside the fibers, and microcracks are formed [ 40 ]. When free water enters PF cells, hydrogen bonds are formed between water and PF, so as to compound the fiber and matrix interface under the action of water [ 58 , 59 ].…”

“…Therefore, it is necessary to study the degradation performance of fiber materials in a humid and hot environment, which is a complicated environment. It is well known that natural fibers will encounter more severe attacks in alkaline solutions at higher temperatures, which promotes the hydrolysis of non-formable materials in the fibers, thus limiting their thermal stability [ 40 ]. The processing temperature of most natural fibers is limited to around 200 °C [ 59 ].…”

Experimental and Numerical Evaluation on the Performance of Perfobond Leiste Shear Connectors in Steel–SFRCC Composite Beams

“…Tiberti et al [ 26 ] explored the ability of fibers in controlling cracks by discussing more than ninety tension tests on reinforced concrete prisms. More et al [ 27 ] investigated the mechanical and durability qualities of fiber-reinforced concrete (FRC) experimentally with the optimum fraction, and a constitutive model for the analysis of reinforced concrete structures was modified to improve its computational efficiency [ 28 ]. Tamrazyan et al [ 29 ] studied the solution of the analysis of the stress–strain state of FRC structures under emergency dynamic effects.…”

Effect of Natural Fibers from Palm Fronds on The Mechanical Properties of Concrete

“…Aziz et al [11] offered the current past and present studies and improvements for the effective usage of natural fibers from wood, jute, bamboo, sugarcane bagasse, sisal, plantain, muamba, and coconut husk for making concrete. More and Subramanian [12] studied the influence of fibers on the durability and mechanical characteristics of fiber-reinforced concrete. Machaka et al [13] examined the influence of employing fan palm natural fibers on the durability and mechanical properties of concrete.…”