Mechanical properties of slurry-infiltrated fiber concrete (SIFCON) as sustainable material with variable fiber content

Abstract

For any member, sustainability is very important, which refers to the capacity to endure. Normal concrete has low tensile strength and could not exhibit significant tensile strain margins. Accordingly, it is essential to implement strategies that can enhance the behavior of conventional concrete before using it as structural concrete. Therefore, using Slurry-Infiltrated Fiber Concrete (SIFCON) composites is a current innovation in the field of civil engineering that has a considerable influence. This study presented an experimental study to improve the mechanical efficiency of a SIFCON mix with varying fiber content. To satisfy this objective, several SIFCON mixes, incorporating hook-end steel fiber with three different volume fractions (6, 7, and 8.5%) were prepared. The prepared mixtures performed compressive strength tests at 7 and 28 days, splitting tensile strength tests, and flexural strength tests both in the fresh and hardened states. The results pointed out that the fresh state mortar had proper filling and flow ability properties, satisfying the spread diameter requirement (between 240 and 260 mm) for SIFCON mortar, which is equal to 249 mm. For mechanical performance, the maximum compressive strength increased by 53% after 28 days for the mix’s SF of 8.5%. Furthermore, when compared to the reference mix, splitting, and flexural enhancement increased by 44% and 91%, respectively. On the other hand, the failure shape of SIFCON for all tested mixes has an impact on strengthening, that’s assigned to the high vast area of SF.