Permeability of Steel Fibre Reinforced Concrete Influence of Fibre Parameters

An extensive laboratory investigation was undertaken to study the effects of different fibre parameters on the permeability of steel fibre reinforced concrete. The effects of fibre content, fibre aspect ratio and curing age were studied. Crimped fibres in varying weight fractions of 1.0%, 2.0% and 4.0% and having aspect ratios of 65, 85 and 105 were used. The concrete grade was kept the same throughout. Samples were cast and tested for water permeability after 7, 14, 28 and 60 days of water curing. Plain concrete samples were also cast and tested for reference purposes. Results of the study indicated a significant decrease in the permeability of concrete with the addition of steel fibres. The permeability decreased significantly with increasing fibre content and increasing curing age. The water permeability was observed to increase with increasing aspect-ratio of fibres but the decrease was not very significant. The Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) statistical method was used to evaluate the effects of these factors on the permeability of SFRC. A a level (probability of error) of 0.05 was used for ANOVA test. (C) 2011 Published by Elsevier Ltd.