Influence of different fibers on mechanical and durability performance of concrete with silica fume

Durability and ductility of plain cement concrete (PC) can be upgraded by the simultaneous incorporation of fibers and supplementary cementitious materials. To this end, influence of different fibers such as steel fiber (SF), glass fiber (GF), carbon fiber (CF), and polypropylene fiber (PF) is studied on mechanical and durability properties of concrete with and without silica fume. Silica fume was used as 10% by mass replacement of ordinary Portland cement. Various mechanical and durability properties were studied such as compressive strength, split tensile strength, flexural strength, water absorption (WA), chloride penetration (CP), and acid attack resistance of concrete. The results of testing revealed that silica fume improved the efficiency of fibers in resisting the tensile and flexural loads. The composite effect of fiber and silica fume was more beneficial than the sum of the effects of their individual incorporation. Steel fiber-reinforced concrete (SFRC) showed better mechanical performance at 28 days as compared to other FRCs but CFRC showed better performance at 180 days. PFRC and CFRC exhibited better durability performance than SFRC and GFRC. Silica fume helped in reducing the WA and CP of FRCs and improved their acid attack resistance.