Compressive Behavior of Glass‐Fiber Reinforced Polymer Concrete

The effect of polymer content and glass‐fiber content on the compressive behavior of polyester polymer concrete is investigated at room temperature. The polymer content varies between 10% and 18% of the total weight of polymer concrete, and the glass‐fiber content varies up to 6% (by weight). The addition of fibers increases the toughness and failure strain (strain at peak stress), but decreases the compressive modulus and the initial Poisson's ratio. In general, the fibers confine the material and delay the crack propagation, thus, increasing the failure strain and postpeak ductility. The compressive strength shows that there is an optimum fiber content for a given polymer content. Simple relationships are used to predict the compressive strength, modulus, failure strain, and Poisson's ratio from the test parameters. The toughness of the fiber‐reinforced polymer concrete is quantified using ASTM recommendations. A stress‐strain model is proposed to predict the complete compressive stress‐strain curves and the toughness indexes, I5,I10, and their ratio. The analytical model favorably predicts the measured stress‐strain relationships and toughness parameters.