Microstructure study of Non biodegradable fiber reinforced high performance concrete

Abstract

In recent years, high performance concrete (HPC) has been playing a major role in construction industry. The performance of HPC depends on environmental conditions, materials used, chemistry, compaction and the microstructure of the concrete. The demand for HPC has increased significantly due to its use in highrise towers, where it is mainly used for the columns as it reduces the cross section of structural elements. Use of mineral admixtures like silica fume, metakaolin, fly ash, slag, etc. for replacement of cement has also been increasing due to their pozzolanic action, high reactivity, gaining of early age strength and also for economic reasons. While environmentalists oppose the usage of Non-Biodegradable (NBD) newlinematerials due to their impact on the ecological balance and are campaigning for newlinebanning the use of these products. It is important to note that the usage of plastic products in all lifestyles has increased enormously. These increased usages of plastic products are causing a many fold increase in the incidence of plastic products in municipal solid waste (MSW). Reusing the plastic waste from MSW as building material in mass construction has many benefits i.e., conservation of newlinenatural resources, preservation of the environment, reduction in the landfill space and overall saving the earth from plastic pollution. The NBD waste separated from MSW yields high-density polyethylene (HDPE) fibers can be used to improve the newlinetensile strength of concrete. HDPE fibers are added as an additive to make fiber newlinereinforced concrete (FRC), which helps in transforming brittleness to ductility.