Mechanical Experiments on Concrete with Hybrid Fiber Reinforcement for Structural Rehabilitation

Muhammad Asharib Shahid; Muhammad Usman Rashid; Nazam Ali; Krisada Chaiyasarn; Panuwat Joyklad; Qudeer Hussain

doi:10.3390/ma15082828

Mechanical Experiments on Concrete with Hybrid Fiber Reinforcement for Structural Rehabilitation

Materials (Basel). 2022 Apr 12;15(8):2828. doi: 10.3390/ma15082828.

Authors

Muhammad Asharib Shahid¹, Muhammad Usman Rashid¹, Nazam Ali¹, Krisada Chaiyasarn², Panuwat Joyklad³, Qudeer Hussain⁴

Affiliations

¹ Civil Engineering Department, University of Management and Technology, Lahore 54770, Pakistan.
² Thammasat Research Unit in Infrastructure Inspection and Monitoring, Repair and Strengthening (IIMRS), Thammasat School of Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Thammasat University Rangsit, Pathum Thani 12000, Thailand.
³ Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Srinakharinwirot University, Nakhonnayok 26120, Thailand.
⁴ Center of Excellence in Earthquake Engineering and Vibration, Department of Civil Engineering, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330, Thailand.

Abstract

Reinforced concrete is used in the construction of bridges, buildings, retaining walls, roads, and other engineered structures. Due to seismic activities, a lot of structures develop seismic cracks. The rehabilitation of such structures is necessary for public safety. The overall aim of this research study was to produce a high-performance hybrid fiber-reinforced concrete (HPHFRC) with enhanced properties as compared to plain high-performance concrete and high-performance fiber-reinforced concrete (HPFRC) for the rehabilitation of bridges and buildings. Kevlar fibers (KF) and glass fibers (GF) with lengths of 35 mm and 25 mm, respectively, were added and hybridized to 1.5% by mass of cement to create hybrid fiber-reinforced concrete mixes. Eight mixes were cast in total. The compressive strength (f'_c), flexural strength (f_r), splitting tensile strength (f_s), and other mechanical properties, i.e., energy absorption and toughness index values, were enhanced in HPHFRC as compared to CM and HPFRC. It was found that the concrete hybridized with 0.75% KF and 0.75% GF (HF-G 0.75 K 0.75) had the most enhanced overall mechanical properties, illustrating its potential to be utilized in the rehabilitation of bridges and structures.

Keywords: Kevlar fibers (KF); glass fibers (GF); high-performance fiber-reinforced concrete (HPFRC); rehabilitation.