Mechanical behavior of high strength concrete reinforced with glass fiber

Effects of alkali resistant glass fiber (AR-GF) with various contents on the mechanical behavior of high strength concrete (HSC) were investigated on this study. Concrete mixtures were prepared with various contents of AR-GF typically 0.3, 0.6, 0.9, and 1.2 by weight of cement. The mixtures were cast and tested for compressive, splitting tensile and flexural strengths in accordance to ASTM standards. The experimental results showed that the strengths increase as fiber percentage increases until a threshold the compressive strength increased from 57.85 to 66.6 MPa when fiber percentage increased from 0.0 to 1.2 respectively, the splitting tensile strength increased from 3.06 to 4.92 MPa when fiber percentage increased from 0.0 to 1.2 respectively, and the flexural strength increased from 4.84 to 7.27 MPa when fiber percentage increased from 0.0 to 1.2 respectively. In comparison with plain HSC control specimens that showed destructive sudden failure, the formation of cracks that led to failure in the specimens with AR-GF was gradual as the fiber percentage increases. Hence it can be concluded that the presence of fibers in HSC matrix has contributed towards controlling sudden crack formation and thus enhancing concrete ductility.