Experimental Investigation on Durability Properties of Slurry Infiltrated Fiber Concrete

Abstract

Slurry infiltrated fibrous concrete (SIFCON) can be considered as a special and advanced type of steel fiber reinforced concrete composite. SIFCON is produced by infiltrating rich flow able cement slurry into the bed of preplaced fibers in the mold. In this paper, an attempt has been made to investigate the durability study of SIFCON. An ordinary Portland cement is used with fiber contents of (5%, 7.5%, 10%, and 12%). This study also presents the effect of incorporating Metakaolin (MK) on the mechanical and durability properties of SIFCON for a constant water/cement ratio of 0.5. The physical properties include the specific gravity, density, fineness modulus, water absorption, consistency. The above properties are studied for materials used like cement, fly ash, coarse aggregate, ceramic, sand and laterite. Mechanical properties of the hardened concrete such as compressive strength, tensile strength, flexural strength, and durability properties like water absorption, sorptivity, acid test, marine environment are tested and the values are validated. Metakaolin is a waste/non-conventional material which can be utilized beneficially in the construction industry. From the literature survey, Metakaolin inclusion increases the compressive, tensile, flexural and bend strength and modulus of elasticity of mortar considerably; however, the workability is slightly compromised.