Mechanical properties of high strength concrete incorporating chopped basalt fibers: experimental and analytical study

Abstract

Many civil engineering structures are constructed in terms of aspect like economy, strength and serviceability requirement. The fibres play a prominent role in bridging the micro cracks at the early stage of crack propagation and makes the structure ductile. The impact of chopped basalt fibre on high-strength reinforced concrete composites is the focus of this research. The chopped basalt fibre hardened property of concrete was investigated and compared it with controlled concrete. Moreover, physical property of concrete i.e. slump cone and compaction factor incorporating chopped basalt fibre volume fraction in variation of 0%,0.75%,1.5%,2.25%,3% to the total volume of concrete mix was also investigated. To analyse the hardened properties of chopped basalt fibre high strength concrete, 135 test samples were made and cured for 7, 14, and 28 days. The test findings show that increasing the volume percentage of fibres reduces slump from 135 mm to 132 mm for BFHS0.75 but does not result in a significant increase in concrete compressive strength of 77.1 MPa for BFHS0.75 However, on addition of chopped basalt fibres at 2.25% (BFHS2.25) the percentage increment of flexural strength increases by 72.8% (10.3 MPa) with control mix (5.96 MPa) and after that it decreases when 3% fibres were incorporated. Similarly, split-tensile strength increases at all fibre dosage and fibre addition of 3% (BFHS3) increases by 12.28% (5.65 MPa) with controlled concrete (5.04 MPa). The analytical results and suggested regression model could be used in real-world situations with fiber reinforced high strength concrete related issues. There is a significant relationship between mechanical property and independent variable through ANOVA in SPSS.