Creep and shrinkage of synthetic fibre-reinforced geopolymer concrete

Abstract

This paper presents the results of an investigation on the use of synthetic polypropylene (PP) and polyolefin (PO) fibres to improve the creep and shrinkage performance of low-calcium fly ash-based geopolymer concrete. Three PP fibres of 18, 19 and 51 mm length and two PO fibres of 48 and 55 mm length with a volume fraction of 0·5% were added to geopolymer concrete. The mechanical properties of the resulting material, such as compressive and splitting tensile strength, modulus of elasticity and modulus of rupture, have been studied. The drying shrinkage and creep of plain and fibre-reinforced geopolymer concrete were examined for a period of 1 year. The results revealed that the inclusion of PP and PO fibres in a volume fraction of 0·5% decreased the drying shrinkage and increased the compressive creep of fly ash-based geopolymer concrete at both early ages and in the long term.