Effect of elevated temperature on splitting tensile strength of fibre concrete

Abstract

The effect of temperature on the splitting tensile strength of plain and fibre reinforced concrete is reported. Hooked steel and glass fibres with four different percentages by volume were used. The exposed temperature was in the range of 20–800°C, each for a period of 90 mins, after which the specimens were tested while hot, cooled in air, or cooled in water. The tensile strength significantly deteriorated with temperature for both plain and fibre reinforced concrete. The residual strength of the fibre reinforced concrete was higher than that of the plain concrete for all temperatures but the steel fibre reinforced concrete showed better performance than the glass fibre reinforced concrete. Using different fibre contents seems to have a secondary effect on the residual tensile strength at temperatures higher than 350 and 600°C for glass and steel fibre concrete respectively. Cooling the hot specimens by water causes further reduction in the tensile strength.