Simultaneous effects of fiber and glass on the mechanical properties of self-compacting concrete

Abstract

A variety of materials are added to concrete so as to improve its mechanical behavior. Moreover, it can help reduce the environmental pollution by replacing certain waste materials as cement or aggregate. This study involved waste glass as a replacement for aggregate. The polypropylene fiber was added to the glass-containing concrete so as to improve its behavior at different percentages (0, 0.5, 1 and 1.5%). Replacement of glass as aggregate can curtail the compressive and tensile strengths of the concrete. Furthermore, fibers enhance the tensile strength and slightly reduce the compressive strength of the concrete. Glass and fibers in concrete reduce slump. Therefore, the slump required by the concrete can be supplied by adding a lubricant. There were eighty cubic specimens (15cm) constructed to investigate the compressive strength as well as sixty concrete beams (10*10*40cm) to evaluate the flexural behavior of the glass-containing concrete and polypropylene fibers. The results demonstrated that the addition of 0.5–1% of fibers to the glass-containing concrete can enhance the compressive strength of the glass-containing fiber-free concrete. The flexural strength of the concrete containing 50–70% of glass entails variations of less than 1%.