Basalt Fiber Reinforced Concrete Research Articles

Grey modeling study on mechanical properties and pore structure of concrete with different basalt fiber contents based on NMR

This paper investigates the correlation between strength and pore characteristics of basalt fiber-reinforced concrete (BFRC) with different fiber contents and establishes a link between meso- and macro-properties. The research focuses on BFRC with differing fiber contents, analyzing compressive strength, flexural strength, and splitting tensile strength across eight admixture levels (ranging from 0 % to 0.35 %). Using the nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) technique, T2 spectra of BFRC with varying fiber contents are obtained, deriving curves of the pore distribution. Additionally, considering the parameters of different pore size proportions, the paper delves into analyzing the impact of pore structure on BFRC's distinct mechanical properties using grey correlation. Utilizing the optimal pore structure parameters derived from GCA to forecast different strengths, this study establishes GM(1,3) prediction models for three strengths, respectively. The results showed that basalt fibers can enhance concrete strength. And, 0.25 % basalt fibers optimize concrete's the inner structure of BFRC by decreasing harmful pores. The comprehensive correlation between pore parameters and BFRC strength ranges significantly indicating a notable relationship between strength and pore alterations. The compressive strength was most related to the total porosity and the proportion of non-harmful pores, and the splitting tensile and flexural strengths were related to the fractal dimension and porosity of the harmful pores as well as to the total and non-harmful porosity, respectively. A BFRC strength prediction model formula was developed based on the most relevant pore structure parameters derived from GCA. This calculation formula showcases a high accuracy in predicting BFRC strength, establishing a mesoscopic-to-macroscopic quantitative relationship that effectively informs the production and application of BFRC.

Selection of Either (Fly Ash, Rubber And Rice Husk) Material for Rigid Pavement: Review

Abstract: Road transportation plays a crucial role in India's economic development, providing cost-effective, accessible, and adaptable means of transportation for both passengers and freight. Pavement, as a key component of highway design, must withstand vehicular loads and foot traffic while ensuring safe and efficient movement. This paper reviews existing literature on pavement materials, focusing on sustainable alternatives such as fly ash-based geopolymers, basalt fiber-reinforced concrete, and asphalt mixtures incorporating recycled aggregates and rubber. Additionally, it proposes the combination of rice husk and crumb rubber in concrete as a sustainable approach for pavement construction. The study aims to evaluate the mechanical properties of concrete with partial material replacements through experimental investigation. By addressing gaps in durability studies, comparative analysis, and non-destructive testing, this research seeks to provide valuable insights into the feasibility and sustainability of utilizing waste materials in concrete production. Ultimately, it aims to contribute to advancing sustainable practices in the construction industry and addressing the challenge of waste accumulation.

Research on the surface abrasion resistance performance of basalt fiber reinforced concrete

The visual characterization of the surface erosion structure of concrete can serve as an initial analysis method for the overall abrasion resistance performance, providing a reference for the rapid formation of a preliminary understanding of the level of abrasion resistance performance. This research investigates the impact of erosion on the durability of coastal concrete. The "two-dimensional" and "three-dimensional" feature description methods are applied to study concrete damage and its mechanical properties. The findings indicate that increasing erosion cycles have a noticeable adverse effect on the specimen's surface, and higher water-cement ratios decrease strength while increasing quality loss. By categorizing the erosion cycle into three stages based on concrete surface damage, exposed aggregate area, and depth changes, it's observed that Basalt Fiber-Reinforced Concrete (BFRC) exhibit improved abrasion resistance and reduced quality loss during these stages. BFRC demonstrates its best abrasion resistance at a water-cement ratio of 0.3. The inclusion of basalt fibers significantly boosts concrete compressive strength with an enhancement ranging from 10.1% to 17.5% across various curing ages and water-cement ratios.

Experimental and theoretical investigations on the damage evolution of the basalt fiber reinforced concrete under freeze-thaw cycles

Damage and defects in concrete structures are unavoidable due to their complex composition and challenging manufacturing process, which can lead to fatal collapse in service. In the present study, we have conducted a comprehensive investigation on the damage evolution of the basalt fibre-reinforced concrete (BFC) under freeze-thaw cycles, based on experiments and theoretical modelling. We have performed the freeze-thaw cycle experiment on the BFC and measured the curve of the damage-cycling number. Based on the thermodynamic principle, we have derived the expression of the relationship between the damage and the freeze-thaw number. Then, using the attenuation theory as a foundation, we have built another damage model. The experimental data is then fitted using the two established models, and the corresponding parameters are identified. Furthermore, the detailed mechanism of the free-thaw-induced damage has been analysed by the numerical simulation of the thermal stress inside the BFC. These findings cast new light on the deep understanding of the failure of concrete materials, which are beneficial to engineering new materials and new structures in many fields.

Durability Performance of Basalt Fiber-Reinforced Concrete Subjected to Sulfate-Magnesium Combined Attack.

In salt lake areas, cast-in situ concrete structures are subjected to long-term corrosion by sulfate and magnesium ions. The properties of concrete can be improved by adding materials like basalt fiber (BF). To investigate the degradation process and mechanism of cast-in situ concrete with premixed BF under the dual corrosion of sulfate and magnesium salts, concrete with a content of BF ranging from 0 to 0.5% was prepared. Specimens were subjected to different internal and external corrosion conditions and immersed for 180 days. Dimension, mass, and appearance changes at different immersion times were recorded. The compressive and flexural strength of the specimens were tested and continually observed throughout the immersion time. Mineral and microstructural changes at different immersion times were determined by the XRD, TG, and SEM analysis methods. Results indicated that external sulfate-internal magnesium combined attack had a significant negative effect on the early strength. The compressive and flexural strength of the corroded specimens decreased by 17.2% and 14.1%, respectively, compared to the control group at 28 days. The premixed magnesium ions caused the decomposition of the C-S-H gel, resulting in severe spalling and lower mechanical properties after immersing for a long time. As the BF can inhibit crack development, the properties of the concrete premixed with BF were improved. Specimens exhibited superior performance at a BF content of 0.5%, resulting in a 16.2% increase in flexural strength. This paper serves as a valuable reference for the application of basalt fiber-reinforced concrete under the challenging conditions of sulfate-magnesium combined attack.

Optimisation of mechanical properties and impact resistance of basalt fibre reinforced concrete containing silica fume: Experimental and response surface assessment

Although Basalt fibre reinforced concrete (BFRC) has a proven record of outstanding behaviour, concerns regarding the decline in its performance beyond certain content remains a major concern. To address this concern, a varying content of Silica Fume (SF) was introduced into the BFRC mix, and their combined influence on concrete's mechanical and impact resistance was investigated using experimental and Response Surface Analysis (RSA). Using regression models developed from experimental results, 13 responses of statistically designed experiments were predicted. The findings revealed significant improvement in the concrete performance with increases between 28% and 65% in compressive strength, 35%–107% in split tensile strength, 11%–46% in flexural strength and 117%–150% in the impact resistance. Therefore, appropriate proportions of BF and SF can be utilised as an eco-friendly sustainable material in concrete.

Effect of the Sizing Removal Methods of Fiber Surface on the Mechanical Performance of Basalt Fiber-Reinforced Concrete

In this study, comprehensive analyses were used to evaluate the physical and chemical properties of basalt fibers, employing a variety of instruments. Additionally, heat treatment and solvent treatment methods were used to eliminate the sizing present on fiber surfaces. The heat treatment process involved determining the optimal temperature and duration required to remove the sizing from the basalt fibers. The appearance, chemical composition, and crystal structure of the original fibers were examined, including those subjected to heat treatment and those treated with solvents. These treated fibers were then incorporated into concrete to create basalt fiber-reinforced concrete (BFRC) specimens for mechanical tests, which assessed their compressive, flexural, and splitting tensile strengths. The results revealed that heat treatment at 300 °C for 180 min effectively removed the sizing on the basalt fibers, and the heat-treated basalt fibers exhibited uniform dispersion inside the BFRC specimens. In addition, solvent treatment primarily removed the soluble components of the sizing. The mechanical properties of specimens with sizing-removed basalt fibers were better than the specimens with original basalt fibers and the benchmark specimens. Crucially, the mechanical test results demonstrated that BFRC incorporating heat-treated basalt fibers exhibited a superior mechanical performance compared to BFRC incorporating original fibers or fibers subjected to the solvent treatment.

Flexural and split tensile strength of concrete with basalt fiber: An experimental and computational analysis

The objective of this study is to create comprehensive multiscale models for predicting the split tensile strength (STS) and flexural strength (FS) of basalt fiber-reinforced concrete, with the intention of its use in the construction industry. To meet this objective, STS and FS data were collected from various academic research investigations. The collected data was further expanded by experimentally analyzing the FS and STS of basalt fiber (0.1 %, 0.2 %, 0.3 %, and 0.4 % by volume)-loaded concrete. The experimental investigation shows FS and STS increased with basalt fiber loading. The highest FS was 5.11 MPa (0.4 % basalt fiber), and the highest STS was 2.24 MPa (0.3 % basalt fiber). The collected STS (114 data) and FS (103 data) datasets were statistically examined and modelled using soft computing techniques. Seven soft computing techniques, namely Random Forest (RF), Stochastic Random Forest (Stochastic-RF), Random Tree (RT), Stochastic Random Tree (Stochastic-RT), Bagging Random Forest (Bagging-RF), Bagging Random Tree (Bagging-RT) and Artificial Neural Network (ANN) were used to predict the FS and STS of basalt fiber-reinforced concrete using nine inputs and two outputs. The accuracy of the models was evaluated using comprehensive measure (COM), correlation coefficient (CC), mean absolute error (MAE), root relative squared error (RRSE), relative absolute error (RAE), Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency (NSE), and root mean square error (RMSE). The Stochastic-RT model had better predictive ability for FS, as seen by its lowest COM value of 0.121, and optimal values for CC, MAE, RRSE, NSE, RAE, and RMSE. Conversely, with a minimal COM value of 0.0279, the Bagging-RT model showed better accuracy in predicting the STS of concrete. Furthermore, sensitivity analysis revealed that basalt fiber length has the most significant effect on FS prediction, whereas curing time is the most crucial element influencing the STS of the concrete.

The frost resistance performance of basalt fiber-reinforced concrete (BFRC) subjected to fatigue loads coupled with hydrodynamic pressure

In this work, the effects of different stress levels, exposure conditions and freeze‒thaw (F-T) cycles on the mechanical properties of base concrete (BC) and basalt fiber-reinforced pavement concrete (BFRC) were studied. The concrete mass loss, relative dynamic elastic modulus (RDEM) and fracture energy under various loading conditions and F-T cycles were analyzed to characterize its damage evolution. Additionally, through mercury intrusion porosimetry and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), the pore structure characteristics and micromorphology were investigated to explore the mechanism controlling the increase in concrete performance with basalt fiber (BF). Finally, the relationship between the pore structure and damage variable was investigated, and the frost resistance of concrete was evaluated by using gray correlation analysis and rough set theory (RST). The concrete deterioration under coupling actions and F-T cycles could be divided into stages of (i) slow and (ii) rapid increases. The stress level played a decisive role in Stage I, while the effect of hydrodynamic pressure was more obvious in Stage II. The addition of BF significantly decreased the concrete damage degree throughout testing. After 300 F-T cycles, the RDEM and fracture energy of the BFRC under coupling actions were 1.41 and 2.20 times those of the BC, respectively. Moreover, the addition of BF notably lowered the porosity and most probable pore diameter of the concrete under coupling actions and F-T cycles and thus greatly influenced the increase in pore fractal dimension. The RST indicated that the frost resistance of concrete was closely related to the mixture and stress level.

Experimental study on crack performance of steel and early-age BFRC composite beams in negative moment region

The wet joint interface concrete deck in the negative moment region of steel-concrete composite beams is susceptible to tensile cracking, which compromises the durability of the structure. Herein, a basalt fiber reinforced concrete (BFRC) is proposed to examine the wet joint cracking performance of concrete deck in the negative moment region of steel-concrete composite beams. To this end, four-point bending tests were conducted on seven steel-concrete composite beams to investigate failure modes, crack distribution patterns, load-deflection relationship, and load-crack width relationship. Experimentally, the effects of the wet joint concrete types (BFRC and normal concrete), basalt fiber volume content (0, 0.3%, and 0.6%), and concrete age (28, 14, 7, and 3 days) on their mechanical behavior were performed and discussed. The results showed that typical flexural failure commonly occurred in all specimens under the negative moment, with initial cracks appearing at the wet joint interface. The wet joint concrete with basalt fiber volume content of 0.3% exhibited the highest crack resistance, which resulted in a higher number of cracks, less crack spacing, and more uniform crack distribution in the wet joint concrete deck. The prediction methods of the average crack spacing and crack width of the wet joint concrete were proposed based on the existing theoretical models. The crack width and concrete age influence coefficients were proposed to rationally assess the effects of basalt fiber and concrete age. The modified formulas for the average crack spacing and crack width showed a reasonably good agreement with the experimental results when considering the effects of basalt fiber and concrete age. These formulas can be effectively utilized to evaluate the main crack width at the non-interface joint in the negative moment region of steel-concrete composite beam decks. The proposed approaches can provide a simple and practical method to effectively predict the crack width in the negative moment region of the steel-concrete composite beam.

Experimental Study and Mathematical Modeling of Mechanical Properties of Basalt Fiber-Reinforced Recycled Concrete Containing a High Content of Construction Waste

Herein, we conducted an experimental test on basalt fiber-reinforced concrete with a high content of construction and demolition waste and then established some mathematical models based on Taylor’s formula. The concrete was prepared by using recycled clay brick powder in place of cement and recycled coarse aggregates as a substitution for natural coarse aggregates. The basalt fiber in weight dosages of 0, 0.1, 0.3, and 0.5% was used for reinforcement. The results showed that the compressive strength of concrete declined as the content of recycled aggregates increased, while the compressive strength first increased and then decreased as the basalt fiber dosage lifted. Regarding the splitting tensile strength, the reinforcement effect of basalt fiber in concrete with a high content of recycled aggregate is more significant when compared to its to its counterpart, which contains no or fewer recycled aggregates. The concrete with 0.5% basalt fiber dosage and 100% recycled aggregate content retains an equivalent compressive strength as to that of natural aggregate concrete and has about a 90% splitting tensile strength. In addition, the cubic function in comparison to the quadratic function has a higher fitting accuracy.

Experimental investigation on interfacial bonding performance between cluster basalt fiber and cement mortar

To fully understand the action mechanism of basalt fiber (BF) in matrix, so that basalt fiber reinforced concrete (BFRC) can be more widely used in engineering, it is necessary to study the bonding performance between BF and matrix. The interfacial bonding performance between cluster basalt fiber (CBF) and cement mortar were investigated by fiber pull-out test, acoustic emission (AE) technology and digital image correlation method (DICM). The failure modes and surface micro-morphology of pulled-out fibers were analyzed by scanning electron microscope (SEM). The results indicate that as the BF bundle quantity and fiber embedded depth increase, pull-out load increases obviously, while calculated bond strength decreases significantly. Specimens with double BF bundle and larger fiber embedded depth can absorb more interfacial rupture energy. More hydrate particles on the surface of pulled-out BF bundles under higher pull-out load. The variation rules of AE energy and accumulated ring count can accurately predict different test stages. The peak frequencies of AE signal are mainly concentrated in the bands of 0–100 kHz, 200–300 kHz and 420–480 kHz. The changing trend of interface strain can be accurately expressed by the change rule of surface strain. This paper provides a new idea for studying the bonding performance between fiber and matrix.

Empirical models for compressive and tensile strength of basalt fiber reinforced concrete

When molten magma solidifies, basalt fiber (BF) is produced as a byproduct. Due to its remaining pollutants that could affect the environment, it is regarded as a waste product. To determine the compressive strength (CS) and tensile strength (TS) of basalt fiber reinforced concrete (BFRC), this study will develop empirical models using gene expression programming (GEP), Artificial Neural Network (ANN) and Extreme Gradient Boosting (XG Boost). A thorough search of the literature was done to compile a variety of information on the CS and TS of BFRC. 153 CS findings and 127 TS outcomes were included in the review. The water-to-cement, BF, fiber length (FL), and coarse aggregates ratios were the influential characteristics found. The outcomes showed that GEP can accurately forecast the CS and TS of BFRC as compared to ANN and XG Boost. Efficiency of GEP was validated by comparing Regression (R2) value of all three models. It was shown that the CS and TS of BFRC increased initially up to a certain limit and then started decreasing as the BF % and FL increased. The ideal BF content for industrial-scale BF reinforcement of concrete was investigated in this study which could be an economical solution for production of BFRC on industrial scale.

Flexural Performance Study of Basalt-Fiber-Reinforced Polymer Bar Basalt-Fiber-Reinforced Concrete Beams

The utilization of Fiber-Reinforced Polymer (FRP) rods to strengthen concrete beam structures can enhance their ultimate load-carrying capacity and mitigate steel reinforcement corrosion damage. However, a prominent issue with BFRP (Basalt FRP) rod reinforcement in flexural members is its lack of yielding behavior, which can lead to catastrophic brittle failure without any preventive measures. Therefore, this study aims to enhance the ductility of concrete by introducing a specific quantity of basalt fiber, thereby reducing the hazards associated with the brittle failure of this composite structure. This experiment focuses on two main variables: the inclusion rate of basalt fiber and the type of longitudinal reinforcement and conducts four-point static bending tests on four BFRP bar BFRC (Basalt-Fiber-Reinforced Concrete) beams. Results showed that the inclusion of fibers resulted in a delayed initiation of vertical cracks and a reduction in the severity of beam failure, thereby enhancing structural safety and reliability. When the basalt fiber inclusion rate was 0.2%, the cracking load and ultimate load of the beam increased by 18.42% and 8.27%, respectively. Furthermore, compared to traditional RC beams, BFRP bar BFRC beams showed a 58.27% increase in ultimate load capacity. A cracking moment calculation model for BFRP beams is proposed and subsequently validated through the utilization of existing experimental data.

Nonlinear Ultrasonic Characterization of Performance Variation of Basalt Fiber-Reinforced Concrete Subjected to Thermal Treatment and Water Curing

Nonlinear Ultrasonic Characterization of Performance Variation of Basalt Fiber-Reinforced Concrete Subjected to Thermal Treatment and Water Curing

Modeling strength characteristics of basalt fiber reinforced concrete using multiple explainable machine learning with a graphical user interface

This study investigated the importance of applying explainable artificial intelligence (XAI) on different machine learning (ML) models developed to predict the strength characteristics of basalt-fiber reinforced concrete (BFRC). Even though ML is widely adopted in strength prediction in concrete, the black-box nature of predictions hinders the interpretation of results. Among several attempts to overcome this limitation by using explainable AI, researchers have employed only a single explanation method. In this study, we used three tree-based ML models (Decision tree, Gradient Boosting tree, and Light Gradient Boosting Machine) to predict the mechanical strength characteristics (compressive strength, flexural strength, and tensile strength) of basal fiber reinforced concrete (BFRC). For the first time, we employed two explanation methods (Shapley additive explanations (SHAP) and local interpretable model-agnostic explanations (LIME)) to provide explanations for all models. These explainable methods reveal the underlying decision-making criteria of complex machine learning models, improving the end user's trust. The comparison highlights that tree-based models obtained good accuracy in predicting strength characteristics yet, their explanations were different either by the magnitude of feature importance or the order of importance. This disagreement pushes towards complicated decision-making based on ML predictions which further stresses (1) extending XAI-based research in concrete strength predictions, and (2) involving domain experts to evaluate XAI results. The study concludes with the development of a “user-friendly computer application” which enables quick strength prediction of basalt fiber reinforced concrete (BFRC).

Deformation Damage and Energy Evolution of Basalt Fiber Reinforced Concrete under the Triaxial Compression

To explore the law of energy evolution and the change of damage before and after specimen failure, the conventional triaxial compression tests (5, 10, 15, 20, and 30 MPa) of basalt fiber reinforced concrete (BFRC) with different fiber volume fractions (0, 0.2% and 0.4%) were carried out by MTS816 rock testing system, and the cyclic loading and unloading tests of BFRC with a fiber content of 0.2% were carried out. The experimental results show that the peak strength and strain of BFRC increase with the increase of confining pressure. Tensile failure occurs under low confining pressure, and shear failure occurs under high confining pressure. The best volume fraction of fiber is 0.2%. Under different confining pressures, the input energy, elastic energy, plastic properties, and dissipated energy of the samples first increase and then decrease to a stable level. The elastic energy and dissipated energy reach the maximum near the peak stress, while the input energy and plastic properties reach the maximum at the peak. At the same time, the damage increases continuously with the input of load under different confining pressures, indicating that the failure of the specimen is a process of energy accumulation.

Compressive Strength Prediction of BFRC Based on a Novel Hybrid Machine Learning Model

Basalt fiber-reinforced concrete (BFRC) represents a form of high-performance concrete. In structural design, a 28-day resting period is required to achieve compressive strength. This study extended an extreme gradient boosting tree (XGBoost) hybrid model by incorporating genetic algorithm (GA) optimization, named GA-XGBoost, for the projection of compressive strength (CS) on BFRC. GA optimization may reduce many debugging efforts and provide optimal parameter combinations for machine learning (ML) algorithms. The XGBoost is a powerful integrated learning algorithm with efficient, accurate, and scalable features. First, we created and provided a common dataset using test data on BFRC strength from the literature. We segmented and scaled this dataset to enhance the robustness of the ML model. Second, to better predict and evaluate the CS of BFRC, we simultaneously used five other regression models: XGBoost, random forest (RF), gradient-boosted decision tree (GBDT) regressor, AdaBoost, and support vector regression (SVR). The analysis results of test sets indicated that the correlation coefficient and mean absolute error were 0.9483 and 2.0564, respectively, when using the GA-XGBoost model. The GA-XGBoost model demonstrated superior performance, while the AdaBoost model exhibited the poorest performance. In addition, we verified the accuracy and feasibility of the GA-XGBoost model through SHAP analysis. The findings indicated that the water–binder ratio (W/B), fine aggregate (FA), and water–cement ratio (W/C) in BFRC were the variables that had the greatest effect on CS, while silica fume (SF) had the least effect on CS. The results demonstrated that GA-XGBoost exhibits exceptional accuracy in predicting the CS of BFRC, which offers a valuable reference for the engineering domain.

Research on impact toughness and crack propagation of basalt fiber reinforced concrete under SHPB splitting test

To cope with accidents such as explosion and high-speed impact, it is necessary to study the dynamic mechanical response of basalt fiber reinforced concrete (BFRC) under impact load. The dynamic splitting test of BFRC was conducted under different impact air pressures by Φ50 mm split Hopkinson pressure bar (SHPB) experimental platform and dynamic DIC acquisition system. The dynamic mechanical characteristics of BFRC under impact load were studied, focusing on analyzing the effects of different basalt fiber (BF) volume rates and average strain rates on its impact toughness. Meanwhile, the process of crack initiation, propagation, and penetration in BFRC during damage and failure was analyzed by DIC technique, the propagation speed and width of tensile crack were calculated by strain nephogram and pixel information. The results show that BFRC with 0.3% fiber content has the highest dynamic splitting tensile strength, dissipated energy and ultimate toughness. The strain rate effect of post-peak toughness is more obvious than that of pre-peak toughness. BF increases the impact toughness of concrete mainly by affecting the post-peak toughness. The crack propagation speed of BFRC is the slowest and the tensile crack width is the smallest with 0.3% fiber content, that is, the appropriate BF content (0.3%) can effectively reduce the damage degree of the matrix under the impact load and has the most obvious effect on the crack resistance and toughening of the matrix.

Fracture properties of graded basalt fiber reinforced concrete: Experimental study and Mori-Tanaka method application

Fiber additions can improve the flexural strength of concrete, which is brittle. In this study, the improvement effect of graded basalt fibers on the mechanical properties of a matrix was studied at the macroscale using the elastic modulus, and compressive and flexural strengths. At the mesoscale, fiber concrete is regarded as a multiphase composite material composed of aggregate, cement mortar, fiber, and aggregate-mortar and fiber-mortar interface transition zones (ITZ). The Mori-Tanaka (M−T) homogenization theory was used to calculate the elastic modulus of basalt fiber-reinforced concrete (BFRC), and the accuracy of the test parameters was verified by comparing the test results with the homogenization results. Moreover, a finite element model (FEM) was established to reveal the crack evolution process and crack resistance mechanism of the graded fibers. The FEM results revealed that the addition of fibers reduces the stress intensity factor at the crack tip and inhibits the generation and development of cracks. Moreover, because of the side wall effect, short fibers were evenly distributed in the mortar and long fibers, which absorb and consume more energy during crack development and improve the mechanical strength and deformation capacity of the concrete, were more distributed near the aggregate.