On the mechanical properties and fracture behavior of polyolefin fiber-reinforced self-compacting concrete

• The use of self-compacting concrete (SCC) reinforced with polyolefin fibers (PF) is proposed and studied.
• The incorporation of PF slightly diminishes compression strength of SCC.
• The incorporation of PF increases tensile strength, fracture energy and ductility of SCC.
• SCC with PF reinforcement shows analogous fracture properties than SCC reinforced with steel fiber.

Fiber-reinforced self-compacting concrete uses the flowability of concrete in fresh state to improve fiber orientation, in due course enhancing toughness and energy absorption capacity. In the past few years there has been a boost in the development of concretes with macro-synthetic fibers added. In this paper the mechanical properties of a self-compacting concrete with low, medium and high-fiber contents of macro polyolefin fibers are studied. Their fracture behavior is compared with a plain self-compacting concrete and also with a steel fiber-reinforced self-compacting concrete. The results obtained showed that a polyolefin fiber-reinforced self-compacting concrete has fracture properties analogous to a steel fiber-reinforced self-compacting concrete. Furthermore, it is possible to fit this behavior within the existing standards requirements. Dispersion obtained for fracture mean values among the different amounts was analyzed by using a fracture surface analysis and the amount and distribution of fibers.