The Effect of Polyethylene Fiber Addition and Fiber Length on the Behavior of Tensile Loaded Ferrofoam Concrete Plates

Abstract

This study investigates the influence of adding polyethylene fibers and varying their lengths on the behavior of ferrofoam concrete plates under tensile loading. Test specimens of ferrofoam concrete plates with three different matrix variations were prepared: plain foam concrete, foam concrete with 10 mm fibers, and foam concrete with 15 mm fibers. Tensile tests were conducted to evaluate the cracking capacity of the plates for each variation. The results show that the addition of polyethylene fibers improves the ductility and tensile strength of the foam concrete. The 15 mm fibers exhibited a split tensile strength ratio of 13.84% to the compressive strength of the concrete. Additionally, the use of fibers increased the average cracking capacity of the ferrofoam concrete plates, with the highest value reaching 1.5 MPa. However, the ultimate tensile capacity of the plates was not significantly affected by the addition of fibers.