Compressive Strength and Splitting Tensile Strength of Polyvinyl Alcohol Fiber Reinforced Ultra High Strength Concrete (PFRC)

The marked brittleness with low tensile strength and strain capacities of ultra high strength concrete (UHSC) with compressive strength of 100 MPa can be overcome by the addition of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) fibers. The compressive strength and splitting tensile strength of ultra high strength concrete containing PVA fibers are investigated this paper. The PVA fibers were added at the volume fractions of 0%, 0.17%, 0.25%, 0.34% and 0.5%. The compressive strength of the PVA fiber reinforced ultra high strength concrete (PFRC) reached a maximum at 0.5% volume fraction, being an 8.2% improvement over the UHSC. The splitting tensile strength of the PFRC improved with increasing the volume fraction, achieving 46.7% improvements at 0.5% volume fraction. The splitting strength models were established to predict the compressive and splitting tensile strengths of the PFRC. The models give predictions matching the measurements.