Effect of Multi-Component on Crack Resistance of High-Performance Concrete on Subway Underground Station Floor

Abstract

In view of the easy cracking of the high-performance concrete (HPC) of the subway underground station floor, the effects of fly ash, basalt fiber, expansive agent, and water reducer on the compressive strength, initial crack time, through-crack time, and crack area of the HPC on a subway underground station floor at different ages by orthogonal experiment are examined. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP) are used to further analyze the microstructure and product composition of the optimal ratio HPC and reference concrete. The results show that with the increase in the content of fly ash and expander, the 7 d and 28 d compressive strength of the HPC gradually decreased. However, as the content of basalt fiber increased, the 7 d and 28 d compressive strength of the HPC gradually increased. The 7 d and 28 d compressive strength of the HPC increased and then decreased with the increase in water-reducer content. When the content of fly ash, basalt fiber and expander increased, the initial crack and through-crack time of the HPC delayed gradually, and the crack area gradually decreased. When the fly-ash content reached 30%, the cracking area accounted for 65.1% of the concrete with 15% fly-ash content. When the basalt fiber content reached 0.4%, the cracking area accounted for 56.5% of the concrete with 0.1% basalt fiber content. When the expander content reached 10%, the cracking area accounted for 60.5% of the concrete with 4% expander content. With the increase in the content of water reducer, the initial crack and through-crack time of the HPC gradually advanced, and the crack area gradually increased. When the water-reducer content reached 1.3%, the cracking area accounted for 105.7% of the concrete with 1.0% water-reducer content. The addition of fly ash and expander can produce a large number of crystalline products to fill the pores, and the disordered distribution of the added basalt fibers increases the compactness of the structure; moreover, the internal micro-pores increase, and the macro-pores decrease, thus improving the crack resistance.