The Effect of Organic Fibers on Crack Resistance and Permeability of High Performance Concrete

Abstract

In this paper, high-performance concrete (HPC) incorporated organic fibers, i.e., polyvinyl alcohol fiber (PVA fiber), polypropylene fiber (PP fiber), cellulose fiber (UF fiber), polyethylene fiber (PETF) was produced. The properties measured included strength, crack resistance performance and water permeation of the concrete. The effect of organic fibers on the shrinkage and water permeation properties was investigated. Test results indicated that the organic fibers of different types could reduce the size and amount of crack source; organic fibers provided better enhancement for shrinkage resistance and impermeability of HPC; the improvement of the shrinkage resistance and the impermeability of the concrete resulted from the use of organic fiber, which was dependent on the types, total volume fraction and of fibers, proportions of organic fiber.