Construction and Building Materials 261 (2020) 120610

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Construction and Building Materials

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/conbuildmat

Experimental study on mechanical properties of fiber reinforced

concrete: Effect of cellulose fiber, polyvinyl alcohol fiber and polyolefin
fiber
Haiyan Xu, Zimeng Shao, Zhijie Wang ⇑, Libin Cai, Zhen Li, Hesong Jin, Tiewei Chen
Key Laboratory of Transportation Tunnel Engineering of the Ministry of Education, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu 610031, China

h i g h l i g h t s

Cellulose fiber is found to enhance axial compressive strength of concrete but weakens splitting tensile strength.

Polyvinyl alcohol fiber weakens axial compressive strength, splitting tensile strength and shear strength of concrete.

High dosage of fiber may lead to ineffective interweaving and agglomeration.
3 3

1.5 kg/m Cellulose fiber with 1.0 kg/m polyvinyl alcohol fiber is found to be optimal combination to achieve the best synergistic effect.

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Mechanical properties of concrete reinforced with cellulose fiber (CTF), polyvinyl alcohol fiber (PF) and
Received 23 April 2020 polyolefin fiber suitable for various spray (VS) are experimentally studied. The individual impact of single
Received in revised form 27 July 2020 fiber as well as synergistic effect of hybrid fiber on axial compressive strength, splitting tensile strength
Accepted 13 August 2020
and shear strength of concrete are investigated. Microstructures of fiber reinforced concrete specimen as
well as its stress–strain relationship is also observed. The results show that CTF alone enhances axial
compressive strength of concrete but weakens splitting tensile strength; VS weakens splitting tensile
Keywords:
strength as well but has little impact on the other two strength; PF has a negative effect on all the three
Fiber reinforced concrete
Mechanical properties
mechanical strength. Synergistic effect of hybrid fiber varies with dosage, and only with the appropriate
Cellulose fiber fiber dosage can hybrid fiber has positive synergistic effect on mechanical properties. 1.5 kg/m3 cellulose
Polyvinyl alcohol fiber fiber with 1.0 kg/m3 polyvinyl alcohol fiber is found to be optimal combination of CTF-PF hybrid fiber to
Polyolefin fiber achieve the best synergistic effect. Practical implications of CTF, PF and VS are also put forward.
Stress–strain relationship Ó 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction in bridges, tunnels, roads and other civil engineering structures

has its great advantage [12–14]. With the increasing demand of
In recent decades, scholars have done a lot of research on reliability for engineering structures, measures such as mixing var-
mechanical properties of fiber reinforced concrete and reached a ious types of fibers according to reasonable mix ratio [15–16] and
consensus that the rational use of fiber can effectively improve replacing metal fibers with cheaper synthetic fibers [17] can
mechanical properties of concrete. For instance, the addition of improve safety, durability, economy and applicability, and enhance
steel fiber greatly improves tensile and shear strength of plain con- the overall performance of engineering structure.
crete [1–6]; polypropylene fiber contributes to impact resistance of Cellulose fiber (CTF), polyvinyl alcohol fiber (PF) and polyolefin
concrete [7–9]; and a small amount of basalt fiber can significantly fiber (VS) have great advantages in practical use for civil engineer-
increase flexural strength, but reduce compressive strength with ing. For example, Guo et al. [18] found that CTF under high temper-
the increase of fiber dosage [10]. The addition of a single fiber atures could slow the damage caused by internal stress and
may only improve the mechanical strength of concrete in one improve the spalling resistance of concrete by creating a series of
aspect, but mixed hybrid fiber may improve the overall perfor- channels in the matrix which facilitated the release of the steam
mance of concrete structures [11]. Fiber reinforced concrete used pressure inside the fiber reinforced concrete. The incorporation of
PF fiber could significantly improve splitting tensile and flexural
⇑ Corresponding author. strengths as well as flexural toughness of concrete [19–21], and
E-mail address: [email protected] (Z. Wang). the post-cracking extension and fracture energy [22]. The

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2020.120610
0950-0618/Ó 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
2 H. Xu et al. / Construction and Building Materials 261 (2020) 120610

impact-resistant capacity of reinforced concrete structures can also 2.2. Proportions

be rationally upgraded by mixing short PF fibers into concrete [23].
VS fiber, according the study of Deng et al. [24] and Doostmo- A total of 16 concrete specimens are designed (see Table 3),
hamadi et al. [25], could improve the toughness and post-crack among which No.1 specimen is plain concrete where no fiber is
performance of concrete and prevent concrete splitting. It can also used, No. 2 ~ 11 concrete specimens are reinforced with only one
enhance tensile strength, fracture toughness and ductility of con- type of fiber, No. 12 ~ 14 concrete specimens are reinforced with
crete [26,27]. The three fibers show many excellent physical and 2 types of fibers, and No. 15 and 16 concrete specimens are rein-
mechanical properties, especially the performance of enhancing forced with 3 types of fibers. The dosage of CTF used in this study
concrete’s working performance and crack resistance. This makes is set to be 1.0 kg/m3, 1.2 kg/m3, 1.5 kg/m3 and 1.8 kg/m3, while
the study and application of the mechanical properties of single that of PF is 1.0 kg/m3, 2.0 kg/m3 and 3.5 kg/m3, and VS is
fiber and hybrid fiber reinforced concrete structures have great 2.0 kg/m3, 3.5 kg/m3 and 4.5 kg/m3. Such setting is for comparing
significance. the effect of different dosage of fibers on mechanical performance
Scholars have studied mechanical properties covering compres- of reinforced concrete and determining the optimal dosage and
sive strength, tensile strength, bending strength and toughness of combination of fibers. For the convenience of reporting the
hybrid fiber reinforced concrete, among which steel- research, abbreviation is used to represent every concrete speci-
polypropylene hybrid is a popular subject [28–33]. For instance, men, which is shown in Table 3. For example, the abbreviation
Lu et al. [34] studied the influence of the steel-polypropylene for No. 12 specimen CTF1.0PF2.0VS0 means that the dosage used
hybrid fiber on the axial compression performance of concrete col- is 1.0 kg/m3 for CTF, 2.0 kg/m3 for PF, and VS is not used.
umns and found that the hybrid fiber delayed the destruction pro-
cess of the material and improved its dissipation capacity. 2.3. Fabrication of specimens and loading method
Similarly, Mohebi et al. [35] studied the influence on tensile prop-
erty of high-strength concrete and found that bifurcated microc- A forced mixer is used to mix the fiber reinforced concrete.
racks emerging during the loading process reduce the risk of Firstly gravel and sand are put into the blender and mixed for
brittle failure of concrete structures. Li et al. [36] studied bending 120 s. Then the cement, mineral powder and fly ash are added into
performance and concluded that the steel-polypropylene hybrid the mixer to mix evenly for about 30 s. Fiber is then evenly sprin-
fiber has a synergistic effect on improving the bending perfor- kled and stirred for about 30 s, and finally water and water reducer
mance of concrete. Steel-polyvinyl alcohol hybrid fiber reinforced is added and stirred for about 120 s. The slump of the mixed con-
concrete has also been investigated and proved to be an effective crete is tested, and the slump is about 190 mm. According to the
fiber reinforced concrete with great engineering potential [37– requirements of vibration of fiber reinforced concrete in the Chi-
40]. There is no current research available which studies mechan- nese code CECS 13:2009 Standard test methods for fiber reinforced
ical strength of CTF, PF and VS as well as their synergistic effect as concrete, the mixed concrete is loaded into the test mold in one
hybrid fibers. time and is slightly above the top of the mold. Then it is placed
Hybrid fiber reinforced concrete cannot be used once and for all, on the vibrating table for vibration, and the time is controlled in
and not any hybrid fiber combination can enhance the mechanical 20 s ~ 30 s. The excess concrete is scraped off and the specimen
properties of concrete structure. Only reasonable selection of fiber is finally flattened. The test specimens are numbered and left in
type and reasonable mix proportion can make different hybrid the laboratory for one day and one night, after which the mold is
fiber reinforced concrete to play its advantages and enhance the removed and the specimens are placed in the standard curing room
mechanical properties of concrete structure. In this study, the com- (temperature: 20℃, humidity: 95%) for curing for 7 days.Fig. 1
pressive strength, splitting tensile strength and shear strength of
concrete reinforced with single, double or triple mixed fibers 2.3.1. Axial compression test
(CTF, PF and VS) of different dosage are investigated. The synergis- The size of the axial compression test specimen is
tic effect of hybrid fibers, as well as stress–strain relationship, is 100  100  300 mm. According to different fiber types and fiber
also analyzed. It is worth noting that, while conducting the macro- content combinations, the test is conducted in 23 groups, with 6
scopic mechanical strength test, the microscopic structure of fiber specimens in each group. Among them, 3 specimens are used to
reinforced concrete is also observed by using optical microscope measure the axial compressive strength, and the other 3 specimens
and scanning electron microscope, which contributes to a more are used to measure the stress–strain curve of axial compression.
comprehensive study on the mechanical properties of concrete The test loading device and test device are described below.
reinforced with one or more types of fibers. This study is expected The loading device is the universal testing machine of HUT106A
to provide practical implications for the use of CTF, PF and VS for type 1000 kN microcomputer controlled electro-hydraulic servo
their optimal mechanical performance. (see Fig. 4). The device adopts a double space structure, where
the space between the upper and lower beam is for stretching
and that between the lower beam and the test bed is for compres-
2. Experimental programs sion. The rigid component of the loading machine is composed of a
set of hydraulic jacks. The resultant force axis of the rigid compo-
2.1. Materials nent (see Fig. 5) coincides with the resultant force axis of specimen
compression.
Fiber reinforced concrete in the experiment is made from the The measuring device includes a deformation measuring frame
following components: PO42.5 grade ordinary Portland cement, and an instrument. The former is made of section steel, which is
fine aggregate, coarse aggregate, fly ash, mineral powder, water connected to the specimen during measurement without addi-
reducer, water, CTF, PF and VS. Coarse aggregate here refers to tional deformation. The measuring distance is equal to the side
the aggregate with nominal particle size of 5 ~ 25 mm and good length of the specimen section, which is 100 mm. The latter con-
gradation, while the fine aggregate refers to the river sand with sists of an electronic dynamometer, an electronic displacement
fine modulus of 2.6 and good gradation. The mineral composition sensor, a conversion amplifier system, an analog–digital conver-
of cement, fly ash and mineral powder is shown in Table 1. Table 2 sion system and a supporting computer. The dynamometer and
lists several parameters of three kinds of fibers used in the exper- displacement sensor are connected with the automatic data acqui-
iment and other two commonly used ones for comparison. sition system, where the computer automatically records the test
 H. Xu et al. / Construction and Building Materials 261 (2020) 120610 3

Table 1
Mineral compositions of cement, fly ash and mineral powder.

Material type Mineral compositions/%

SiO2 Fe2O3 Al2O3 MgO CaO Na2O K2O TiO2 P2O5 MnO SrO SO3
Cement 20.01 3.20 5.68 0.81 65.89 0.09 1.17 — 0.08 0.19 — 2.00
Fly ash 62.04 4.28 25.5 1.27 3.96 0.46 — 1.33 0.31 — 0.12 0.73
Mineral powder 34.11 0.83 15.36 6.58 35.99 0.40 0.62 2.41 — 1.07 0.12 2.50

Table 2
Parameters of fibers.

Fiber Density/(g/cm3) Equivalent diameter/lm Average length/mm Tensilestrength/GPa Elasticmodulus/GPa Commonly used Price/(RMB/kg)
Type dosage/(kg/m3)
CTF-960 1.109 18 2.1 0.96 8.5 1.2 90
PF-2000 0.97 30 9 3.1 ~ 4.5 110 ~ 118 2 45
VS-3000 0.92 1000 30 2.6 ~ 3.9 112 ~ 120 2 70

Optical microscope (OLYMPUS BX53M) and scanning electron microscope (KYKY-EM3200) (see Fig. 1 and Fig. 2) are used to observe microstructures of fiber reinforced
concrete, the contact and bond between fiber and matrix concrete, as well as the development of hydration products of concrete. Fig. 3 shows the appearance of the three
kinds of fibers in present study, including the fiber in its natural state and the state being magnified 50 times.

Table 3
Mix proportion of fiber reinforced concrete specimens.

No. Specimens Cement /kg Fly ash /kg Mineral Fine aggregate /kg Coarse aggregate /kg Water Water/kg
powder /kg 0.60 ~ 4.75/ 0.30 ~ 0.60/ 0.15 ~ 0.30/ 2.36 ~ 9.50/ 9.50 ~ 19.00/ reducer/kg
mm mm mm mm mm
1 CTF0PF0VS0 340.1 30.1 60.2 335.8 181.7 155.5 121.7 909.3 11.0 167.1
2 CTF1.0PF0VS0 339.2 29.8 60.5 335.4 182.1 156.1 120.9 910.0 11.4 166.8
3 CTF1.2PF0VS0 340.1 30.2 59.8 335.3 181.2 155.1 121.6 909.8 10.9 167.3
4 CTF1.5PF0VS0 340.3 30.5 60.4 336.1 182.2 156.0 121.5 909.0 11.2 166.9
5 CTF1.8PF0VS0 339.7 29.6 59.8 335.7 181.4 155.9 122.3 908.7 10.8 167.1
6 CTF2.0PF0VS0 340.2 29.9 60.1 335.9 181.8 155.3 121.8 908.5 10.9 167.9
7 CTF0PF1.0VS0 340.4 30.2 60.3 336.2 182.3 155.5 121.3 909.0 11.0 166.8
8 CTF0PF2.0VS0 339.9 29.8 60.5 335.9 181.5 156.0 121.8 909.4 10.9 167.2
9 CTF0PF3.5VS0 339.7 30.2 60.4 335.5 181.4 155.2 120.9 910.1 11.4 166.8
10 CTF0PF4.0VS0 339.5 29.9 60.1 335.1 181.7 155.8 121.4 910.4 10.8 166.9
11 CTF0PF0VS1.0 340.2 30.3 59.4 335.9 182.1 155.4 120.7 909.3 10.6 167.3
12 CTF0PF0VS2.0 339.2 30.3 59.9 335.4 181.4 155.2 121.5 909.1 10.9 166.9
13 CTF0PF0VS3.5 340.3 29.7 59.6 335.2 181.1 155.2 121.3 909.1 11.2 167.1
14 CTF0PF0VS4.5 339.3 30.1 60.5 335.2 181.4 155.2 121.9 909.6 11.3 167.0
15 CTF1.0PF1.0VS0 340.1 29.6 59.5 335.3 181.0 154.7 121.6 908.8 10.8 166.7
16 CTF1.0PF2.0VS0 340.2 30.2 60.2 335.9 181.8 155.9 122.0 910.0 11.0 167.3
17 CTF1.2PF1.0VS0 339.8 29.8 59.7 335.6 181.2 155.4 121.7 909.3 10.6 166.6
18 CTF1.2PF2.0VS0 340.4 30.3 60.5 335.8 181.5 156.0 122.1 909.8 11.3 166.8
19 CTF1.2PF3.5VS0 339.9 29.7 59.7 335.1 181.3 155.2 121.3 908.7 11.2 167.6
20 CTF1.5PF1.0VS0 340.2 30.1 60.2 335.6 181.2 156.1 121.7 909.1 11.0 166.9
21 CTF1.5PF2.0VS0 339.5 29.8 59.6 334.8 180.8 156.3 122.0 910.1 10.8 167.2
22 CTF1.2PF2.0VS2.0 340.6 30.5 60.2 336.1 182.2 155.3 122.1 910.3 10.8 166.9
23 CTF1.2PF3.5VS3.5 340.5 29.9 59.5 335.2 182.3 155.1 120.8 909.8 11.4 167.0

Fig. 1. OLYMPUS BX53M optical microscope. Fig. 2. KYKY-EM3200 scanning electron microscope.
4 H. Xu et al. / Construction and Building Materials 261 (2020) 120610

(a) CTF in natural state (b) PF in natural state (c) VS in natural state

(d) CTF magnified 50 times (e) PF magnified 50 times (f) VS magnified 50 times

Fig. 3. The appearance of CTF, PF and VS.

Fig. 5. Schematic diagram of rigid components.

Fig. 4. Schematic diagram of loading device. to the Chinese code CECS 13:2009 Standard test methods for fiber
reinforced concrete. The strength value obtained should therefore
be multiplied by the size conversion factor, which is 0.95.

data, and the data analysis software draws the load-deformation

2.3.2. Split tensile test
curve.
The size of the split tensile test specimen is
The axial compressive strength is calculated according to the
150  150  150 mm. 23 groups are also set up for the test, with
following formula (1)
3 specimens in each group. A curved steel pad as shown in Fig. 6 is
used between the testing machine and the specimen. Between
F max
f cp ¼ ð1Þ steel pad and specimen pad underlies a plywood with the width
A
of 20 mm and thickness of 4 mm.
Where f cp is the axial compressive strength with the unit of The loading speed is 0.08 MPa/s. When the specimen begins to
MPa, F max is the failing load with the unit of N, and A the bearing rapidly deform, the specimen is close to failure state. The loading
area of specimen with the unit of mm2. The results are accurate process is stopped until the specimen is destroyed. Failing loads
to 0.1 MPa. The strength of the concrete used in the specimen is are recorded and accurate to 0.01 MPa.
weaker than that of C60, and the size of the specimen is The split tensile strength is calculated according to the follow-
100  100  300 mm, which is a non-standard specimen according ing formula (2)
 H. Xu et al. / Construction and Building Materials 261 (2020) 120610 5

Fig. 6. Loading device of split tensile test.

Fig. 8. Invalid shear strength test case (the failure is not on the predetermined
surface).
2F max F max
f spl ¼ ¼ 0:637 ð2Þ
pA A then checked. If the failure is not on the predetermined surface
(see Fig. 8), the test result is invalid.
Where f spl is the split tensile strength with the unit of MPa, F max
The shear strength is calculated according to the following for-
the failing load with the unit of N, and A the area of splitting plane
mula (3)
with the unit of mm2. The arithmetic mean value of three speci-
mens in each group is taken as the splitting tensile strength value F max
fv ¼ ð3Þ
of the specimens in each group. 2bh
Where f v is the shear strength with the unit of MPa, F max the
2.3.3. Shear strength test failing load with the unit of N, b the average width of predeter-
The size of the shear strength test specimen is mined failure surface of specimens with the unit of mm, and h
100  100  300 mm. 23 groups are set up for the test, with 4 spec- the average height of predetermined failure surface of specimens
imens in each group. Double-sided direct shear strength method is with the unit of mm.
used for the shear strength test. The test diagram is shown in Fig. 7
below. During the test, the upper and lower blade edges are kept in
3. Results and discussion
vertical relative motion without left or right motion. The blade
width is 1/10 of the nominal height of the specimen, which is
3.1. Failure patterns of concrete specimens
10 cm. The spacing of upper and lower blade (H) is 100 cm, and
the upper and lower blade edge dislocation (a) is 1 mm.
Fig. 9 shows images of some specimens after axial compression.
The load is applied to the specimen continuously and uniformly
As is seen in Fig. 9(a), there is a main diagonal crack running
with the loading speed of 0.08 MPa/s. The failing loads are recorded
through the specimen surface on the plain concrete specimen.
and accurate to 0.01 MPa. The failure surface of the specimen is
The crack propagation is relatively unobstructed and regular, and
the cracks hardly bifurcate. For single-fiber reinforced concrete
specimen (see Fig. 9(b), (c) and (d)), there is no main diagonal
crack, but several secondary cracks appear on the surface of the
specimen, most of which start from the diagonal direction of the
specimen and extend irregularly to both sides of the specimen.
For double-fiber reinforced concrete specimens (see Fig. 9(e)),
the main diagonal crack does not form either. After the cracks
extend along the diagonal for a certain length, they are deflected
and extended to both edges of the specimens. At the same time,
in the diagonal direction, the new crack continues to grow and
extend to both sides of the specimen. For triple-fiber reinforced
concrete specimens (see Fig. 9(f)), the crack propagation is not
along the diagonal direction but along the upper and lower edges.
The concrete on the top partially peels off. During the crack prop-
agation, secondary cracks extending to both sides of the specimen
are also generated.
Comparing with the failure pattern of plain concrete, it can be
concluded that the cracks on the surface of fiber reinforced con-
crete are subtler, more numerous and widely distributed. The crack
propagation path is not shown as a main diagonal crack, but as
Fig. 7. Double-sided direct shear strength test. multiple interruptions, multiple reoccurrence or deflection, and
6 H. Xu et al. / Construction and Building Materials 261 (2020) 120610

(a) Plain concrete (b) CTF reinforced concrete (c) PF reinforced concrete

(d) VS reinforced concrete (e) CTF-PF reinforced concrete (f) CTF-PF-VS reinforced concrete

Fig. 9. Failure patterns of specimens.

there is an obvious ‘‘bifurcation” phenomenon in the crack failure. concrete specimens are obtained, and the reinforcement coefficient
It is not difficult to conclude that in the process of compression, the and standard deviations of each specimen are calculated and pre-
presence of the fiber prevents the further expansion of the crack sented in Table 4, Table 5, and Table 6.
and slows down the development of the crack length and width.
At the same time, the interlaced fibers in the concrete matrix play
3.2.1. Reinforcement on axial compressive strength
a bridging role, which enhances the strength of the concrete
Fig. 10 shows the tested axial compressive strength of concrete
matrix.
specimens as well as the calculated reinforcement coefficient. In
order to present the research findings of the reinforcing effect of
3.2. Effect of single-fiber on mechanical properties of matrix concrete fiber more directly, the Y-axis in Fig. 10(b) is set as bc  1. It can
be concluded that CTF has a positive effect on reinforcing axial
The effect of single fiber on mechanical properties of matrix compressive strength, while PF has a negative impact. The use of
concrete is studied, which is manifested in the axial compressive VS does not seem to contribute to the reinforcement of axial com-
strength, splitting tensile strength and shear strength of the fiber pressive strength of matrix concrete.
reinforced concrete. For the purpose of quantifying the effect of For CTF, 1.5 kg/m3 seems to be the optimal dosage for compres-
reinforcement on mechanical properties, a reinforcement coeffi- sive strength reinforcement. When the dosage of CTF gradually
cient b is defined as shown in equation (4): increases from 1.0 kg/m3 to 1.5 kg/m3, the axial compressive
strength increases from 57.9 MPa to 63.8 MPa, after which the
b ¼ f x =f x0 ð4Þ strength seems to decrease with the increase of dosage. By com-
parison, the compressive strength of concrete increases by 12%
Where, f x is the tested mechanical strength of fiber reinforced when CTF is used in dosage of 1.5 kg/m3.
concrete while and f x0 is the mechanical strength of plain concrete The reinforcing effect is totally different for PF, which somehow
without fiber reinforcement. For example, f c refers to the tested weakens the axial compressive strength by 35% at most when the
axial compressive strength of concrete specimens while f c0 refers dosage is 4.0 kg/m3. All concrete specimens, where the PF dosage
to that of plain concrete. Similarly, f t and f s are the tested splitting ranges from 1.0 kg/m3 to 4.0 kg/m3, shows a decrease in axial com-
tensile strength and shear strength of concrete specimens with pressive strength. It coincides with test results of Noushini et al.
fiber reinforcement. When the value of b is greater than 1, it means [19–20] and Zhang et al. [21]’s study which found PF fiber was
the fiber has a reinforcing effect on the mechanical properties of not beneficial to compressive strength and the strength decreased
the matrix concrete, while it does not contribute to and even with fiber dosage.
weaken the mechanical properties if it is below 1. The axial com- The reinforcing effect of VS fiber on compressive strength is not
pressive strength, splitting tensile strength and shear strength of obvious. Karamloo et al. [26] also obtained similar test results

Table 4
Mechanical strength, reinforcement coefficient, and standard deviations for the axial compressive strength of single-fiber reinforced concrete specimens.

No. Specimens Axial compressive strength/MPa Standard deviations bc

Specimen 1 Specimen 2 Specimen 3 Average value
1 CTF0PF0VS0 58.2 56.5 56.4 57.0 0.83 —
2 CTF1.0PF0VS0 56.2 59 58.6 57.9 1.24 1.02
3 CTF1.2PF0VS0 59.8 59.2 58.6 59.2 0.49 1.04
4 CTF1.5PF0VS0 61.8 65.1 64.5 63.8 1.44 1.12
5 CTF1.8PF0VS0 60.2 59.8 59.6 59.9 0.25 1.05
6 CTF2.0PF0VS0 58.3 57.9 58.1 58.1 0.16 1.02
7 CTF0PF1.0VS0 53.8 56.2 53.9 54.6 1.11 0.96
8 CTF0PF2.0VS0 52.1 51.2 54.6 52.6 1.44 0.92
9 CTF0PF3.5VS0 41.5 41.3 40 41.0 0.67 0.72
10 CTF0PF4.0VS0 37 36.5 36.9 36.8 0.22 0.65
11 CTF0PF0VS1.0 53.6 53 53 53.2 0.28 0.93
12 CTF0PF0VS2.0 54.4 58.2 52.4 55.0 2.41 0.96
13 CTF0PF0VS3.5 59.5 57.5 57 58.0 1.08 1.02
14 CTF0PF0VS4.5 57.6 58.9 51.6 56.0 3.18 0.98
 H. Xu et al. / Construction and Building Materials 261 (2020) 120610 7

Table 5
Mechanical strength, reinforcement coefficient, and standard deviations for the splitting tensile strength of single-fiber reinforced concrete specimens.

No. Specimens Splitting tensile strength/MPa Standard deviations bt

Specimen 1 Specimen 2 Specimen 3 Average value
1 CTF0PF0VS0 4.76 4.65 4.38 4.60 0.16 —
2 CTF1.0PF0VS0 4.42 3.93 3.55 3.97 0.36 0.86
3 CTF1.2PF0VS0 3.79 4.00 4.46 4.08 0.28 0.89
4 CTF1.5PF0VS0 3.52 3.83 3.24 3.53 0.24 0.77
5 CTF1.8PF0VS0 4.53 4.43 4.60 4.52 0.07 0.98
6 CTF2.0PF0VS0 4.21 4.55 4.23 4.33 0.16 0.94
7 CTF0PF1.0VS0 4.36 4.08 4.25 4.23 0.12 0.92
8 CTF0PF2.0VS0 3.16 3.04 3.26 3.15 0.09 0.68
9 CTF0PF3.5VS0 2.19 2.01 2.06 2.09 0.08 0.45
10 CTF0PF4.0VS0 2.01 1.82 1.57 1.8 0.18 0.39
11 CTF0PF0VS1.0 3.29 3.34 3.12 3.25 0.09 0.70
12 CTF0PF0VS2.0 3.49 3.58 3.56 3.54 0.04 0.77
13 CTF0PF0VS3.5 4.52 4.44 4.46 4.47 0.03 0.97
14 CTF0PF0VS4.5 4.53 4.57 4.57 4.56 0.02 0.99

Table 6
Mechanical strength, reinforcement coefficient, and standard deviations for the shear strength of single-fiber reinforced concrete specimens.

No. Specimens Shear strength /MPa Standard deviations bs

Specimen 1 Specimen 2 Specimen 3 Specimen 4 Average value
1 CTF0PF0VS0 8.8 8.0 8.0 8.0 8.2 0.33 —
2 CTF1.0PF0VS0 8.4 7.8 8.6 8.7 8.4 0.35 1.02
3 CTF1.2PF0VS0 7.2 8.0 7.8 8.3 7.8 0.39 0.95
4 CTF1.5PF0VS0 8.8 8.4 8.6 8.3 8.5 0.18 1.04
5 CTF1.8PF0VS0 7.0 7.0 7.0 7.2 7.1 0.10 0.87
6 CTF2.0PF0VS0 7.8 8.1 8.4 8.5 8.2 0.27 1.00
7 CTF0PF1.0VS0 6.9 6.7 7.2 7.1 7 0.19 0.85
8 CTF0PF2.0VS0 5.2 6.5 6.1 5.5 5.8 0.51 0.71
9 CTF0PF3.5VS0 4.8 5.0 4.6 5.0 4.9 0.17 0.60
10 CTF0PF4.0VS0 3.9 4.3 4.4 4.0 4.15 0.21 0.51
11 CTF0PF0VS1.0 7.2 7.4 7.2 7.8 7.4 0.24 0.90
12 CTF0PF0VS2.0 7.5 7.7 8.2 7.6 7.8 0.27 0.95
13 CTF0PF0VS3.5 8.8 8.7 8.7 9.4 8.9 0.29 1.09
14 CTF0PF0VS4.5 8.5 7.8 9.1 9.0 8.6 0.52 1.05

(a) Axial compressive strength (b) Reinforcement coefficient

Fig. 10. Tested axial compressive strength and reinforcement coefficient.

which show negligible variation on the compressive strength of of fiber reinforced concrete with fiber dosage. Under the above-
concrete. mentioned fiber dosage, the axial compressive strength of fiber
Furthermore, the change law of the axial compressive strength reinforced concrete can be preliminarily predicted by the fiber
of fiber reinforced concrete with fiber dosage is obtained (see dosage.
Fig. 11). With the increase of fiber dosage, the change law of axial
compressive strength of CTF, PF and VS reinforced concrete can be 3.2.2. Reinforcement on splitting tensile strength
fitted by cubic, quadratic, and cubic polynomials, respectively. The Fig. 12 shows the tested splitting tensile strength of concrete
coefficients of determination of the fitting function are 0.83, 0.99, specimens and the calculated reinforcement coefficient. All kinds
and 0.97 respectively, indicating that the fitting function can accu- of fibers used in our study show a weakening effect on the splitting
rately represent the change law of the axial compressive strength tensile strength of the matrix concrete.
8 H. Xu et al. / Construction and Building Materials 261 (2020) 120610

(a) CTF (b) PF (c) VS

Fig. 11. Change law of axial compressive strength with fiber dosage.

(a) Splitting tensile strength (b) Reinforcement coefficient

Fig. 12. Tested splitting tensile strength and reinforcement coefficient.

The splitting tensile strength of concrete reinforced with CTF in tion of the fitting function are 0.58, 0.99, and 0.99 respectively,
dosage of 1.5 kg/m3 decrease by 23% when compared with that of indicating that the fitting function can accurately represent the
plain concrete. It is also worth noting that CTF reinforces the axial change law of the splitting tensile strength of fiber reinforced con-
compressive strength the most in the exact dosage, as is reported crete with fiber dosage. With the results shown in Fig. 11 and
in the previous section. Fig. 13, the relationship between the splitting tensile strength
The weakening effect is more significantly manifested in PF. The and axial compressive strength of fiber reinforced concrete was
splitting tensile strength of the No.8 concrete specimen is only further explored. The tensile-compressive strength relationship of
2.09 MPa, decreasing by 55% when compared with that of plain CTF, PF, and VS reinforced concrete can be fitted by cubic, quadra-
concrete. It occurs in concrete reinforced with PF in dosage of tic, and cubic polynomials respectively, and the coefficients of
3.5 kg/m3, which also exhibits a largely weakened axial compres- determination of the fitting functions are 0.87, 0.97, and 0.95,
sive strength by 28%. This finding contradicts with that of Noushini respectively (see Fig. 14). In this way, when the axial compressive
et al. [21] who found splitting tensile strength of conventional con- strength of fiber reinforced concrete is given, the splitting tensile
crete was significantly enhanced by introducing PF fiber. Noushini strength can be obtained accordingly.
et al. [21] also found the increased dosage of PF fiber did not con-
tribute to higher value of tensile strength of concrete, claiming 3.2.3. Reinforcement on shear strength
higher dosage of PF fiber has a negative impact on the splitting ten- Fig. 15 presents the research finding on fiber reinforcement on
sile strength. For VS, the weakening effect on splitting tensile shear strength of concrete specimens. The reinforcing effect of CTF
strength is more obvious when the dosage is 2.0 kg/m3, and the and VS on shear strength is not obvious, while PF has an obvious
strength decreases by 23%. Such impact becomes smaller when negative impact on shear strength of concrete.
the dosage increases to 4.5 kg/m3. Similarly, Karamloo et al. [26] CTF has little impact on shear strength of concrete until the
found the increase dosage of polyolefin (VS) fiber contributed to dosage reaches 1.8 kg/m3 when the shear strength of concrete
splitting tensile strength of concrete. decreases by 13%. The performance of VS on shear strength rein-
Furthermore, the change law of the splitting tensile strength of forcement is also unsteady. The shear strength shows a decrease
fiber reinforced concrete with fiber dosage is obtained (see Fig. 13). of 5% when the dosage is 2.0 kg/m3, but a slight increase of 9%
With the increase of fiber dosage, the splitting tensile strength of and 5% when the dosage is 3.5 kg/m3 and 4.5 kg/m3 respectively.
CTF, PF, and VS reinforced concrete can be fitted by cubic, primary, By contrast, the effect of PF is more distinct, which weakens the
and cubic polynomials, respectively. The coefficients of determina- shear strength by 49% when the dosage is 4.0 kg/m3.
 H. Xu et al. / Construction and Building Materials 261 (2020) 120610 9

(a) CTF (b) PF (c) VS

Fig. 13. Change law of splitting tensile strength with fiber dosage.

(a) CTF (b) PF (c) VS

Fig. 14. Change law of splitting tensile strength with axial compressive strength.

(a) Shear strength (b) Reinforcement coefficient

Fig. 15. Tested shear strength and reinforcement coefficient.

Furthermore, the change law of the shear strength of fiber rein- functions are 0.98 and 1 respectively. Furthermore, the change
forced concrete with fiber dosage is obtained (see Fig. 16). With the law of the shear strength of fiber reinforced concrete with axial
increase of fiber dosage, the shear strength of CTF reinforced con- compressive strength is obtained (see Fig. 17). It is found that
crete fluctuates with different amplitude, which cannot be fitted the relationship between the shear strength and axial compressive
by an effective fitting function. The shear strength of PF and VS strength of CTF, PF, and VS reinforced concrete can be accurately
reinforced concrete can be accurately fitted by quadratic and cubic represented by cubic polynomials. The coefficients of determina-
polynomials, and the coefficients of determination of the fitting tion of the fitting functions are 0.98, 0.99 and 0.82 respectively,
10 H. Xu et al. / Construction and Building Materials 261 (2020) 120610

(a) CTF (b) PF (c) VS

Fig. 16. Change law of shear strength with fiber dosage.

(a) CTF (b) PF (c) VS

Fig. 17. Change law of shear strength with axial compressive strength.

which can realize accurate prediction of shear strength based on ical factor to control the effect of fiber reinforcement, and it has
axial compressive strength. According to the results in Fig. 10 to been justified in Li et al. [41] through pullout tests and numerical
Fig. 17, under the given dosage of CTF, PF and VS, not only can simulation.
we predict the axial compressive strength, splitting tensile Fig. 19 presents images of the four kinds of concrete specimens
strength, and shear strength of fiber reinforced concrete, but also taken by scanning electron microscope. As is shown in Fig. 19(a),
realize quick conversion between the three mechanical strength the internal structure of plain concrete is compact, and a large num-
above. That is to say, once given the fiber dosage, the three kinds ber of stable C-S-H cementing matrix can be seen. The unhydrated
of mechanical strength can be obtained simultaneously, which is fly ash particles are filled into the matrix pores to ensure the reduc-
conducive to the research of mechanical properties of fiber rein- tion of the initial defects of the matrix, but there are also a small
forced concrete. amount of free water loss resulting in the existence of pores.
Many C-S-H crystals, aft crystals, and calcium hydroxide exist in
3.2.4. Microstructure of single-fiber reinforced concrete the four kinds of concrete. The addition of fibers causes initial
The microstructure of single-fiber reinforced concrete is also defects such as pores and cracks in the matrix, probably resulting
analyzed by optical microscope and scanning electron microscope. in a decrease in the mechanical strength of the fiber reinforced
The microscopic structure of fiber reinforced concrete is amplified concrete. However, different structures of the three fibers may
by OLYMPUS optical microscope. Fig. 18 shows the 50-fold ampli- somehow exert different effect on the mechanical strength of con-
fication of plain concrete, concrete reinforced with CTF, PF and VS crete. For example, the small size and length of CTF makes it easy
respectively. As shown in Fig. 18(b), the bond between aggregate to fully bond with the cementing material, so that it guarantees the
particles is strengthened due to the addition of CTF. The distribu- internal stability of the structure, and contributes to bridging and
tion of the fiber in the aggregate is relatively uniform, and there transferring stress (see Fig. 19(b)). By contrast, VS is relatively lar-
is no fiber agglomeration. For concrete reinforced with PF, there ger and harder, whose surface is rough (see Fig. 19(d)), along which
are pores between aggregate particles, so that the bridging effect long narrow cracks and pores are easy to appear. PF tends to
of PF is insufficient and the mechanical properties of matrix con- agglomerate in the mixing process and cause pores and cracks in
crete are extremely weakened. For concrete reinforced with VS, aggregates, which reduces the mechanical properties of the matrix
there is a good bond between fiber and aggregate particles, but a concrete. It may account for the research finding that CTF has a
large number of pores along the fiber length are distributed around reinforcing effect on compressive strength while PF has a negative
the fiber. The interaction between the fiber and the matrix is a crit- effect. This finding also coincides with Li et al. [41] where they
 H. Xu et al. / Construction and Building Materials 261 (2020) 120610 11

(a) Plain concrete (b) CTF reinforced concrete

(c) PF reinforced concrete (d) VS reinforced concrete

Fig. 18. 50-fold amplification of single-fiber reinforced concrete specimens by optical microscope.

(a) Plain concrete (b) CTF reinforced concrete

(c) PF reinforced concrete (d) VS reinforced concrete

Fig. 19. Images of single-fiber reinforced concrete specimens by scanning electron microscope.

found that only optimal fiber length and dosage can produce better crete. Similarly, Noushini et al. [21] found that incorporating longer
reinforcement effect, and longer fiber with higher dosage does not fibers would increases the possibility of pore connections in the
always contribute to mechanical strength of fiber reinforced con- matrix and lead to lower strength of the composite.
12 H. Xu et al. / Construction and Building Materials 261 (2020) 120610

3.3. Effects of hybrid fibers on mechanical properties of matrix coefficients are 0.846, 0.700 and 0.671 respectively. The formulas
concrete provided can estimate the mechanical strength of hybrid fiber rein-
forced concrete based on fiber dosage.
Different kind and dosage of fibers have different reinforcing
y ¼ 55:3105 þ 3:6895x1  3:6826x2 þ 0:6701x3 ð7Þ
effect on mechanical properties of concrete. In the range of the
appropriate fiber dosage, the application of hybrid fibers may pro-
y ¼ 3:7753 þ 0:5903x1  0:3060x2 þ 0:1254x3 ð8Þ
duce a positive synergistic effect and further enhance the mechan-
ical strength of concrete. Based on the research findings of the
y ¼ 7:4910 þ 0:6140x1  0:6138x2 þ 0:2832x3 ð9Þ
influence of single fiber on the mechanical strength of matrix con-
crete, the influence of hybrid fiber on the mechanical strength of Synergistic effect coefficients of CTF-PF hybrid fiber reinforced
matrix concrete is further studied. The synergistic effect of CTF- concrete are calculated and shown in Table 8. CTF-PF hybrid fiber
PF and CTF-PF-VS hybrid fiber is studied and reported in this in all specimens has a positive synergistic effect on axial compres-
section. sive strength, splitting tensile strength and shear strength of rein-
forced concrete except for the No.19 specimen, which shows a
3.3.1. CTF-PF hybrid fiber reinforcement on mechanical properties of negative synergistic effect in axial compressive strength. It is not
matrix concrete difficult to conclude that only with the appropriate fiber dosage
To quantitatively analyze the synergistic effect of CTF-PF hybrid can hybrid fiber has positive synergistic effect on mechanical prop-
fibers, the synergistic effect coefficients ax1 and ax2 are defined as erties. From the change of value of synergistic effect coefficients of
follows: No.15, No.17 and No.20 specimens, it can be found that the
increase of CTF dosage contributes to the positive synergistic effect.
bCP þ bminðC;PÞ
ax1 ¼ ð5Þ Another conclusion can be made by comparing the synergistic
bmaxðC;PÞ þ bminðC;PÞ effect coefficients of No.15 and No.16 specimens, No.17, No.18
and No.19 specimens that the increased dosage of PF weakens
bCP þ bmaxðC;PÞ the synergistic effect. CTF1.5PF1.0 may be the best combination
ax2 ¼ ð6Þ
bmaxðC;PÞ þ bminðC;PÞ of CTF-PF hybrid fiber in terms of reinforcing mechanical strength
of matrix concrete.
Where ax1 and ax2 are the synergistic effect coefficients, x rep-
resents for the strength type, while ac 1 and ac 2 are the synergistic
3.3.2. CTF-PF-VS hybrid fiber reinforcement on mechanical properties
effect coefficients of axial compressive strength, at 1 and at 2 are the
of matrix concrete
synergistic effect coefficients of splitting tensile strength, as1 and
On the basis of the study on synergistic effect of CTF-PF hybrid
as2 are the synergistic effect coefficients of shear strength. Where fiber, the synergistic effect of CTF-PF-VS hybrid fiber is further
bCP , defined in section 3.2, is the calculated reinforcement coeffi-
studied. Similarly, the synergistic effect coefficients of CTF-PF-VS
cient of CTF-PF hybrid fiber reinforced concrete, while bmaxðC;PÞ and
hybrid fiber are defined as follows:
bminðC;PÞ are the maximum and minimum value of the calculated
bCPV þ bminðCP;VÞ
reinforcement coefficient of concrete reinforced with either CTF ax1 ¼ ð10Þ
or PF. bmaxðCP;VÞ þ bminðCP;VÞ
The synergistic effect coefficients ax1 and ax2 represent positive
or negative synergistic effect of fibers. The synergistic effect is bCPV þ bmaxðCP;VÞ
judged based on the following principles. If ax1 is greater than
ax2 ¼ ð11Þ
bmaxðCP;VÞ þ bminðCP;VÞ
1.0, CTF-PF hybrid fiber has positive synergistic effect on certain
mechanical strength. If the value of ax1 is less than 1.0, the syner- Where , bCPV is the calculated reinforcement coefficient of
gistic effect should be further judged by the value of ax2 , which CTF-PF-VS hybrid fiber reinforced concrete, while bmaxðCP;VÞ and
indicates positive if it is greater than 1. Otherwise, the synergistic bminðCP;VÞ are the maximum and minimum value of the calculated
effect is negative. reinforcement coefficient of concrete reinforced with either CTF-
The tested axial compressive strength, splitting tensile strength, PF hybrid fiber or VS alone. Synergistic effect coefficients of CTF-
shear strength and the corresponding calculated reinforcement PF-VS hybrid fiber reinforced concrete are calculated and shown
coefficients of hybrid fiber reinforced concrete are shown in in Table 9.
Table 7. CTF-PF-VS hybrid fiber in No.22 specimen has a positive syner-
The formulas for estimating the axial compressive strength (eq. gistic effect on splitting tensile strength, but negative on axial com-
(7)), splitting tensile strength (eq. (8)) and shear strength (eq. (9) of pressive strength and shear strength of reinforced concrete. No.23
hybrid fiber reinforced concrete are further obtained, where x1 , x2 specimen shows positive synergistic effect in all the three kinds of
and x3 represent the dosage of CTF, PF and VS respectively, and y mechanical strength. By comparing the synergistic effect coeffi-
represents the corresponding mechanical strength. The fitting cients of No.18 and No.22 specimens, it can be found that the addi-

Table 7
Mechanical strength and reinforcement coefficient of hybrid fiber reinforced concrete specimens.

No. Specimens Axial compressive strength/MPa bc Splitting tensile strength/MPa bt Shear strength/MPa bs
15 CTF1.0PF1.0VS0 56.7 0.99 4.36 0.95 8.5 1.04
16 CTF1.0PF2.0VS0 54.3 0.95 4.07 0.88 7.8 0.95
17 CTF1.2PF1.0VS0 57.4 1.01 4.89 1.06 7.88 0.96
18 CTF1.2PF2.0VS0 55.0 0.96 4.59 1.00 7.8 0.95
19 CTF1.2PF3.5VS0 38.1 0.67 3.20 0.70 6.3 0.77
20 CTF1.5PF1.0VS0 59.7 1.05 5.54 1.20 8.4 1.02
21 CTF1.5PF2.0VS0 57.1 1.00 4.63 1.01 7.0 0.85
22 CTF1.2PF2.0VS2.0 48.6 0.85 3.66 0.80 6.9 0.84
23 CTF1.2PF3.5VS3.5 56.5 0.99 4.04 0.88 7.5 0.91
 H. Xu et al. / Construction and Building Materials 261 (2020) 120610 13

Table 8
Synergistic effect coefficients of CTF-PF hybrid fiber reinforced concrete specimens.

No. Specimens ac1 ac2 Synergistic effect at1 at2 Synergistic effect as1 as2 Synergistic effect
15 CTF1.0PF1.0VS0 0.989 1.019 Positive 1.016 1.048 Positive 1.006 1.097 Positive
16 CTF1.0PF2.0VS0 0.967 1.015 Positive 1.014 1.129 Positive 0.958 1.141 Positive
17 CTF1.2PF1.0VS0 0.984 1.025 Positive 1.079 1.097 Positive 1.005 1.059 Positive
18 CTF1.2PF2.0VS0 0.962 1.021 Positive 1.071 1.199 Positive 1.000 1.147 Positive
19 CTF1.2PF3.5VS0 0.789 0.971 Negative 0.857 1.180 Positive 0.882 1.110 Positive
20 CTF1.5PF1.0VS0 0.965 1.043 Positive 1.169 1.259 Positive 0.994 1.090 Positive
21 CTF1.5PF2.0VS0 0.942 1.039 Positive 1.165 1.222 Positive 0.895 1.084 Positive

Table 9
Synergistic effect coefficients of CTF-PF-VS hybrid fiber reinforced concrete specimens.

No. Specimens ac 1 ac 2 Synergistic effect at 1 at 2 Synergistic effect as 1 as 2 Synergistic effect

22 CTF1.2PF2.0VS2.0 0.94 0.94 Negative 0.89 1.02 Positive 0.94 0.94 Negative
23 CTF1.2PF3.5VS3.5 0.98 1.19 Positive 0.95 1.11 Positive 0.90 1.08 Positive

tion of VS weakens the positive synergistic effect caused by CTF-PF appearance of a large number of honeycomb surface, small holes
hybrid fiber. However, a different conclusion can be made by com- and other defects on the matrix surface. In addition, there are a
paring synergistic effect coefficients of No.19 and No.23 specimens large number of penetrating cracks in the specimens which are
that the addition of VS contributes to the overall synergistic effect. more likely to be damaged under stress. Therefore, fiber type and
Further research on triple-fiber reinforced concrete and its syner- dosage may have important impact on overall strength of rein-
gistic effect is well recommended. forced concrete.

3.3.3. Microstructure of hybrid fiber reinforced concrete 4. Compressive stress–strain relationship of fiber reinforced
Figs. 20 and 21 show microstructures of hybrid fiber reinforced concrete
concrete. CTF-PF hybrid fibers are evenly distributed with full con-
tact with the concrete matrix. Moreover, there are some fly ash 4.1. Characteristics of compressive stress–strain curve of fiber
particles in the matrix that do not participate in hydration reaction, reinforced concrete
which is conducive to filling the pores in the matrix and making
the internal structure of the matrix full and tight. At the same time, According to the measurement of compressive stress and strain
PF is easier to aggregate together, and effective interweaving can of specimens (see Fig. 22), and combined with observed failure pat-
be realized under the appropriate dosage, while agglomeration is tern in the process of loading, the whole stress–strain development
easy to occur under the inappropriate dosage. When the fiber can be divided into four stages: elastic stage (O ~ A), stable crack
dosage is too large, the contact area between the fiber and the expansion stage (A ~ B), instable crack expansion stage (B ~ D),
aggregate increases, which increases the possibility of micro- and failure stage (after D). Point C is the stress peak, where the
cracks in internal concrete structures. In addition, it is easy to pro- slope is 0. Point A is the proportional limit, 40% of the peak stress.
duce fiber agglomerations, which inevitably leads to insufficient Point B is a critical point discriminating stable and unstable prop-
cementation between fiber and matrix during concrete mixing, agation of cracks, at which the value is 90% of the peak stress. Point
resulting in weak cementation interface. Similar phenomenon D is the inflection point of the curve where the second derivative of
was observed in Huang et al. [42], who found the increase in the the curve is 0.
volume fraction of aramid fiber led to uneven fiber distribution, At elastic stage (O ~ A), the compressive stress of the concrete
resulting in poor interfacial friction in the bonded section and thus does not exceed 40% of the peak stress. There are no visible cracks
ineffective contribution to the overall mechanical strength. on the specimen surface, and initial cracks at the concrete aggre-
For CTF-PF-VS hybrid fiber, due to the overlapping distribution gate section have not expanded. The fiber is not working yet. At
of VS and the winding of CTF and PF on VS, pores and even cracks this time, the slope of the compressive stress–strain curve hardly
are easy to occur in the concrete. Moreover, the existence of the changes, which is not much different from that of plain concrete.
cross distribution of the three fibers provides conditions for the The elastic modulus is basically equal to that of plain concrete,

(a) Concrete reinforced with CTF-PF hybrid fiber (b) Concrete reinforced with CTF-PF-VS hybrid fiber

Fig. 20. 50-fold amplification of hybrid fiber reinforced concrete specimens by optical microscope.
14 H. Xu et al. / Construction and Building Materials 261 (2020) 120610

(a) Concrete reinforced with CTF-PF hybrid fiber (b) Concrete reinforced with CTF-PF-VS hybrid fiber

Fig. 21. Images of hybrid fiber reinforced concrete specimens by scanning electron microscope.

appear on the specimen surface one after another. The appearance

of macroscopic cracks leads to the reduction of the cohesive force
between aggregate and mortar, which weakens the shear resis-
tance of specimens. When the deformation reaches point D, a pen-
etrating oblique crack on the surface would occur, accompanied by
the phenomenon of surface coagulation and overspalling. At this
stage, due to the large crack propagation, the fiber bridging effect
is very obvious.
When the deformation of specimens exceeds point D, the shear
plane formed by the oblique crack in the specimen gradually pro-
duces a shear band. Under the joint action of normal stress and
shear stress, the width of the shear band keeps increasing, the
crack propagation in other parts of the specimen tends to be stable,
and the stress–strain curve gradually becomes gentle. The bearing
capacity of the specimens at this stage is partly derived from the
frictional resistance and residual cohesive force of the shear band
of the matrix, and partly from the unpulled fibers. Plain concrete
is prone to brittle failure, which splits into several blocks in an
Fig. 22. Compressive stress–strain curve of fiber reinforced concrete. instant, while by contrast, fiber reinforced concrete behaves differ-
ently. When the specimens are finally destroyed, the shear band is
approximately 60°from the direction of load.

and Poisson’s ratio is about 0.2. At this stage, hybrid fiber rein-
forced concrete can be regarded as linear elastic material.
When the compressive stress of the hybrid fiber-reinforced con- 4.2. Equation of compressive stress–strain curve of fiber reinforced
crete is in the range of 40%~90% of the peak stress, the compressive concrete
stress–strain curve shows an upward convex trend with nonlinear
changes, and the specimen produces inelastic deformation (A ~ B). The stress–strain curve reflects the mechanical characteristics
At this stage, the initial crack at the aggregate section inside the of the whole process of compression, which is an important basis
specimen begins to expand slowly and steadily. With the gradual for the stress analysis and deformation calculation of the concrete
increase of deformation, the fiber begins to work, inhibiting the structure as well as nonlinear simulation analysis by computer.
continuous expansion of cracks, and effectively improving the The experimental results show that the ascending and descending
bearing capacity of specimens. At the end of this stage, the Pois- sections of the compression stress–strain curves are similar. Con-
son’s ratio of specimens is close to 0.5, and the deformation of sidering that the peak stress and the corresponding strain are dif-
specimen volume reaches the extreme and will not continue to ferent in terms of different kinds of fiber and dosage, the equation
shrink. At this time, the cracks in the concrete have been greatly is normalized in a dimensionless way, i.e., x ¼ e=e0 ; y ¼ r=r0 where
expanded, but no visible cracks on the specimen surface can be r0 is the peak stress and e0 is the corresponding strain. The curve
seen. firstly goes through a rising section (0  x  1), arriving at its
When the compressive stress of the hybrid fiber-reinforced con- peak(x ¼ 1), and goes down to a falling section (x > 1). The rising
crete exceeds 90% of the peak stress, the specimen enters instable section and the falling section are continuous at the stress peak.
crack expansion stage (B ~ D), where cracks continue to expand According to the above analysis, the compressive stress–strain
even if the stress remains unchanged. With the increase of defor- curve of fiber reinforced concrete is similar to that of plain con-
mation, the bearing capacity of specimens increases slightly and crete, so the equation of compressive stress–strain curve of plain
gradually decreases after reaching the stress peak, which is mani- concrete is also applicable to hybrid fiber reinforced concrete.
fested as strain softening. Cracks along the direction of load appear There are many stress–strain equations put forward, including
on the specimen surface. When the stress peak is reached, the first the unified piecework equation of the curve of ascending section
macroscopic crack appears on the specimen surface. As the load and descending section [43,44]. The equation of ascending section
continues to increase, several cracks along the direction of load is mostly in polynomial form. In this paper, cubic polynomial equa-
 H. Xu et al. / Construction and Building Materials 261 (2020) 120610 15

tion is used to describe the curve of ascending section. The formula x

y¼ ð16Þ
is as follows b 1 þ b 2 x þ b 3 x2

y ¼ a0 þ a1 x þ a2 x2 þ a3 x3 ð12Þ According to Fig. 16, the following boundary conditions for

dy
equation (14) should be satisfied. (1) x ¼ 1; y ¼ 1; (2) dx
jx ¼ 1 ¼ 0.
which satisfies the following conditions: (1) x ¼ 0; y ¼ 0; (2) Therefore,
dy
x ¼ 1; y ¼ 1; (3) dxx¼1
¼0
Therefore, 
b1 þ b2 þ b3 ¼ 1
8 ð17Þ
>
< a0 ¼ 0 b1  b3 ¼ 0
a0 þ a1 þ a2 þ a3 ¼ 1 ð13Þ
>
:
a1 þ 2a2 þ 3a3 ¼ 0 x
y¼ ð18Þ
a2 and a3 can be represented by a1 : b1 ðx  1Þ2 þ x

y ¼ a1 x þ ð3  2a1 Þx2 þ ða1  2Þx3 ð14Þ For the descending section, when x  1, the value of y is
between 0 and 1, so b1  0. If b1 equals to 0, the curve remains hor-
When x ¼ 0; dy=dx ¼ a1 : izontal after the stress peak, indicating an all-plastic constitutive
dy drc =f c drc =dec jx ¼ 0 Ec relation. When b1 ! 1, y  0 and the curve suddenly drops to a
a1 ¼ jx ¼ 0 ¼ jx ¼ 0 ¼ ¼ ð15Þ
dx dec =ec0 f c =ec0 Ec0 horizontal line with a constant value of 0, indicating a complete
brittle constitutive relation.
Where Ec is the initial tangential elastic modulus of concrete The compressive stress–strain curves of the specimens are close
and Ec0 the peak secant modulus in units of N/mm. a1 ranges from to each other in the ascending and descending sections. The curves
2
1.5 to 3.0 if 0  x < 1 and d y=dx2  0. of the ascending and descending sections are fitted with a unified
The descending section is expressed by rational fraction, as is equation of equation (14) and equation (18), and some of fitting
shown below curves and their parameters are presented in Fig. 23 and Table 10.

(a) CTF0PF0VS0 (b) CTF1.0PF0VS0

(c) CTF1.2PF0VS0 (d) CTF1.5PF0VS0

Fig. 23. Compressive stress–strain curves of fiber reinforced concrete specimens.
16 H. Xu et al. / Construction and Building Materials 261 (2020) 120610

(e) CTF1.8PF0VS0 (f) CTF0PF1.0VS0

(g) CTF0PF2.0VS0 (h) CTF0PF3.5VS0

(i) CTF0PF0VS2.0 (j) CTF0PF0VS3.5

Fig. 23 (continued)
 H. Xu et al. / Construction and Building Materials 261 (2020) 120610 17

(k) CTF0PF0VS4.5 (l) CTF1.0PF2.0VS0

(m) CTF1.2PF2.0VS0 (n) CTF1.2PF3.5VS0

(o) CTF1.2PF2.0VS2.0 (p) CTF1.2PF3.5VS3.5

Fig. 23 (continued)
18 H. Xu et al. / Construction and Building Materials 261 (2020) 120610

Table 10
Equations and parameters of Compressive stress–strain curves.

No. Specimens Compressive stress–strain curves Parameters

Ascending section Descending section a b
a CTF0PF0VS0 y = 2.15x-1.3x2 + 0.15x3 y = x/(30.92(x-1)2 + x) 2.15 30.92
b CTF1.0PF0VS0 y = 2.06x-1.12x2 + 0.06x3 y = x/(7.44(x-1)2 + x) 2.06 7.44
c CTF1.2PF0VS0 y = 3.00x-3.00x2 + 1.00x3 y = x/(9.92(x-1)2 + x) 3.00 9.92
d CTF1.5PF0VS0 y = 2.54x-2.08x2 + 0.54x3 y = x/(5.32(x-1)2 + x) 2.54 5.32
e CTF1.8PF0VS0 y = 2.55x-2.10x2 + 0.55x3 y = x/(9.73(x-1)2 + x) 2.55 9.73
f CTF0PF1.0VS0 y = 2.15x-1.30x2 + 0.15x3 y = x/(8.87(x-1)2 + x) 2.15 8.87
g CTF0PF2.0VS0 y = 2.81x-2.62x2 + 0.81x3 y = x/(12.46(x-1)2 + x) 2.81 12.46
h CTF0PF3.5VS0 y = 2.49x-1.98x2 + 0.49x3 y = x/(3.30(x-1)2 + x) 2.49 3.30
i CTF0PF0VS2.0 y = 2.02x-1.04x2 + 0.02x3 y = x/(9.69(x-1)2 + x) 2.02 9.69
g CTF0PF0VS3.5 y = 2.35x-1.70x2 + 0.35x3 y = x/(6.63(x-1)2 + x) 2.35 6.63
k CTF0PF0VS4.5 y = 2.42x-1.84x2 + 0.42x3 y = x/(4.34(x-1)2 + x) 2.42 4.34
l CTF1.0PF2.0VS0 y = 2.15x-1.30x2 + 0.15x3 y = x/(14.60(x-1)2 + x) 2.15 14.60
m CTF1.2PF2.0VS0 y = 2.69x-2.38x2 + 0.69x3 y = x/(9.30(x-1)2 + x) 2.69 9.30
n CTF1.2PF3.5VS0 y = 3.34x-3.68x2 + 1.34x3 y = x/(11.16(x-1)2 + x) 3.34 11.16
o CTF1.2PF2.0VS2.0 y = 1.98x-0.96x2-0.02x3 y = x/(7.98(x-1)2 + x) 1.98 7.98
p CTF1.2PF3.5VS3.5 y = 2.92x-2.84x2 + 0.92x3 y = x/(4.21(x-1)2 + x) 2.92 4.21

The compressive stress–strain curve of fiber reinforced concrete are found in the test specimens, which greatly distinguish from
varies with the fiber type, fiber dosage and combination. plain concrete. It indicates that the fiber reinforced concrete is
not completely crushed under the axial compression, and that
the fiber plays a significant role in strengthening the crack resis-
5. Conclusion
tance, which causes multiple deflections of the crack propagation
path and the occurrence of secondary cracks.
This paper investigates influence of CTF, PF and VS on the axial
Second, for single fiber reinforced concrete, CTF fiber is mostly
compressive strength, splitting tensile strength and shear strength
recommended to use in compression members with the optimal
of concrete, and explore synergistic effect of double or triple hybrid
dosage of 1.5 kg/m3 where the compressive strength reaches the
fiber on mechanical strengths. The following conclusions can be
highest. In the dosage range of 1.2 kg/m3 to 1.8 kg/m3, the axial
made based on the research findings reported above.
compressive strength of CTF fiber reinforced concrete increases
by 4% to 12% when compared with plain concrete. Specific decision
(1) Compared with plain concrete, CTF has a positive effect on
on fiber dosage shall depends on requirement of compressive
reinforcing axial compressive strength of concrete, but
strength in specific cases. The three kinds of fibers studied in this
weakens splitting tensile strength. Similarly, the use of VS
paper all have a weakening effect on the splitting tensile strength
weakens splitting tensile strength as well. PF has a negative
of concrete and therefore are not recommended for the splitting
effect on all the three mechanical strength including axial
tensile members used in practical engineering. VS fiber is recom-
compressive strength, splitting tensile strength and shear
mended to be used in shear members with the optimal dosage of
strength.
3.5 kg/m3 where the shear strength increased by 9% when com-
(2) Synergistic effect of hybrid fiber varies with dosage, and only
pared with plain concrete. The synergistic effect of CTF-PF hybrid
with the appropriate fiber dosage can hybrid fiber has posi-
fiber is found to be its optimal when the dosage of CTF is 1.5 kg/
tive synergistic effect on mechanical properties. The syner-
m3 and PF is 1.0 kg/m3.
gistic effect of CTF-PF hybrid fiber is found to be its
optimal when the dosage of CTF is 1.5 kg/m3 and PF is
1.0 kg/m3. For CTF-PF-VS hybrid fiber, further study is CRediT authorship contribution statement
needed to determine the optimal dosage.
(3) By observing microstructures of fiber reinforced concrete, it Haiyan Xu: Methodology, Writing - original draft. Zimeng
is found that an increase of fiber dosage may not benefit the Shao: Writing - review & editing. Zhijie Wang: Conceptualization,
overall mechanical performance concrete since ineffective Funding acquisition, Project administration. Libin Cai: Data cura-
interweaving and agglomeration are likely to occur which tion Formal analysis. Zhen Li: Investigation, Supervision. Hesong
increases the possibility of micro-cracks in internal concrete Jin: Visualizatio, Validation. Tiewei Chen: Visualizatio, Validation.
structures.
(4) Stress–strain development of hybrid fiber reinforced con-
Declaration of Competing Interest
crete is divided into four stages by: elastic stage, stable crack
expansion stage, instable crack expansion stage, and failure
The authors declare that they have no known competing finan-
stage. The ascending and descending sections of the com-
cial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared
pressive stress–strain curves of fiber-reinforced concrete
to influence the work reported in this paper.
can be fitted by cubic polynomials and rational fractions.

Several practical implications can be derived from research Acknowledgements

findings and major conclusions of this paper.
First, Fiber reinforced concrete is recommended to be used in This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foun-
compression members requiring high crack resistance, for exam- dation of China (No. 51678498), the Ministry of Education Innova-
ple, as a shotcrete component in tunnels. It can be supported by tion Team Development Plan (No. IRT0955). The authors would be
the research finding that among the axial compression test results grateful to the reviewers for their valuable suggestions that can
of fiber reinforced concrete, no obvious oblique penetration cracks help improve the quality of the paper.
 H. Xu et al. / Construction and Building Materials 261 (2020) 120610 19

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