Experimental Investigation on the Mechanical Properties of Polypropylene Hybrid Fiber-Reinforced Roller-Compacted Concrete Pavements

Abstract

AbstractTo explore the effect of multi-scale polypropylene fiber (PPF) hybridization on the mechanical properties of roller-compacted concrete (RCC), the early-age (3, 7, 14, 28 days) compressive strength, splitting tensile strength and uniaxial tensile test of RCC reinforced with micro-, macro- and hybrid polypropylene fibers were investigated. Then, the tensile stress–strain curve of polypropylene fiber-reinforced roller-compacted concrete (PFRCC) and the corresponding tensile parameters were obtained. The uniaxial tensile constitutive equation of PFRCC and fiber hybrid effect function was also proposed. Finally, the enhancement mechanism of fiber hybridization on mechanical properties of RCC was analyzed. The results indicated that the strength and toughness of PFRCC improved with the incorporation of PPF, showing obvious plastic failure characteristics of PFRCC. Before curing the concrete for 7 days, micro-PPF played a major role in strengthening RCC, while macro-PPF played a major role in reinforcing concrete after that. Moreover, the tensile strength and toughness indexes of multi-scale PFRCC performed the best, indicating the positive hybridization of three types of PPF. The proposed PFRCC uniaxial tensile constitutive equation and fiber hybrid effect function based on existing researches were also well matched with the experimental results.