Experimental Investigation on the Influence of Temperature Variations on Macro-synthetic Fibre Reinforced Concrete Short and Long Term Behaviour

Abstract

In the last decades, fibre reinforced concretes became widely adopted in structural applications. Nevertheless, some elements of their mechanical behaviour are not fully understood. For instance, the effect of environmental conditions on the short and long-term behaviour of these materials has been studied to a limited extent only. In this perspective, the present paper presents the results of a large experimental campaign involving flexural tests on Macro Synthetic Fibre Reinforced Concrete (MSFRC) specimens under short- and long-term loads. Two different polypropylene Fibres were used, with dosages of 8 kg/m3 and 10 kg/m3. The effect of temperature on the short-term behaviour of these materials was investigated by performing three-point bending tests at 20 °C and 40 °C in cracked and uncracked conditions. The effect of temperature variations on long-term deformations was studied by means of four-point bending tests on pre-cracked notched beams at increasing temperatures, from 20 °C to 40 °C. The paper presents the test results as well as analyses the effective number of fibres crossing the cracks.