Effect of Bentonite and Polypropylene Fibers on the Mechanical and Durability Properties of Silica Fume Concrete

Abstract

Cement demand has steadily increased around the world, negatively impacting the environment by consuming a substantial amount of energy, depleting raw materials, and contributing to climate change. Supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) can be a good way to deal with environmental issues by providing an alternative to the cement industry, resulting in more efficient, sustainable, and long-lasting concrete while keeping the environment safe for subsequent generations. The effect of individual and combined integration of bentonite and silica fume as a partial replacement for cement in concrete mixes with polypropylene fibers (PPF) is the aim of this research. The mechanical, durability, and distinguishing characteristics of concrete mixes were investigated. Binary mixes, such as control mix, 10% bentonite mix, 10% silica fume mix, and ternary mix having both 10% bentonite and 10% silica fume as a partial replacement for cement, comprise the concrete mixtures. Additionally, PPFs were added to the ternary blends in increments of 0.25 percent, resulting in nine distinct concrete mixtures. Destructive and non-destructive testing were used to investigate the behavior of concrete. Compressive, splitting tensile, and flexural strength tests were used to study the hardened properties. UPV, sorptivity, porosity, water permeability, abrasion resistance, acid attack resistance, and chloride penetration tests were used to examine durability properties. Bentonite and silica fume properties were examined using X-ray fluorescence, X-ray diffracting, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) tests. The inclusion of bentonite and silica fume increased the performance of concrete, and PPF mixes performed well up to a certain percentage.

Keywords: bentonite, silica fume, Flexural strength, Sustainability, sorptivity, water permeability.