1

MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF FIBRE

REINFORCED CONCRETE SUBJECTED TO HIGH
TEMPERATURE
A PROJECT REPORT
Submitted by
D.GUNA SEKARAN (9913003017)
S.MAHARAJA (9913003030)
S.M.MATHANA VIGNESHWAR (9913003033)

In partial fulfilment for the award of the degree

Of

BACHELOR OF TECHNOLOGY
IN
CIVIL ENGINEERING

DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING

(Kalasalingam academy of research and education)

(KALASALINGAM UNIVERSITY)

KRISHNANKOIL - 626 126

2016-2017
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(KALASALINGAM UNIVERSITY)
(Kalasalingam academy of research and education)
Krishnankoil 626 126

BONAFIDE CERTIFICATE

Certified that this project report “MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF FIBRE

REINFORCED CONCRETE SUBJECTED TO HIGH TEMPERATURE” is the
bonafied work of D.GUNA SEKARAN (9913003017), S.MAHARAJA (9913003030),
S.M.MATHANA VIGNESHWAR (9913003033) who carried out the work under my
supervision.

Dr. M.Muthukannan Ph.D., Mr. R.C.RAJ KIRAN M.E.,

HEAD OF THE DEPARTMENT GUIDE

Professor and Head, Assistant Professor,

Department of Civil Engineering Department of Civil Engineering

Kalasalingam University, Kalasalingam University,

Krishnankoil 626 126 Krishnankoil 626 126

Project Viva-voce held on

INTERNAL EXAMINER EXTERNAL EXAMINER

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ABSTRACT

Fibre reinforced concrete (FRC) has been found to improve strength, ductility,
toughness, and durability of the structures. The application of FRC includes tunnel lining,
ground slab, façade and many more. However, when exposing them to high temperature such
as fire, there is still little information on the impact on its mechanical properties. The main
objective of the study is to understand the fundamental behaviour of FRC when it is exposed
to elevated temperature. However, rather than relying on one type of fibre, this study
proposed of mixing two different types of fibre in concrete which will then be exposed to
elevated temperature at normal temperature i.e. 27qC (room temperature), 200qC, and
400qC. The two types of fibres i.e. steel and propylene has different characteristics. The
study is mainly focused on the experimental work.

The fibre dosage will also be varied with percentage of steel of (1%), (1.5%), poly
propylene (0.10%), (0.15%) and (0-100) at fibres proportion from the volume of the concrete.
Therefore this research is expected to answer the fundamental question whether if one type is
vulnerable to fire, the other one will take place to avoid catastrophic failure of the whole
structure. Experimental work will be carried out to study the impact of elevated temperature
on the compressive strength, tensile strength, and flexural strength. The effects high
temperatures on the compressive strength of concretes are presented. High performance
concrete was prepared in two series, using plain ordinary Portland cement (PC), and steel &
polypropylene fibre. The different percentages of fibres are considered depending on that
three series of mixes were prepared. Each series comprised a concrete mix, prepared without
any fibres, and concrete mixes reinforced with either or both steel fibres and polypropylene
fibres.
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CHAPTER LIST OF CONTENT PAGE

NO
1 INTRODUCTION 1

2 LITERATURE REVIEW 2
2.1
General

3 MIX DESIGN 7

4 PREPARATION AND PROPERTIE OF FIBRE

REINFORCED CONCRETE

4.1 Preparation 9
4.1.1 Materials 9
4.1.2 Series of mixes 9
4.2 Basic tests 11
4.2.1 Specific gravity test 11
4.2.2 Initial and final setting time 13

5 METHODOLOGY

5.1 Methodology 15
5.2 Materials 16
5.3 Physical properties 19
5.3.1 Cement 19
5.3.2 Fine and course aggregate 19
5.3.3 Water and admixtures 20
5.3.4 Polypropylene fibres 20
5.3.5 Steel fibres 21
5.3.6 Advantages of steel f.r.c 21
5.4 Experimental procedures 21
5.5 Casting of concrete specimen 25
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5.6 Curing of specimen 26

5.7 Water absorption test 27
5.8 Testing of specimen 28

6 RESULT AND DISCUSSION

6.1 Cube compressive strength 29

6.2 Conclusion 35

7 AKNOWLEDGEMENT 36

8 REFERENCES 36
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LIST OF FIGURES

4.2.1 SPECIFIC GRAVITY TEST 12

5.1 METHODOLOGY 17
5.2 MATERIALS USED FOR CASTING 18
5.3.1 CEMENT 19
5.3.2 FINE AND COARSE AGGREGATE 20
5.3.3 POLYPROPYLENE 21
5.3.4 STEEL FIBRES 22
5.4.1 CASTED POLYPROPYLENE FIBRE 23
5.4.2 CUBE HEATED IN MUFFLE FURNACE 23
5.4.3 STEEL FIBRE CUBE AFTER TESTING 24
5.4.4 POLYPROPYLENE CUBE AFTER TESTING 24
5.4.5 CASTINGOF CUBES 25
5.4.6 CURING OF SPECIMEN 26
5.4.7 DRYING THE SPECIMEN 27
5.4.8 WEIGHING THE SPECIMEN 27
5.4.9 CUBE COMPRESSION TEST 28
6.1 COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH 31
6.2 STEEL TESTING 33
6.3 POLYPROPYLENE TESTING 33
6.4 PERCENTAGE LOSS IN WEIGHT 34
6.5 PERCENTAGE LOSS OF COMPRESSION 35
STRENGTH IN FIBRE
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LIST OF TABLES
4.1 PERCENTAGE OF FIBRES 12
4.2.1 SPECIFIC GRAVITY OF FINE AGGREGATE 13
6.1 COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH OF CUBE 29
6.2 COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH AT DIFFERENT 30
TEMPERATURE
6.3 PERCENTAGE LOSS IN WEIGHT 32
6.4 PERCENTAGE LOSS IN COMPRESSIVE 34
STRENGTH
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CHAPTER 1
1.1 INTRODUCTION
In Present days the use of high strength concrete is increased drastically and this is
made possible with the help of reinforcements like steel fibres, polypropylene fibres,
geopolymers etc. These reinforcements have a direct increase in the strength of the concrete
matrix. When these fibre reinforced concretes are subjected to high temperatures they will not
behave as usual. The behaviour of concrete at Elevated temperatures depends on length of
exposure, rate of temperature rise, degree of water saturation of the concrete, age of the
concrete, type of aggregate used, type of cement used, aggregate/ cement ratio. In this study
the change in the properties of fibre reinforced concrete under different temperatures and also
the maximum temperature till the concrete can withstand is discussed.

Concrete appears to sustain no appreciable damage when exposed to temperatures up to 400

degrees Fahrenheit. If temperatures above 400° F are to be experienced, it is wise to
investigate the exposure conditions and the concrete which will be employed. To get some
idea of a typical succession of effects as temperature rises, our laboratory study is conducted
with two different concrete mixes with steel fibres and polypropylene fibres. The concrete
cubes are placed in oven and heated for an hour with varying temperatures from 100 °C to
800 °C, and the cubes are tested for compressive strength and the graph between temperature
and strength could tell the maximum temperature the concrete could withstand.
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CHAPTER 2

LITERATURE REVIEW

Proscenia Engineering 125 (2015) 818 – 824 Mechanical properties of steel –

polypropylene fibre reinforced Concrete under elevated temperature Aminuddin
Jamerana,*, Izni S. Ibrahim, Siti Hamizah S. Yazana,

Fibre reinforced concrete (FRC) has been found to improve strength, ductility,
toughness, and durability of the structures. However, when exposing them to high
temperature such as fire, there is still little information on the impact on its mechanical
properties. The main objective of the study is to understand the fundamental behaviour of on
(FRC) when it is exposed to elevated temperature. Fibre in concrete which will then be
exposed to elevated temperature at normal temperature i.e. 27􀁱C (room temperature),
200􀁱C, and 400􀁱C.

The fibre dosage will also be varied with percentage of steel-to – polypropylene of
(100-0), (75-25), (50-50), (25-75) and (0-100) at 1.5% of fibres proportion from the volume
of the concrete. Therefore this research is expected to answer the fundamental question
whether if one type is vulnerable to fire, the other one will take place to avoid catastrophic
failure of the whole structure.

Nuclear Engineering and Design 192 (2011) 17–65, Mechanical properties of steel fibre
reinforced reactive powder concrete following exposure to high temperature reaching
800 ◦C -Yuh-Shiou Taia, Huang-HsingPanb, Ying-NienKungb,

This study investigates the stress–strain relation of RPC in aquasistatic loading after
an elevated temperature. The cylinder specimens of RPC with ϕ 50mm×100mm are examined
at the room temperature and after 200–800 ◦C. Experimental results indicate that there is dual
compressive strength of RPC after heating from200–300 ◦C increases more than that at room
temperature, but significantly decreases when the temperature exceeds 300 ◦C. There is dual
 10

peak strains of RPC also initially increase up to 400–500 ◦C, then decrease gradually beyond
500 ◦C.

Young’s modulus diminishes with an increasing temperature. Based on the regression

an analysis results, this study also develop regression formula to estimate the mechanical
properties of RPC after an elevated temperature, thus providing available reference for
industrial applications and design.

Impact of high temperature on different combinations of fiber reinforced concrete

Singapore, August 14-16 2011, S. Peskova and P.P. Prochazkax

This paper Fire belongs to one of the most dangerous aspects of civil and underground
engineering, mainly in the assessment of underground structures. The extensive use of
concrete as structural materials of linings or envelopes of underground power stations has led
to the need of full understanding the effects of fire. If concrete is subject to high temperature,
its mechanical behavior, including the compressive and tensile strengths, Poisson’s ratio and
modulus of elasticity, etc., changes dramatically with the increase of temperature.

On the other hand, these changes depend also on the peak temperature, the rate of
heating, the fire duration (time at which the structure is exposed to the extreme temperature),
on the type of concrete and the type of testing. The distribution of temperature inside of the
concrete slabs (cubes) reveals to be a very important phenomenon, as the water inside there
changes at a special temperature to a vapor, which, as superheated, can damage the surface of
the concrete elements and lower their bearing capacity. A large scale of experiments has been
carried out, which can, serve a possible improvement of the formulation of material
properties and subsequent comparison with numerical results. Various combinations of fibers,
such as a compound of PP and steel, also a carbon and steel combination and the normal
concrete have been tested for temperature to 10000 C. Cubes with dimension of 7 x 7 x 7
cm3 serve as the test specimens, which are heated to 150, 500, 600 or 10000 C. This
dimension is in full compliance with the existing norms. The loading is due to a one-sided
heating, while the other sides of the cubes will be held at room temperature.

Construction and Building Materials 132 (2017) 240–250 Influence of steel and/or
polypropylene fibres on the behavior of concrete at high temperature: Spalling, transfer
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and mechanical properties N. Yermak, P. Pliya, A.-L. Beaucour, A. Simon, A.

Noumowé

In this study different mixtures of high strength concretes (70 MPa) were prepared
with different natures of aggregates, moisture content, length and dosage of polypropylene
fibres (PPF) and steel fibres (SF) and subjected to the standard ISO 834 fire. Concretes with
60 kg/m3 of SF show spalling while plain concrete (without fibres) and concrete with 0.75
kg/m3 of PPF and 60 kg/m3 of SF did not spall. Microstructures, thermal, hydric and
mechanical properties of concretes were investigated. PPF increase the porosity and
permeability of concretes. Steel fibres control crack development which reduce the stress
relaxation phenomenon and the size of new pores

Construction and Building Materials 25 (2011) 1926–1934 Contribution of cocktail of

polypropylene and steel fibres in improving the behavior of high strength concrete
subjected to high temperature P. Pliya, A-L. Beaucour, A. Noumowé.

The aim of the study is to improve the understanding of the influence of a

polypropylene and steel fibres Cocktail on the behavior of high strength concretes subjected
to high temperature. Concrete mixes were studied by adding polypropylene fibres, steel fibres
and cocktail of fibres. The concrete specimens were subjected to various heating–cooling
cycles. The initial and residual mechanical properties, the porosity and the mass loss of the
studied concrete mixes were investigated. Different concretes compositions with various
amounts of polypropylene and/or steel fibres were tested. Experimental results show the
significant improvement of the residual mechanical properties of concretes containing the
cocktail of fibres compared to concretes without fibres.

Construction and Building Materials 125 (2016) 1035–1043 Experimental

characterization of the post-cracking response in Hybrid Steel/Polypropylene Fiber-
Reinforced Concrete Antonio Caggiano, Serena Gambarelli, Enzo Martinelli, Nicola
Nisticò, Marco Pepe
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This paper presents and discusses the results of experimental tests performed on
concrete specimens internally reinforced with polypropylene and steel fibers. Specifically,
samples of five mixtures (plus a reference plain concrete), characterized by the same total
volume of fibers, but different fractions of polypropylene and steel fibers, and were tested
under compression and in bending. This study was aimed to clarify the influence of different
combinations of these fibers on the resulting fracture behavior of Hybrid Fiber-Reinforced
Concrete (HyFRC). As expected, the results obtained from compression tests highlighted a
negligible influence of fibers in terms of strength and, hence, FRC specimens exhibited a
post-peak response more ductile than the reference ones.

Conversely, the overall shape of the stress crack- opening-displacement curves of

HYFRC tested in bending was highly influenced by the type of fibers. On the one hand, FRC
specimens made of only polypropylene fibers exhibited an excellent post-cracking toughness
for the small crack opening ranges of relevance for the Serviceability Limit State, while an
apparent decay was observed in terms of post-cracking response, especially at wide crack
openings. On the other hand, a marked re-hardening response was observed in the post-
cracking behavior for specimens with higher percentage of steel fibers; however, at the same
time, the corresponding results showed a relevant scatter.

Construction and Building Materials 71 (2014) 1–15Compressive behavior of steel fiber

reinforced recycled aggregate concrete after exposure to elevated temperatures G.M.
Chen, Y.H. He, H. Yang, J.F. Chen, Y.C. Guo

For sustainability considerations, the use of recycled aggregate in concrete has

attracted many interests in the research community. One of the main concerns for using such
concrete in buildings is its spalling in fire. This may be alleviated by adding steel fibers to
form steel fiber reinforced recycled aggregate concrete (SFRAC). This paper presents an
experimental investigation into the compressive properties of SFRAC cylinders after
exposure to elevated temperatures, including the compressive strength, Young’s modulus
(stiffness), stress–strain curve and energy absorption capacity (toughness). The effects of two
parameters, namely steel fiber volume content (0%, 0.5%, 1%, 1.5%) and temperature (room
temperature, 200 _C, 400 _C and 600 _C) on the compressive mechanical properties of
 13

concrete were investigated. The test results show that both compressive strength and stiffness
of the concrete are significantly reduced after exposure to high temperatures. The addition of
steel fibers is helpful in preventing spalling, and significantly improves the ductility and the
cracking behavior of recycled aggregate concrete (RAC) after exposure to high temperatures,
which is favorable for the application of RAC in building construction.

Cement and Concrete Composites 73 (2016) 267e280Mechanical properties of ultra-

high-performance fiber-reinforced concrete: A review Doo-Yeol Yoo, Nemkumar Banthia, A
comprehensive investigation into the mechanical properties of ultra-high-performance fiber-
reinforced concrete (UHPFRC), considering various influential factors, is imperative in order
to obtain fundamental information for its practical utilization. Therefore, this paper reviewed
the early-age strength (or setting) development and mechanical properties of hardened
UHPFRC. In connection with the latter, the effects of the curing conditions, coarse aggregate,
mineral admixtures, fiber properties, specimen size, and strain-rate on the mechanical
performance of UHPFRC were specifically investigated. It was obvious that (1) heat
treatment accelerates the hydration process, leading to higher strength; (2) a portion of the
silica fume can be replaced by fly ash, slag, and rice husk ash in mechanical perspective; (3)
the use of deformed (hooked and twisted) or long straight steel fibers improves the
mechanical properties at a static rate; and (4) high rate loading provides a noticeable increase
in the mechanical properties. Alternatively, there are some disagreements between the results
from various ‘size effect’ tests and the effectiveness of using twisted steel fibers at static and
high rate loadings. Further research to reduce the production cost of UHPFRC is also
addressed in an attempt to make its widespread use more practical.
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Construction and Building Materials 27 (2012) 404–414 Estimation of compressive

strength of self compacting concrete containing polypropylene fiber and mineral
additives exposed to high temperature using artificial neural network Mucteba Uysal a,
Harun Tanyildizi b,

In this study, an artificial neural network model for compressive strength of self-
compacting concretes (SCCs) containing mineral additives and polypropylene (PP) fiber
exposed to elevated temperature were devised. Portland cement (PC) was replaced with
mineral additives such as fly ash (FA), granulated blast furnace slag (GBFS), zeolite (Z),
limestone powder (LP), basalt powder (BP) and marble powder (MP) in various
proportioning rates with and without PP fibers. SCC mixtures were prepared with water to
powder ratio of 0.33 and polypropylene fibers content was 2 kg/m3 for the mixtures
containing polypropylene fibers. Specimens were heated up to elevated temperatures (200,
400, 600 and 800 _C) at the age of 56 days. Then, tests were conducted to determine loss in
compressive strength.

The results showed that a severe strength loss was observed for all of the concretes
after exposure to 600 _C, particularly the concretes containing polypropylene fibers though
they reduce and eliminate the risk of the explosive spalling. Furthermore, based on the
experimental results, an artificial neural network (ANN) model-based explicit formulation
was proposed to predict the loss in compressive strength of SCC which is expressed in terms
of amount of cement, amount of mineral additives, amount of aggregates, heating degree and
with or without PP fibers. Besides, it was found that the empirical model developed by using
ANN seemed to have a high prediction capability of the loss in compressive strength of self
compacting concrete (SCC) mixtures after being exposed to elevated temperature.
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CHAPTER 3

3.1 MIX DESIGN

Mix design can be defined as the process of selecting suitable ingredients of concrete
and determining the relative proportions with the objective of producing concrete of certain
minimum strength and durability as economically as possible. There are many methods
available for mix design. Here Indian Standard method, based on IS 10262-1982.

Water cement ratio = 0.45

Water content = 172 liters

Cement content = 172/0.45

= 382 kg/m3

Volume of coarse aggregate = 0.62

Correction factor = 10%

Volume coarse aggregate = 0.62*1.0 =0.62

Volume of fine aggregate = 1-0.62 =0.38

Volume of cement = (382/3.15)*(1/1000)

= 0.121

Volume of water = (186/1)*(1/1000)

= 0.186
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Volume of total aggregate = 1-(0.121+0.186)

= 0.693

Mass of coarse aggregate = 0.693*0.62*2.7*1000

= 1160 kg/m3

Mass of fine aggregate = 0.693*0.46*2.59*1000

= 825 kg/m3

Cement = 115.3 kg

Fine aggregate = 216 kg

Coarse aggregate = 388.8 kg

Concrete ratio = 1:1.87:3.37:0.45

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CHAPTER 4

4.1 PREPARATION AND PROPERTIES OF FIBRE REINFORCED CONCRETE

4.1.1 Material

1) Cement – ordinary Portland cement 53. The type / brand of cement are Ramco 53
grade. The specific gravity of cement is 3.15.

2) Course and fine aggregate- The 20 mm aggregate is used having specific gravity
2.920g/cm3.

3) Fibers: - the steel fibers used were hooked fibers with a length of 20 mm and aspect
ratio of 60. The polypropylene fibers are used manufactured by propex concrete systems
U.S.A. in an ISO 9001:2008 certified manufacturing facility certified by BBA.

4) Water: - potable tap water available in the site was used in the present investigation
for both casting and curing.

4.1.2. Series of mixes-

A total of 128 concrete mixes were prepared in each series with different cement
materials constitutions. While Series I mixes were prepared with plain ordinary PC, and
without fibers.

Mixes were prepared with 1.5% of steel fiber.

Mixes were prepared with 0.10% polypropylene fiber.

Mixes were prepared with 1.0% steel fibres

Mixes were prepared with 0.15% polypropylene fibres

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Table 4.1.2: percentage of fibers

Fibres Percentage No of cubes

1% 32

Steel
1.5% 32

0.10% 32

polypropylene
0.15% 32

4.2 BASIC TESTS

4.2.1 SPECIFIC GRAVITY TEST

Test Procedure:
 Clean the flask and dry it. Find the empty weight of the flask (W1) brass cap and
washer accurate to 1 g.

 Take about 250 g of oven-dried soil and put in the flask. Find the weight of flask plus
cement (W2).

 Fill the flask to half its height with distilled water and mix it thoroughly with glass
rod. Add more water and stir it. Replace the screw top and fill the flask flush with
hole in the conical cap. Dry the flask from outside, and find the Weight (W3).

 Empty the flask, clean it and fill it with distilled water to the hole of the conical cap
and find the weight (W4).

 Repeat steps for two more determination of specific gravity.

Figure 1: Specific gravity test

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Calculation:

The Specific Gravity is calculated from following Equation.

Specific Gravity, G = (W2-W1) /(W2-W1)-(W3-W4)*0.79

Where,

 w1 =weight of empty flask.

 W2 =weight of flask +cement

 W3 =weight of flask +cement +kerosene

 0.79 =specific gravity of kerosene

Limit: specific gravity of cement=3.15g/cc

4.2.1-Table 2: Specific gravity of Fine aggregate

Description Sample 1 Sample 2 Sample 3

W1 = Mass of empty flask 655 655 655

W2 = Mass of empty flask + cement 1136 1140 1138

W3 = Mass of flask + cement + kerosene 1750 1750 1750

0.79=specific gravity of kerosene 1443 1443 1443

Specific Gravity (G) of cement 2.72 2.72 2.72

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CALCULATION

Specific gravity = (1136-655) / ( (1136-655) - (1750-1443 ) ) * 0.79

=3.13

Average Specific gravity of Recycled Fine aggregate = 2.42

Specific gravity of Natural Fine aggregate = 2.59

4.2.2 DETERMINATION OF INITIAL & FINAL SETTING

TIMES

 STANDARD

IS: 4031 (Part 5) 1988.

 OBJECTIVE

 To determine the initial and final setting times of cement.

 APPARTUS

 Vicat apparatus conforming to IS: 5513-1976

.
 Balance of capacity 1kg and sensitivity 1 gram.

 Gauging trowel conforming to IS: 10086-1982.

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 PROCEDURE

Unless otherwise specified this test shall be conducted at a temperature of

27 + 2*C and 65 + 5% of relative humidity of the Laboratory.
 Prepare a paste of 300 grams of cement with 0.85 times the water required
to a give a paste of standard consistency IS: 4031 (Part 4) 1988.
 The time of gauging in any case shall not be less than 3 minutes not more
than 5 minutes and the gauging shall be completed before any sign of
setting occurs.
 Count the time of gauging from the time of adding water to the dry cement
until commencing to fill the mould
 Fill the vicat mould with this paste making it level with the top of the
mould.
 Slightly shake the mould to expel the air.
 In filling the mould the operator hands and the blade the gauging trowel
shall only be used.

 Initial Setting Time

 Immediately place the test block with the non-porous resting plate, under the
rod bearing the initial setting needle.

 Lower the needle and quickly release allowing it to penetrate in to the mould.

 In the beginning the needle will completely pierce the mould

 Repeat this procedure until the needle fails to pierce the mould for 5 + 0.5mm.

 Record the period elapsed between the time of adding water to the cement to
the time when needle fails to pierce the mould by 5 + 0.5mm as the initial
setting time.
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 Final Setting Time

 Replace the needle of the vicat apparatus by the needle with an annular ring

 Lower the needle and quickly release.

 Repeat the process until the annular ring makes an impression on the mould.

 Record the period elapsed between the time of adding water to the cement to
the time when the annular ring fails to make the impression on the mould as
the final setting time

 REPORT

o Report the initial setting time and final setting time in minutes.

 PRECAUTION
 The time of gauging in any case shall not be less than 3 minutes not more than
5minutes.
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CHAPTER 5

5.1METHODOLOGY

Study of Journals

Collection of
Materials

Analysis Of Properties
Of Materials

Concrete Mix Design

Casting of Specimans

Curing of Specimans

Compression &
Flextural Strength Test

DurabilityTest

Results Analsis
 24

5.2 MATERIALS

Basic and conventional concrete making materials like OPC 53 grade, locally
available fine aggregate of maximum size as 4.75mm, course aggregate of size 20mm and
10mm, potable water were used for casting conventional concrete (CC) and the fibers (Steel
and Polypropylene) are added in various % steel (1% and 1.5 %) and Polypropylene (0.5 %
and 1%) were used for casting fiber reinforced concrete (FRC) cubes. The figure below
shows the materials used for casting of conventional concrete specimens.

Cement course aggregate

Sand polypropylene
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Steel fibre

Figure 5.2 Materials Used for Casting

In this study we have used polypropylene fibres and steel fibres as reinforcing
materials to the concrete matrix. The cement we used is ordinary Portland cement of 53
grade.

5.3 Physical properties of Materials:

5.3.1. Cement:
OPC 53 grade cement is used, conforming to IS 12269-1987. Cement specific gravity
is found to be 3.15 using pyconometer. Using Vicat apparatus consistency, initial and final
setting time is found which 32%, 30 and 260 minutes respectively.

Figure 4: cement
 26

5.3.2. Fine and Coarse aggregate:

The river sand and crushed stones is used as fine aggregate and coarse aggregates
respectively. With the sieve size of 2.36 microns the fine aggregates are sieved whereas
coarse aggregate in 12mm sieve. The specific gravity with the help of pyconometer is found
for both fine and coarse aggregates which are 2.65 and 2.70 respectively.

Figure 5.3.2: fine and coarse aggregate

5.3.3. Water and Admixture:

A good quality of water is used and the water/cement ratio used is 0.35. Since low w/c
ratio is used 1% hyper plasticizer is used as admixture. The mix ratio as per design is
1:1.4:2.3.

5.3.4. Polypropylene fibres:

Polypropylene is a synthetic hydrocarbon polymer; the fibre is made using extrusion

processes by hot drawing the material through the die. The pp fibre length is 30 mm and 0.5
mm diameter; hence aspect ratio will be 60. The density of the polypropylene fibre used is
900 kg/cum. As the fibre has low specific gravity its weight is 0.15% of the total weight of
concrete used.
 27

The advantages of polypropylene fibres:

 Increase in tensile and flexural strength.

 Reduction in plastic shrinkage cracking.
 Minimizing thermal cracking.
 Improved spalling resistance.

Figure 6: POLYPROPYLENE FIBRE

5.3.5. Steel fibres:

Steel fibre is made up of steel and has a density of 7900 kg/cum. The diameter of the
steel fibre used is about 0.60 mm which is a hook end fibre. Length of this fibre used is 35
mm and hence the aspect ratio (L/D) is 55. The weight of steel fibre used is 1% to the total
volume of the concrete mix.
 28

Figure 7: STEEL FIBRE

5.3.6. The advantages of steel fibre reinforcement:

 High performance and improved crack resistance

 Multidirectional reinforcement.
 Less labour and less construction time required.
 Steel fibres reduce the permeability and water migration in concrete.

5.4. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE

The mix design is based on the concept of conceptual mix design and the mix ratio is
determined as 1:1.4:2.3 with 0.35 w/c ratio. The materials are collected as per the ratio. Then
for steel fibre cube casting 1% the weight of the concrete mix is weighed and is mixed with
the cement and aggregates whereas for polypropylene fibres 0.15% of the weight of the
concrete mixture is used. Then the concrete is then casted in 100 mm x 100 mm x 100 mm
cubes. Allowing for setting of concrete for a day the cubes are demoulded and are kept in
curing water for 28 days. On the 28th day the cubes are taken out of the curing tank and are
made to dry. After an hour the weight of the air dried cube sample is noted and is then kept
inside a muffle furnace with temperature set to 100°C for an hour. Then the furnace is
switched off and the sample is left inside the furnace undisturbed for 24 hours. Next day the
cube is then tested to determine the compressive strength. The same is repeated for different
temperatures of 200°C, 300°C, till 800°C and the respective compressive strength of the cube
are found.
 29

Figure 8 : Casted Polypropylene fibre cube

Figure 9: Cube in heated muffle furnace

 30

Figure 10: steel fibre cube after testing

Figure 11: polypropylene fibre cube after testing

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5.5 CASTING OF CONCRETE SPECIMENS

Metal moulds were arranged and oil was applied for easy demoulding of specimens.
Materials were weighed according to the mix ratio and were dropped in the mixer machine in
the order of coarse aggregate, fine aggregate and cement. They were mixed in dry form
initially and then water was added to make it a wet mix.

The fibers (Steel and polypropylene) were added with the natural fine aggregate at the
time of weighing itself and rotated to get fiber reinforced concrete (FRC). After thorough
mixing, the concrete was transferred to the cubical moulds placed on the vibrating table.
Concrete was placed in three layers and each layer was compacted. Totally 64 Nos. Of cubes
of size 100mm x 100mm for both Steel and polypropylene materials

Figure12; Casting of cubes

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5.6 CURING OF SPECIMENS

Curing means to cover the concrete so it stays moist. By keeping concrete moist, the
bond between the paste and the aggregates gets stronger so as to promote hardening of
concrete. Concrete doesn’t harden properly, if it is left to dry out and leads to early age
drying shrinkage. To help reduce water loss, immediately after demoulding of specimens they
were placed in curing tank containing potable water for proper curing until testing for a
period of 7days and 28 days. The figure below shows the picture of specimens placed in
curing tank.

Figure 13: 5.4.6 Curing of Specimens

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5.7 WATER ABSORPTION TEST

The water absorption test carried out at the age of 28 days using furnace. The
weight of the each specimen are determined and dried in an oven at a elevated temperature of
(1000C, 2000C, 3000C, 4000C) for a hours. After removing each specimen from the oven,
allowed it to cool and determined the weight. The difference between

Figure 14: 5.4.7 drying oven specimens

Figure 15: 5.4.8 weighing of specimen

 34

values obtained from two successive values of weight exceeded 0.5 % of the lesser value and
repeated the procedure until the difference between any two successive values is less than 0.5
% of the lowest value obtained.

W1 – Weight of cube before oven drying

W2 – Weight of cube after oven drying

5.8 TESTING OF SPECIMENS

According to IS 516:1959, compression test was carried out on a standard
100x100x100mm cube specimens at 7 and 28 days. All the cubes were tested in saturated
surface dried condition for each mix combination, cubes were tested at the corresponding
ages using compression testing machine of 100 tone capacity. The tests were carried out at a
uniform stress rate, after the specimen was centred in the testing machine. The loading was
continued till the specimen reaches its ultimate load. The ultimate load divided by the cross
sectional area of the specimen is equal to the ultimate compressive strength.

Figure 16: 5.4.9 Cube Compression Test

 35

CHAPTER 6

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

6.1 CUBE COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH

The 7 days and 28 days cube compressive strength of plain concrete and fibre
reinforced concrete specimens are obtained from tests and tabulated. The bar charts are drawn
for comparative interpretation.

6.1-Table 3: compressive strength of cube

COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH (Mpa)

W/C RATIO = 0.5

fibres percentage
7 days 28 days Average

1%

Steel

1.5%

0.10%

polypropylene

0.15%
 36

6.2-Table 4: Compressive strength at different temperatures

STEEL FIBRES POLYPROPYLENE COMPRESSIVE

TEMP FIBRES STRENGTH
(°C)

Weight Weight Weight Weight Steel Polypropyle

before after before after fibre ne fibre
heating heating heating heating (MPa) (MPa)
(grams) (grams) (grams) (grams)

100 2541.5 2508 2531 2499 29 31.1

200 2495.5 2398 2512.5 2476 35.8 43.9

300 2466.5 2353.5 2557.5 2459 48.2 57.7

400 2505.5 2390.5 2584 2465.5 63.4 44.3

500 2561 2430 2470 2355 37.5 37.7

600 2543 2406 2652 2521 30.5 29

700 2534 2395 2610 2505 25.6 31.2

800 2472 2302 2562 2447 23.3 29.8

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COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH
70

60
COMPRSSIVE STRENGTH(MPa)

50

40

steel fibre
30
polypropylene fibre

20

10

0
100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800
Temperature (◦C)

Figure: 6.1 COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH

Tabulation for decrease in compressive strength and percentage loss in weight are
calculated and respective graphs are plotted. From figure 3 it is clear that the strength of steel
fibre is maximum at 400 °C and for polypropylene fibre is at 300 °C. So the percentage loss
in the compressive strength of the

fibres are calculated beyond the maximum temperatures of the respective fibres and
are plotted. The percentage loss in weight is taken as ordinate and temperature in abscissa and
weight loss is plotted for both the fibres.
 38

6.3-Table 5: Percentage loss in weights

TEMPERATURE (°C) STEEL POLYPROPYLENE

FIBRES FIBRES

100 1.32 1.26

200 3.91 1.45

300 4.58 3.85

400 4.59 4.59

500 5.12 4.66

600 5.39 4.94

700 5.49 4.02

800 6.88 4.49

 39

STEEL
2600

2550

2500

2450
WEIGHT (Grams)

2400

2350

2300

2250

2200

2150
100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800
TEMPERATURE °C
Before heating After heating

Figure 18: 6.2 steel testing

POLYPROPYLENE
2700
2650
2600
2550
WEIGHT(Grams)

2500
2450
2400
2350
2300
2250
2200
100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800
TEMPERATURE °C
Before heating

After heating

Figure 19: 6.3 polypropylene testing

 40

8.00
7.00
Percentage Loss in Weight

6.00
5.00
4.00
steel fibre
3.00
polypropylene fibre
2.00
1.00
0.00
100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800
Temperature °C

Figure 20: 6.4 percentage loss in weight

6.4-Table 6: Percentage loss in compressive strengths

TEMPERATURE STEEL FIBRES POLYPROPYLENE FIBRES

(°C)

100 0 0

200 0 0

300 0 0

400 0 23.22

500 40.85 34.66

600 51.89 49.74

700 59.62 45.93

800 63.25 48.35

 41

70
Percentage loss in Compressive Strength
60

50

40

steel fibre
30
polypropylene fibre

20

10

0
100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800
Temperature ° C

Figure 21: 6.5 Percentage loss of compressive strength in fibres

6.2. Conclusion

From the results and discussions the following conclusions are made regarding behaviour of
fibre reinforced concrete at elevated temperatures.

1. The steel fibre should not be used in places above 400°C as it started to decrease in
strength after the optimum temperature.

2. For the polypropylene fibres the maximum allowable temperature for good
functioning is about 300°C.

3. From figure 6 it is inferred that the polypropylene fibre melts but they fills up the
voids so that the weight loss is less when compared to steel fibres.

4. From table 1 it is clear that the compressive strength of polypropylene fibre is more
than that of the steel fibres in most of the cases.
 42

5. The percentage loss of the compressive strength (figure 6) clearly proves that even
though the polypropylene fibres starts to melt before the steel fibres its fracture
properties is good than that of steel fibres at higher temperatures.

6.3. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

We express our sincere thanks to our chancellor Dr. K.Sridharan, for all the facilities
provided by him for completion of this project work.

We would like to express our gratitude to our Director of SMBS Dr. S.Sasi anand, for
his kind cooperation in this study.

Our sincere thanks to our Guide and Programmed chair Dr. R.C.Rajkiran, without him
this project could not have been this much successful; he also encouraged and guided us
throughout our experimental study.

6.4 REFERENCES
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[2] L.T. Phan & N.J. Carino (2002). "Effects of Testing Conditions and Mixture Proportions
on Behaviour of High-Strength Concrete Exposed to High Temperature". ACI Material
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[3] S.l. Suhaendi T. Horiguchi (2008). "Explosive Spalling Mitigation Mechanism of Fibre
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[4] K.D. Hertz (1992). "Danish Investigation on Silica Fumes Concrete at Elevated
Temperatures". ACI Material Journal. 328 (89), pp: 345-347.
 43

[5] M. Heikal (2000). "Effect of Temperature on ThePhysico-Mechanical and Mineralogical

Properties of HomraPozzolanic Cement Pastes". Cement & Concrete Research. 30, pp: 1835-
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[6] Y. Xu, Y.L. Wong, C.S. Poon & M. Anson (2001)."Impact of High Temperature on PFA
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[7] A. Nishida & N. Yamazaki (1995)." Study on the Properties of High Strength Concrete
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Conditions (CONSEC'95). Sapporo, Japan. August.
E&FN Spon, London, pp: 1141-1150.

[8] P. Kalifa, G, Chene& Ch. Galle (2001)."High-Temperature Behaviourof HPC with

Polypropylene Fibres from Spalling to
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[9] Y.N. Chan, X. Luo W. Sun (2000)."Compressive Strength and Pore Strucutre of High
Performance Concrete after Exposure to High
Temperature up to 800 C".Cement & Concrete Research. 30, pp: 247-251.

[10] X. Luo, W. Sun & S.Y.N Chan (2000)."Effect of Heating and Cooling Regimes on
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[11] Y.W. Mai, R. Andonian& B. Cotterell (1980)."Thermal Degradation of Polypropylene

Fibres in Cement Composites".International Journal Composite. 3(3), pp: 149-155.

[12] P. Soroushian, F. Mirza & A. Alhozaimy (1993)." Plastic Shrinkage Cracking of

Polypropylene Fibre-Reinforced Concrete Slabs. National Research Council, Washington,
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 44

[13] M.R. Bangi& T. Horiguchi (2012)."Effect of Fibre Type and Geometry on Maximum
Pore Pressures in Fibre-Reinforced High Strength Concrete at Elevated
Temperatures".Cement & Concrete Research. 42, pp: 459-466.

[14] I.S. Ibrahim, F.A. Othman, M.I. Ghazali& A. Jameran (2013)." The Mechanical
Properties of Hybrid Fibre Reinforced Composite Concrete". Proceedings of the 13th East
Asia-Pacific Conference on Structural Engineering and Construction.11-13 September.
Sapporo, Japan: University of Hokkaido.

[15] BS EN 12390-3 (2009). Compressive Strength of Test Specimens. Testing Hardened

Concrete.1-22.

[16] BS EN 12390-6 (2009). Tensile Splitting Strength of Test Specimens. Testing Hardened
Concrete.1-14.