Mechanical and durability properties of cement mortar and concrete reinforced with glass micro fibre

Concrete is the most commonly used construction material across the globe. In view of achieving sustainable development, the use of blended cements is becoming more prominent nowadays. Many research studies are being carried out across the globe on addition of different additives to enhance the properties of cement and concrete which also includes different types of fibrous materials. In this study, the effect of addition of glass microfiber on physical and chemical properties of PPC was studied for 0.2%, 0.4% and 1.0% by weight of cement. Mechanical properties such as compressive strength, flexural strength, modulus of elasticity, split tensile strength and drying shrinkage of concrete made with PPC cement with and without glass microfiber at water to cement ratio of 0.50 were studied. Durability properties such as RCPT and air permeability were also evaluated. For study at elevated temperatures, concrete samples were exposed to temperatures of 200OC and 600OC for duration of 1 hour. From the experimental investigation carried out, compressive strength was observed to improve by 13.6 % for PPC containing glass microfiber in comparison to control PPC. Reduction in cracks due to plastic shrinkage of concrete was observed on addition of glass micro fibre in PPC. Drying shrinkage of concrete was observed to decrease on addition of glass micro fibre in PPC. Other mechanical and durability properties of concrete made with PPC with and without glass micro fibre were observed to be comparable. No significant improvement in mechanical properties due to addition of glass micro fibres was observed upon exposure of concrete to elevated temperatures.