Experimental Investigation on Mechanical and Durability properties of Slurry Infiltrated Fiber Concrete (SIFCON)

Abstract

The construction industry is in need of finding cost effective materials for increasing the strength of concrete structures. Slurry infiltrated fibrous concrete (SIFCON) is one of the recently developed construction materials that can be considered as a special type of high-performance fiber reinforced concrete (HPFRC) with higher fiber content. An endeavor has been made in the present investigations to study the influence of addition of locally available material at different dosages to the total weight of concrete. An experimental program was carried out to investigate the compressive strength, flexural strength, Non-Destructive Test (NDT), such as rebound hammer test and ultra-sonic pulse velocity test, and durability test such as sulfate attack. The investigations were done using cement-based mix and tests were carried out as per recommended procedures by appropriate codes. SIFCON specimens with 0%, 5%, 10% and 15% volume of fraction fibers and with aspect ratio (L/D) 20, 25 and 30 were used in this study. Test results were presented in comparison of SIFCON with conventional plain concrete. The load carrying capacity of SIFCON specimen is found to be higher than conventional plain concrete and it also reduced crack width. SIFCON was found to have many differences from conventional plain concrete and fiber reinforced concrete. Regarding its mix constitute material, fresh SIFCON properties and hard SIFCON properties. Therefore, special standard test methods and compliance criteria should be prepared for this material.