Optimization of compressive strength of cementitious matrix composition of Textile Reinforced Concrete–Taguchi approach

Abstract

In this paper, an experimental investigation is carried out to optimize the cementitious matrix proportions of the Textile Reinforced Concrete by using Taguchi’s Design of Experiment Methodology. For optimization, the parameters influencing the cementitious matrix were defined based on the available literatures. The experiments have been designed using an L27 Orthogonal Array with seven factors having three levels for each factor. The seven factors are cement content, fly ash, silica fume super-plasticizer and silica sand of three varying grades. The water content required for all the mixes was varied and it was calculated by conducting the flow table test. Using the suggested orthogonal array the effect of compressive strength was examined. The obtained results have been analyzed using MINITAB statistical software to draw a robust conclusion. Taguchi analysis was employed to find the optimal mix and the findings result that the optimum mix shows a maximum of 5% higher strength than the other mixes. Analysis of Variance results revealed that Cement amount (18.58%) and Superplasticizer (15.76%) are the most influencing parameter with a statistical significance at 97.6% confidence level with respect to compressive strength. The developed regression model was assessed using different statistical tools such as the coefficient of determination, mean absolute error, and root mean square error. Based on these statistical assessment tools, results revealed that the predicted values provided satisfactory results with the observed values.