Strength Characteristics Of Fibre-Reinforced Concrete Containing Nano-Silica

In this investigation, nanotechnology is employed as a way of improving the fresh and mechanical properties of fiber-reinforced concrete containing Poly Propylene (PP) and Nano-Silica (NS). Nano-silica was used as partial substitute of cement (0%, 2.5%, 5.0%, 7.5% and 10% by weight of cement) and polypropylene (PP) fibers as reinforcement from 0% to 0.75% in steps of 0.25. The fresh and hardened properties of concrete such as workability, density, compressive strength and tensile strength were tested. The investigation was done on plain concrete as control, fibre reinforced concrete (without nano-silica) and fibre-reinforced concrete containing nano-silica. Results showed that utilizing 5% nano-silica (by the weight of cementitious materials) improved the compressive strength by as much as 36%, but workability is significantly reduced. Test results also showed that fusing polypropylene strands in concrete improved the splitting tensile strength of the concrete considerably. In conclusion, nanotechnology and fibre reinforcement improves concrete performance in that the mechanical properties are significantly enhanced. (C) 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.