The Influence of Various Factors on the Drying Shrinkage of Basalt Fibre Reinforced Cement-Based Composites Designed by the Taguchi Method

Abstract

Cement-based composites are widely used for various construction applications due to their outstanding mechanical and durability performance. However, the high drying shrinkage of cement-based composites has resulted in detrimental effects on its long-term performance. Drying shrinkage in cement-based composites causes cracks that serve as a pathway for the ingression of deleterious materials into the composites. Therefore, improving the drying shrinkage resistance of cement-based composites will result in an enhancement of the overall performance of the composites. The incorporation of short fibres and supplementary cementitious materials are some of the effective ways to improve the resistance of cement-based composites against drying shrinkage. Therefore, this study aims to evaluate the effect of the incorporation of basalt fibres and fly ash on the drying shrinkage of cement-based composites. This paper presents the results from the experimental and numerical investigation on the influence of various factors on the drying shrinkage of basalt fibre reinforced cement-based composites. The mixtures evaluated in this study were designed using the Taguchi method and a total of nine mixtures were made. The influence of the fly ash, water, sand and basalt content on the drying shrinkage of the mixtures were investigated. The findings from this study showed that the use of fly ash to cement ratio of 4, sand to binder ratio of 1, water to binder ratio of 0.25 and basalt fibre dosage of 2% is optimum to reduce drying shrinkage.