Influence of Polypropylene Fibres on the Thermal Strain of High Strength Concrete at High Temperatures

Abstract

This paper presents the results of an experimental study on the influence of polypropylene (PP) fibres on the thermal strain of high strength concrete (HSC) at temperatures up to 750°C. Concerning this topic only few results can be found in the literature and systematic investigations are missing. However, basic knowledge is necessary to understand the internal damage processes as well as for structural design.

To explain the differences in the thermal strain of HSC with and without addition of PP fibres the internal damage processes were investigated with acoustic emission (AE) analysis and ultrasound (US). Furthermore the weight loss was measured continuously during heating to monitor the drying of the specimen. This novel approach by combining these different methods with strain measurements at high temperatures allows the integral description of the internal damage processes. The results reveal significant differences in the thermal strain of HSC when PP fibres are added. Between 200°C and 250°C the thermal strain of HSC with PP fibres is superimposed by shrinkage caused by accelerated drying. Above 250°C it is lower than that of plain HSC without PP fibres. It is supposed that it is caused by a more homogeneous distribution of micro cracks whereby the fibre beds acting as defects in the concrete.

Hence this paper gives a contribution to the general understanding of the impact of PP fibres in HSC at high temperatures and points out the influence of the fibres on the thermal strain of HSC.

Citation

Huismann, S., Weise, F., Meng, B. and Schneider, U. (2011), "Influence of Polypropylene Fibres on the Thermal Strain of High Strength Concrete at High Temperatures", Journal of Structural Fire Engineering, Vol. 2 No. 3, pp. 173-180. https://doi.org/10.1260/2040-2317.2.3.173