Mix Design and Engineering Properties of Fiber-Reinforced Pervious Concrete Using Lightweight Aggregates

Abstract

The main purpose of this study was to investigate the mix design and performance of fiber-reinforced pervious concrete using lightweight coarse aggregates instead of ordinary coarse aggregates. There were two main stages in the relevant testing work. First, the properties of the matrix were tested with a rheological test and then different amounts of lightweight coarse aggregate and fine aggregate were added to the matrix to measure the properties of the obtained lightweight pervious concrete (LPC). In order to greatly reduce the experimental workload, the Taguchi experimental design method was adopted. An orthogonal array L9(34) was used, which was composed of four controllable three-level factors. There were four test parameters in this study, which were the lightweight coarse aggregate size, ordinary fine aggregate content, matrix type, and aggregate/binder ratio. The research results confirmed that the use of suitable materials and the optimal mix proportions were the key factors for improving the mechanical properties of the LPC. Due to the use of silica fume, ultrafine silica powder, and polypropylene fibers, the 28-day compressive strength, 28-day flexural strength, and 28-day split tensile strength of the LPC specimens prepared in this study were 4.80–7.78, 1.19–1.86, and 0.78–1.11 MPa, respectively. On the whole, the mechanical properties of the prepared LPC specimens were better than those of the LPC with general composition.