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Mechanical Properties of Hybrid Fiber Reinforced Lightweight Aggregate Concrete Made with Natural Pumice
Construction and Building Materials
  • Nicolas Ali Libre, Missouri University of Science and Technology
  • Mohammad Shekarchi
  • Mehrdad Mahoutian
  • Parviz Soroushian
Abstract

The purpose of this study is to improve the ductility of pumice lightweight aggregate concrete by incorporating hybrid steel and polypropylene fibers. The changes in mechanical properties and also bulk density and workability of pumice lightweight aggregate concrete due to the addition of hybrid steel and polypropylene fibers have been studied. The properties were investigated include bulk density and workability of fresh concrete as well as compressive strength, flexural tensile strength, splitting tensile strength and toughness of hardened concrete. Nine concrete mixtures with different volume fractions of steel and polypropylene fibers were tested. A large increase in compressive and flexural ductility and energy absorption capacity due to the addition of steel fibers was observed. Polypropylene fibers, on the other hand, caused a minor change in mechanical properties of hardened concrete especially in the mixtures made with both steel and polypropylene fibers. These observations provide insight into the benefits of different fiber reinforcement systems to the mechanical performance of pumice lightweight aggregate concrete which is considered to be brittle. These results provide guidance for design of concrete materials with reduced density and enhanced ductility for different applications, including construction of high-rise, earthquake-resistant buildings.

Department(s)
Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering
Comments
The authors would like to acknowledge that financial support for this Project provided by Construction Materials Institute (CMI), Civil Engineering Department, University of Tehran.
Keywords and Phrases
  • Ductility,
  • Hybrid fiber,
  • Lightweight concrete,
  • Polypropylene fiber,
  • Pumice,
  • Steel fiber,
  • Toughness,
  • Workability
Document Type
Article - Journal
Document Version
Citation
File Type
text
Language(s)
English
Rights
© 2011 Elsevier Ltd., All rights reserved.
Publication Date
5-1-2011
Publication Date
01 May 2011
Citation Information
Nicolas Ali Libre, Mohammad Shekarchi, Mehrdad Mahoutian and Parviz Soroushian. "Mechanical Properties of Hybrid Fiber Reinforced Lightweight Aggregate Concrete Made with Natural Pumice" Construction and Building Materials Vol. 25 Iss. 5 (2011) p. 2458 - 2464 ISSN: 0950-0618
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/nicolas-libre/1/