Effects of polypropylene and basalt fibers on tensile and compressive mechanical properties of fiber-reinforced ice composites

As an environmentally friendly and low-cost construction material, ice has a rich historical usage and has been gaining significance in cold-zone engineering constructions. However, the low tensile strength and brittle damage characteristics limit the potential applications of ice. Incorporating fibers in ice has been recognized as an effective method to improve the mechanical properties. This research aims to investigate the effects of polypropylene fibers (PF) and basalt fibers (BF) on the mechanical properties of fiber-reinforced ice composites. To do so, approximately 200 PF- and/or BF-reinforced ice specimens with varying fiber contents (0 %, 2 %, 4 %, 6 %, 8 %) were produced and subjected to splitting tensile and uniaxial compressive tests at -10 degrees C. Besides, the synergistic effect of hybrid fiber-reinforced ice on tensile mechanical properties was further investigated. The experimental results demonstrate that the addition of fibers transforms the brittle failure of ice into ductile failure, and both BF and PF improve the tensile and compressive mechanical properties of ice composites in strength and ductility as functions of fiber contents. The tensile mechanical properties of hybrid fiber-reinforced ice exhibit both negative and positive synergistic effects. Furthermore, the research established the tensile and compressive strength formulas of PF- or BF-reinforced ice composites with different fiber contents, and the calculated results correlated well with the tested ones.