Investigation of the Addition of Basalt Fibres into Cement

• Main Author: Palme, Jahi
• Format: Others
• Published: TopSCHOLAR® 2014
• Subjects: Concrete; Materials Science; Mechanical Strength; Load Frame; Compression Tests; Basalt; Engineering Physics; Materials Chemistry; Physics
• Online Access: http://digitalcommons.wku.edu/theses/1361; http://digitalcommons.wku.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2364&context=theses

Mechanical properties of concrete are most commonly determined using destructive tests including: compression, flexure, and fracture notch specimen tests. However, nondestructive tests exist for evaluating the properties of concrete such as ultrasonic pulse velocity and impact echo tests. One of major issues with concrete (which has cement as its prime ingredient) is that unlike steel it is quasi-brittle material. It tends to want to crack when tensile stresses develop. Fibres have been added to concrete for many years to reduce the amount of and size of cracks cause by temperature changes or shrinkage. In more recent years, significant research has been carried out into the effect of the addition of basalt fibres to cement has on its mechanical strength. As well, developing concrete that is more durable, flexible, stronger, and less permeable than traditional concrete has been explored. It has become important to test and verify improvements that are made to the cement by basalt fibres as well as testing the general strength of concrete to stand up to constant pressure at varied strengths.