Study of the Aging of a Concrete Reinforced by Alkali Resistant Glass Fiber in the Wet Environment

Abstract

The Glass fiber reinforced concrete (GFRC) is a composite material; it is regarded as a suitable material for concrete structures. The GFRC is reinforced with alkali resistant (AR) glass fibers, this type of glass fibers understands from 15 to 20% of the zirconium mass; this addition improves considerably the durability of glass in the alkaline environments, but does not solve entirely the problems of its degradation. Generally, the rate of aging of the composite cement-glass depends on type of glass fiber used and condition of the environment. The objective of this paper is to study the effect of glass fibers on the compressive and flexural strength of a cement concrete (sulfate resistant cement) SRC reinforced by alkali-resistant high performance (ARHP) glass fibers and immersed in a wet medium. The results obtained in this study showed that the compressive strength and flexural strength of GFRC depend on the percentage of glass fibers and the exposure time of specimen in the wet medium. The optimal percentage of glass fibers is 3% for both strengths. More still, percentage of 5% of glass fibers influence negatively on the mechanical characteristics of the concrete fiber. In addition, the use of SRC cement with additions of 3% of silica fume and 20% of the slag can decrease the porosity of the concrete fiber and improve the durability of the concrete fiber.

Effect of Low Temperatures on the Mechanical Performance of GFRC Modified by Low Carbon Cement

“…However, it was reported that severe reductions in compressive strength and ductility may occur in GFRC with ageing [4,5], which has become a common concern for the service life of engineering members made of GFRC. e intrinsic microstructural reasons corresponding to this degradation are normally associated with chemical corrosion of fibre by the alkalinity in pore solution [6] and severe CH densification between and around fibres that results in loss of flexibility [7]. At the same time, in the global background of low carbon emission, cement industry is faced with great challenge as it contributed about 6% to total global anthropogenic CO 2 emission every year [8,9].…”