Fresh Properties and Fracture Energy of Basalt and Glass Fiber–Reinforced Self-Compacting Concrete

Abstract

In this study, the fresh properties, fracture energy, compressive strength, and flexural strength of self-compacting concrete including glass or basalt fibers were examined, and the effect of fibers on these properties were studied comparatively. For this purpose, fibers having three different lengths (6, 12, and 24 mm) were used in two different contents (2 and 4 kg/m3). The workability of concrete mixtures decreased with fiber addition. The negative effect of basalt fibers on workability was greater than that of the glass fibers. The reduction in flow diameter was up to 40% and 44% as well as the reduction in L-box ratio was up to 41% and 48% in glass and basalt fiber mixtures, respectively. While the fiber addition generally reduced the compressive strength, it increased the flexural strength and fracture energy significantly. Increase in flexural strength was up to 58.6% in glass fiber and 43.5% in basalt fiber mixtures. The fracture energies of glass and basalt fiber mixtures were up to 55.1% and 30.4% higher than that of the control mixture, respectively.