Study on Basalt Fiber Reinforced Concrete: Mechanical and Microstructural Properties and Analytical Modelling of Compressive Stress-Strain Curves

Abstract

This paper aims to present compressive stress-strain behaviour and develop relationships for peak stress, strain at peak stress, and material parameter with the modified reinforcing index for analytical modelling of basalt fiber reinforced concretes (BFRC’s) stress-strain curves. For this, three different strengths of BFRCs were developed i.e., normal-strength-BFRC, medium-strength-BFRC and high-strength-BFRC, each strength of BFRCs contains 0%, 0.1%, 0.2%, 0.3%, 0.4%, and 0.5% of basalt fibers (BFs). The effect of BFs on mechanical properties, compressive stress-strain behaviour of the BFRCs mixes were studied experimentally. The energy absorption capacity, peak stress, and strain at peak stress of BFRCs have also been studied analytically. Scanning electron microscope analysis was performed to examine microstructural characteristics of BFRCs. The test results indicated that the maximum compressive, flexural, and split tensile strengths and better stress-strain behaviour exhibited at the addition of 0.3% of BFs in all three strengths of BFRCs. Using developed relationships, analytically modelled stress-strain curves closely represented the realistic stress-strain behaviour of BFRCs and fit well with the experimental stress-strain curves. In addition, in literature, the proposed expressions between the material parameter and reinforcing index for analytical modelling of steel FRC's stress-strain curves could not accurately predict the experimental stress-strain curves of BFRCs.