Strength, abrasion resistance and frost resistance of fiber concrete of hard pavement with basalt fiber and air-entraining admixture

Introduction. Increasing the durability of hard pavements allows you to reduce road maintenance costs by extending the intervals between repairs. Dispersed reinforcement is a well-known method of increasing the frost resistance and abrasion resistance of concrete, which has a positive effect on the durability of pavements in typical for Ukraine climatic conditions. Basalt fiber is resistant to corrosion and relatively inexpensive, which makes it promising for use in the road industry. Also, plasticizing and air-entraining admixtures must be used for concrete of hard pavement.

Problem Statement. In modern economic conditions and taking into account the technological features of the preparation of mixtures, it is relevant to compare the effectiveness of the use of known methods of improving the properties of concrete for hard pavements: dispersed reinforcement and the use of air-entraining admixtures. Studying the expediency of the simultaneous use of these two methods of modifying the concrete mixture is also an important task from a scientific and practical point of view.

Purpose. Determination of the influence of basalt fiber and air-entraining admixture on the strength, frost resistance and abrasion resistance of concrete of hard pavements.

Results. The effect of basalt fiber with a length of 12 mm and a diameter of 18 μm and air-entraining admixture MICROPORAN on the properties of concretes of hard pavements was investigated. Concretes without fiber and with fiber in the amount of 0.50 kg/m³, 0.75 kg/m³ and 1.0 kg/m³ were investigated. All mixtures had S1 mobility and were modified with superplasticizer STACHEMENT 2570/5/G in the amount of 0.6 % of the cement mass. Using 0.05% MICROPORAN the amount of air entrained in the mixture increases to (4.8–5.4) %, and the average density of concrete decreases by up to (2 401–2 430) kg/m³. Using 0.15 % MICROPORAN 10.2-11% of air is entrained in the mixture and the average density of concrete is reduced to approximately (2 320–2 351) kg/m³. The compressive strength of concrete was in the range from 46.3 MPa to 63.2 MPa, the flexural strength was in the range from 5.83 MPa to 7.63 MPa. Due to the dispersed reinforcement, the compressive strength of concrete increases by 13-24 %, the flexural strength increases by (21–29) %. The air-entraining admixture has practically no effect on the flexural strength of concrete, but reduces the compressive strength by (2–16) % using 0.05 % MICROPORAN and by (9–21) % using 0.15 % MICROPORAN. The abrasion of concrete practically does not change using an air-entraining admixture. Due to the introduction of basalt fiber, abrasion is reduced by (14–15) %, which helps to increase the durability of the material. Concrete without dispersed reinforcement and MICROPORAN had frost resistance F200. Dispersed reinforcement increases the frost resistance of concrete up to F300. Using 0.05 % air-entraining admixture, the frost resistance of concrete does not change or even slightly decreases. Using 0.15 % additive in concrete without fibers, frost resistance increases from F200 to F300 with an actual decrease in cement consumption.

Conclusions. Concrete for hard pavements with high durability and required strength was obtained due to the use of basalt fiber and complex modification with polycarboxylate superplasticizer and air-entraining admixture MICROPORAN.

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