Comparative experimental study of mechanical properties of concrete prepared by different fibres

Abstract

This paper reports a comparative experimental study on the mechanical properties of concrete containing different types of fibres: polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), polypropylene (PP) and steel fibres. Compression and three-point bending tests are performed on both plain concrete and each type of fibre-reinforced concrete (FRC). The experimental results show that the presence of fibres has less of an effect on the FRC's compressive strength. The tensile strength is commonly increased by the addition of fibres, but an appropriate fibre content of PVA or PP fibres should be selected. PVA and PP fibres decrease the concrete's elastic modulus, but steel fibres increase the modulus due to the steel's higher Young's modulus. The FRC containing PVA shows brittle characteristics, but the FRC containing steel or PP fibres have load-deflection curves with flattened descending paths. Flexural behaviour of the concrete is improved by addition of steel or PP fibres, but not by PVA fibres, and the concrete's fracture toughness ...