Durability Studies on Glass Fibre Reinforced Self Compacting Concrete

Abstract

The paper presents durability properties of Glass Fibre Reinforced Self Compacting Concrete (GFRSCC) of different grades. The durability of Glass Fibre Reinforced Self Compacting Concrete (GFRSCC) using anti-crack highly dispersible glass fibres is reported in terms of acid resistance, surface absorption and sorptivity. The mixes were designed using rational mix design procedure for SCC satisfying the EFNARC (2005) guidelines. In the first phase the mechanical
properties of different grades are studied. In the second phase durability properties like Acid attack factors, Acid-Durability factors, sorptivity are studied for the Plain SCC(SCCP) and Glass Fibre Reinforced SCC(GFRSCC) and a comparison is made. Based on the studies it is observed that the compressive strengths of the GFRSCC were found to be about 10% more compared to SCCP. With the increase in the grade of concrete, the sorptivity of GFRSCC is found to be reducing. With the increase in duration of exposure to the acidic environment the ASLF increased. SCCP and GFRSCC have shown more or less similar percentage loss in strength for the same grade of concrete. With increase in period of immersion of the concrete in various solutions (acids and sulphates), there was a
considerable damage of concrete near the corners of the standard cube and such disruption in GFRSCC was less than in SCCP. Overall, the GFRSCC was found to be more durable against both acids and sulphates.