Freezing–thawing durability of fly ash concrete composites containing silica fume and polypropylene fiber

Abstract

A parametric experimental study has been conducted to investigate the combined effect of fly ash, silica fume and polypropylene fiber on freezing–thawing durability of concrete composite. Four fly ash contents, four silica fume contents and five different fiber volume fractions were used. Results reveal that the addition of fly ash has lowered the freezing–thawing durability of concrete composite containing fly ash and that the freezing–thawing durability is decreasing gradually with the increase of fly ash content. It is evident that the addition of silica fume and polypropylene fiber can greatly improve the freezing–thawing durability of the concrete composite containing fly ash and the freezing–thawing durability is enhanced as the silica fume content and the fiber volume fraction increases gradually, with the fiber volume fraction below 0.08%. However, the freezing–thawing durability of concrete composite begins to decline after the fiber volume dosage exceeds 0.08%.