Effects of Synthetic Fibers on the Mechanical Properties and Thickness Requirements of Roller-Compacted Concrete for Pavements
Publication: Journal of Transportation Engineering, Part B: Pavements
Volume 148, Issue 4
Abstract
Due to the construction method used, the use of conventional rebar is impractical for roller-compacted concrete (RCC) pavement applications, and the use of discrete fibers seems to be the best alternative to this problem. Among the available types, synthetic fibers are commonly employed in pavement applications, due to their advantages such as ease of handling, cost efficiency, and corrosion-free nature. However, studies that numerically examined the extent of synthetic fiber contribution to the mechanical properties and structural requirements of RCC pavements are very limited. To fill this gap in the literature, an experimental study was conducted to examine the effects of synthetic fibers on the fresh and hardened-state properties of RCC. Then, using the material parameters obtained in this study and retrieved (to cover the effect of different material compositions and synthetic fiber types) from the literature, thickness design for a sample pavement was conducted for plain and fiber-reinforced concrete mixtures, to determine the effect of different material compositions and fiber types on the thickness requirement of RCC pavements. Based on the results of the conducted experiments, the amount of change in the fresh- and hardened-state performance of RCC mixtures due to the addition of synthetic fibers were presented. Thickness design results showed that the contribution of fibers may vary in RCC mixtures depending on the type and amount of fibers used, and the properties of RCC mixture in which they are used. For the type and amount of fibers considered in this study, up to 25% reduction in required thickness was observed for synthetic fiber–reinforced RCC mixtures.
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Data Availability Statement
All data, models, and code generated or used during the study appear in the published paper.
Acknowledgments
The authors acknowledge Akcansa Cement Industry and Trade and Bogazici Concrete Industry and Trade for material supply. The authors also thank Umit Melep for his assistance during the experiments. The first author acknowledges the financial support given by The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBİTAK) during his Ph.D. study.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Transportation Engineering, Part B: Pavements
Volume 148 • Issue 4 • December 2022
Copyright
© 2022 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jun 17, 2021
Accepted: May 17, 2022
Published online: Jul 21, 2022
Published in print: Dec 1, 2022
Discussion open until: Dec 21, 2022
ASCE Technical Topics:
- Concrete
- Concrete pavements
- Design (by type)
- Engineering fundamentals
- Engineering materials (by type)
- Fiber reinforced concrete
- Fibers
- Highway and road design
- Infrastructure
- Material mechanics
- Material properties
- Materials characterization
- Materials engineering
- Mechanical properties
- Mixtures
- Pavement design
- Pavements
- Sight distances
- Thickness
- Transportation engineering
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- Onur Ozturk, Nilufer Ozyurt, Implementation of two-stage mixing approach to improve the performance of fiber reinforced concrete for sustainable construction, Construction and Building Materials, 10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2023.133870, 409, (133870), (2023).