Compressive and Flexural Strength of Foamed Concrete Containing Polyolefin Fibers

Foam concrete is a lightweight concrete which is produced relatively inexpensively. However, due to its low strength and brittleness the application in building construction is rather limited. A study has been undertaken to investigate the effects of polyolefin fibers at a relatively low volume fraction (0 %, 0.2 %, 0.4 % and 0.6 %) on the compressive and flexural properties of foamed concrete. The foamed concrete was designed to achieve a target strength of 8-10 MPa with a density of 1600 kg/m3 at the age of 28 days. For each mixture, nine 100x100x100 mm cubes and three 100x100x500 mm beam were prepared. The compressive test was performed on cubes and three points loading flexural test on the beams was carried out in accordance to MS 26:Part 2:1991. Test results showed that polyolefin fibers only slightly improved the compressive strength and flexural strength of foamed concrete by 4.3% and 9.3% respectively.