In-situ strength estimation of polypropylene fibre reinforced recycled aggregate concrete using Schmidt rebound hammer and point load test

Abstract

An appropriate amount of polypropylene fibre (PF) content is generally able to compensate for the low compressive strength of the recycled aggregate concrete. This mechanical strength is required to reliably estimate at the building site using partially and non-destructive testing methods. Therefore, in the present study, the compressive strength of concrete with PF at 0.1% by volume and different replacement levels of recycled coarse aggregate (RCA) was assessed using point load test (PLT) and Schmidt rebound hammer. According to the results, the sensitivity of the core specimens to the concentrated point load and the short size of PF in the failure zone of the PLT caused to appear a difference among the enhancement trends of PLI values by increasing the age. In addition, a two-variable equation between the rebound number and point load index (PLI) reliably predicted either strength of coarse natural concrete or recycled aggregate concrete or PRAC.

Keywords:

• In-situ strength estimation
• recycled coarse aggregate
• polypropylene fibres
• point load test
• Schmidt rebound hammer

Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully acknowledge the Abadgaran Negin Jonoobshargh Company (A.N.J. Co.) for their support.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.