Evaluation of the influence of polypropylene fiber on the flexural strength of rigid pavements

Resumen

The low resistance of concrete and its exposure to vehicular overload generates the premature propagation of different types of failures in pavements, such as fissures and cracks that allow water to enter the lower layers, decreasing their resistance and damaging its structure. In this article, the evaluation of the resistance of concrete reinforced with polypropylene microfiber in the presence of bending stress was carried out. To improve the performance of concrete, various studies related to how to increase the mechanical properties of concrete recommend the incorporation of materials such as polypropylene fiber. In this study it was evaluated for the percentages of 0.75%, 1% and 1.5% by volume of concrete. The incorporation of fiber to the concrete generated improvements in resistance compared to unreinforced concrete. The laboratory results showed that with the addition of 1% fiber the flexural strength improves by 38% even after reaching its maximum strength compared to the conventional mix. Likewise, through numerical analysis in the ANSYS software, the mechanical properties of the concrete were evaluated, and the appropriate percentage of polypropylene was determined based on the least deformation.