Mechanical and Rheological Properties of Glass Fiber-Reinforced Flowable Mortar (GFRFM): Optimization Using Taguchi Method

In this study, an attempt was made to link the strength to the rheological properties of glass fiber-reinforced flowable mortar (GFRFM), and optimize the strength using the Taguchi method. With this regard, first the main factors influencing the rheology, including superplasticizer (SP) ratio, water-binder ratio (w/b), and fiber volume percentage (Vol.%) were identified. Then, by setting three levels for each factor and using L9 Taguchi array, 9 groups of experiments were designed and conducted on GFRFM mixes. The rheology of each mix was measured using the mini slump and mini V-funnel tests, and the strength was measured using compression and split tensile tests. Afterwards, the analysis of variance (ANOVA), optimization, and prediction of the mechanical and rheological properties were performed. Finally, the optimum levels of the factors for the maximum strength were found as SP = 16 mL/kg of binder, fiber Vol.% = 0.5, and w/b = 0.35, and the corresponding rheological properties were determined. It was found that the optimum rheology occurs between the minimum and maximum values. Microstructural assessment of the mixes conducted using scanning electron microscope (SEM) also indicated a denser microstructure of the optimum mix.