Influence of steel fiber and polyvinyl alcohol fiber on properties of high performance concrete
Yanzhong Ju, Meitong Zhu, Xiaolei Zhang, Dehong Wang
Abstract
Abstract To investigate influence of the single steel fibers, single polyvinyl alcohol fiber (PVA) and hybrid fibers on the properties of high performance concrete (HPC), the tests of the fresh properties, compressive strength, flexural strength and toughness of HPC reinforced with steel fiber and PVA fiber were conducted. The toughness of hybrid fiber HPC was evaluated through several flexural performance analysis methods and improved flexural toughness evaluation methods. In order to analyze the fiber toughening principle and the effect of different fiber content on flexural strength, the four‐point bending test was simulated by finite element modeling. And the calculation formula of hybrid steel‐PVA fiber HPC flexural strength was proposed. The results indicate that, steel fibers, PVA fibers and hybrid fibers can both improve HPC strength and toughness, while the content of PVA fiber had a critical value about 1%. If it is greater than this value, the enhancement of toughness will be reduced. Furthermore, the steel fiber and PVA fiber can play a bridging role in different scales to improve the toughness and strength of HPC.