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Mechanical properties and impact resistance of roller compacted concrete

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Article  in  Magazine of Concrete Research · February 2015

DOI: 10.1680/macr.14.00242

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Magazine of Concrete Research
Mechanical properties and impact resistance
of roller-compacted concrete containing
polypropylene fibre
Yazici, Mardani-Aghabaglou, Tuyan and Üte
Magazine of Concrete Research
http://dx.doi.org/10.1680/macr.14.00242
Paper 1400242
Received 18/07/2014; revised 5/11/2014; accepted 22/12/2014
ICE Publishing: All rights reserved

Mechanical properties and impact

resistance of roller-compacted
concrete containing
polypropylene fibre
Şemsi Yazici Murat Tuyan
Associate Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, Engineering Faculty, Research Assistant, Department of Civil Engineering, Engineering Faculty,
Ege University, Bornova-İzmir, Turkey Ege University, Bornova-İzmir, Turkey
Ali Mardani-Aghabaglou A. Atacan Üte
PhD Student, Department of Civil Engineering, Engineering Faculty, Ege MSc Student, Department of Civil Engineering, Engineering Faculty, Ege
University, Bornova-İzmir, Turkey University, Bornova-İzmir, Turkey

In this study, the effect of polypropylene fibre content on mechanical properties and impact resistance of roller-
compacted concrete (RCC) was investigated. The polypropylene fibre was used as 0%, 0 .25%, 0 .50% and 0 .75% per
1 m3 of concrete; thus, four different mixtures of RCC were prepared. The water content of those mixtures was
determined using the maximum density method (soil compaction method). Optimum water content values for the
maximum dry density of each RCC mixture were calculated with this approach. The compressive strength, splitting
tensile strength, flexural strength, modulus of elasticity and impact resistance of RCC mixtures were determined at
different ages. As a result of the experimental study, it was observed that the use of polypropylene fibre in RCC
mixtures increases the water requirement and water/cement ratio. The mechanical properties of RCC mixtures
containing polypropylene fibre decreased by 20% compared to the control mixture without polypropylene fibre. This
phenomenon can be attributed to an increase in the water/cement ratio of the RCC mixture when using
polypropylene fibre.

Notation road pavement and dam constructions. Compared to conventional

D compaction ratio (%) concrete, RCC contains less water and exhibits zero slump. When
E modulus of elasticity of concrete (MPa) in its fresh state, it is used as ground-fill material rather than as
H drop height (mm) conventional concrete; when hardened, it behaves like conven-
Nc number of first crack impact tional concrete (ACI, 2004; Mehta and Monteiro, 2006). Many
Nf number of fracture impact researchers have designed RCC mixtures using the maximum
P hammer weight (kg) density method or concrete approach (Andriolo, 1998; Hansen
R fracture toughness (N mm/mm3) and Reinhardt, 1991; Mardani-Aghabaglou et al., 2013; Mardani-
V volume of the specimen (mm3) Aghabaglou and Ramyar, 2013).
wopt optimum water content (%)
ª9I max reference maximum wet density (kg/m3) Having been used for road pavement and dam constructions,
ª9k max reference maximum dry density (kg/m3) RCC has been utilised in a number of areas. Among these are
ªI max maximum wet density (kg/m3) roads, in-plant roads, temporary roads, park areas, service areas,
ªk max maximum dry density (kg/m3) storage areas, airfields and airport transportation, roads under the
1 deformation of 0 .5 3 104 mm/mm influence of heavy traffic, as well as the base and finishing coats
2 deformation corresponding to ultimate compressive of highways (Atiş, 2005; Hansen and Reinhardt, 1991; Nanni et
strength of 40% (mm/mm) al., 1996).
1 compressive strength corresponding to deformation of
0 .5 3 104 mm/mm (MPa) Mechanical behaviour of RCC is fundamentally affected by a low
2 40% of ultimate compressive strength of concrete (MPa) amount of paste. Despite the low amount of binder in RCC
mixtures, the optimisation of dry components provides high
Introduction compressive strength. As a result of a higher degree of aggregate
Roller-compacted concrete (RCC) is a distinctive type of concrete compaction, the amounts of binders (cement, silica fume, fly ash,
known for its strength, economy and fast placement. It is used for cinder and so on) decrease (Gauthier and Marchand, 2005).

1
Magazine of Concrete Research
The ratio of tensile strength to compressive strength of RCC
varies between 7% and 13%, depending on the content of binding
material, aggregate quality, water content and age. The tensile
strength of RCC increases in cases of high dosage of binding
material, low amount of water content and the use of coarse
aggregate (Koçak, 1998). Delatte et al. (2003) stated that,
according to ACI Committee 325, 28-d tensile splitting strength
of RCC varies between 2 .75 and 4 .14 MPa.
In the concrete mixture, the properties of two phases (aggregate
and hydrated cement paste) affect the modulus of elasticity.
Because the amount of aggregate in RCC mixtures is higher than
the amount of paste, the impact of aggregate is greater than for
the other parameters, such as the type of binding material or the
water/binder ratio (Gauthier and Marchand, 2005). The 28-d
modulus of elasticity of RCC varies between 20 GPa and 38 GPa
(Halsted, 2005).
Polypropylene fibre is an important reinforcement material,
mostly known for its strength, resistance to alkaline environments
and low price. Its most important use is to reinforce cement-
bound composites (Ersoy, 2001). Polypropylene fibre is manufac-
tured from isotactic polypropylene and generally used in the form
of sheets, the thicknesses of which vary between 50 ìm and
100 ìm. Its melting temperature is 1608C and it retains its
properties up to 1008C. It can also be used at 1408C for short
durations. A disadvantage of using polypropylene, however, is the
fact that the low-temperature characteristics are impractical. Its
glass transition temperature is 208C. Polypropylene fibre is
resistant to various chemicals and, owing to its ability of alkali
resistance, it can be used in concrete and soil mixtures as a
reinforcement material (Robins and Calderwood, 1978).
Polypropylene as a reinforcement material has a hydrophobic
surface, so the fibre does not flocculate when it is soaked in the
matrix material with cement binder. The strength of a stretched
fibrised film may vary from 300 MPa to 500 MPa. The fibre is
used between the volumes of 0 .3% and 1 .5% in concrete and
mortar mixtures. Because the modulus of elasticity of polypropy-
lene fibre is low, the compressive strength decreases and this
causes a drastic transformation attributable to the strain, before
failure appears. Additionally, owing to the structural properties of
polypropylene, the bond between fibres and matrix is lower in
proportion to single-fibre structures and reinforcements (Ersoy,
2001).
Robins and Calderwood (1978) experimented with explosives on
310 3 310 3 25 mm floor covering pieces which were made of
steel and polypropylene fibre. They stated that the pieces with
polypropylene fibre were affected by the explosion to a lesser
degree. They used a high-speed camera and found that the fibre
was effective in preventing fractures. It was also stated that 40–
75 mm long fibres proved to be more effective in preventing
fractures as opposed to 20 mm long fibres (Arslan and Aydın,
1999).
2
Mechanical properties and impact
resistance of roller-compacted concrete
containing polypropylene fibre
Yazici, Mardani-Aghabaglou, Tuyan and Üte
Aulia (2002) investigated the effects of polypropylene fibre on
the mechanical properties of high-strength concrete and found
that using polypropylene fibre at a volume of 0 .2% caused slump
loss in fresh concrete, whereas it had almost no effects on the
compressive strength and modulus of elasticity of hardened
concrete (compared to concrete without fibre). However, this very
same rate of fibre affected the fracture properties of high-strength
concrete dramatically.
Madhkhan et al. (2012) investigated effects of pozzolans together
with steel and polypropylene fibres on mechanical properties of
RCC pavements. The compressive strength of RCC mixtures with
polypropylene fibre was 10 .3% higher than that of RCC mixtures
without polypropylene fibre. In addition, in terms of mechanical
properties, the effect of steel fibres was greater than that of
polypropylene fibres.
The aim of this study is to investigate the influence of using
polypropylene fibre on the mechanical properties (compressive
strength, splitting tensile strength, flexural strength, modulus of
elasticity and toughness) of RCC. Accordingly, a number of RCC
mixtures were prepared containing different amounts of polypro-
pylene fibre. The properties of RCC mixtures with and without
polypropylene fibre were compared after a series of mechanical
experiments.
Experimental details
Materials
In this study, CEM I 42 .5 type cement was used as binder. Its
specific gravity was 3 .12; Bogue values were tricalcium silicate
(C3S) 55 .45%, dicalcium silicate (C2S) 14 .51%, tricalcium
aluminate (C3A) 5 .82% and tetracalcium aluminoferrite (C4AF)
10 .83%. The chemical compositions, as well as some mechanical
and physical properties of the cement obtained from the manu-
facturer, are given in Table 1. The specific gravity and water
absorption capacity of the aggregates used in the experiments
were determined in accordance with EN 1097-6 standard (CEN,
2007). The saturated surface dry (SSD) specific gravities of 0–
5 mm, 5–15 mm and 15–25 mm crushed limestone aggregate size
fractions were obtained as 2 .62, 2 .65 and 2 .67, respectively. The
physical properties of aggregates are presented in Table 2. The
gradation of the combined aggregate as well as standard grada-
tion limits (TS 802, TSI, 2009) are shown in Figure 1. RCC
mixtures with polypropylene were composed of 19 mm long and
40 ìm dia. fibres with a density of 0 .92 kg/l, tensile strength of
700 MPa and modulus of elasticity 3 .6 GPa.
Preparation of RCC mixtures
The cement content was fixed at 300 kg/m3 for all concrete
mixtures. Polypropylene fibre was used at the volumes of 0%,
0 .25%, 0 .50% and 0 .75% in the mixtures. Aggregate composition
used in the RCC mixtures was selected in accordance with
recommendations by the Portland Cement Association for RCC
road pavement. Aggregate mixtures were composed of 57%
Magazine of Concrete Research Mechanical properties and impact
resistance of roller-compacted concrete
containing polypropylene fibre
Yazici, Mardani-Aghabaglou, Tuyan and Üte

% Physical properties

Silicon dioxide (SiO2) 19 .65 Specific gravity 3 .12

Aluminium oxide (Al2O3) 4 .47 Soundness: mm 0 .5
Iron (III) oxide (Fe2O3) 3 .56 Setting time: min Initial 175
Calcium oxide (CaO) 60 .53 Final 230
Magnesium oxide (MgO) 2 .40 Fineness
Potassium oxide (K2O) 0 .88 Blaine specific surface: cm2/g 3689
Sodium oxide (Na2O) 0 .44 Residual of 0 .090 mm sieve: % 0 .30
Sulfur trioxide (SO3) 2 .64 Residual of 0 .045 mm sieve: % 4 .80
Chloride ions (Cl ) 
0 .01 Mechanical properties
Free calcium oxide (CaO) 1 .74 2 d 28 .00
Loss on ignition 2 .95 Compressive strength: MPa 7 d 43 .10
Total 99 .27 28 d 53 .30

Table 1. Chemical and physical properties of cement

Aggregate Bulk SSD Absorption Total Loose bulk

specific capacity: moisture: density:
Type Size: mm gravity % % kg/m3

Limestone 0–5 2 .62 1 .14 0 .14 —

5–15 2 .65 0 .73 0 .04 1400
15–25 2 .67 0 .40 0 .43 1367

Table 2. Physical properties of aggregates

Minimum limit In the compaction test, which was performed according to ASTM
100 Maximum limit C1435 (ASTM, 1999), a concrete compacter weighing 10 .1 kg
90 Mixture grading and counting 900–1890 r/min was used. The optimum water
80 contents for maximum dry density of RCC mixtures are shown in
70
Passing: %

60 Table 3. In this study, four different RCC mixtures were prepared.

50 The ‘RCC’ mixture is the control mixture without any polypropy-
40 lene fibre (PPF). In the ‘PPFRCC1’, ‘PPFRCC2’ and ‘PPFRCC3’
30
mixtures the PPF was used at 0 .25%, 0 .50% and 0 .75% per 1 m3
20
10 of concrete, respectively.
0
0·25 0·50 1 2 4 8 16 32
Sieve size: mm The mix proportions of all mixtures are shown in Table 4. First,
the aggregate and cement were dry mixed. Then the water and
Figure 1. Gradation curve of combined aggregate and TS 802 polypropylene fibre were added into the mixture. For a homo-
(TSI, 2009) standard limits geneous mixture, the duration was set to 6 min.

Cylindrical (150/300 mm) and prismatic (100/100/600 mm) sam-

0–5 mm fine aggregate, 20% 5–15 mm coarse aggregate and 23%
15–25 mm coarse aggregate. The optimum water content of
concrete mixtures was determined using the maximum density
method in accordance with ASTM C1435 (ASTM, 1999).
Optimum water content values for maximum dry density of each
RCC mixture were calculated using this approach. The water
content in concrete mixtures was determined according to
confirmed optimum water content values.
ples were produced with the RCC concrete. The concrete was
filled into the moulds in two layers and compacted. For the
compaction, the concrete compacter (10 .1 kg, blow count: 900–
1890 r/min) seen in Figure 2 was used in compliance with ASTM
C1435 (ASTM, 1999). After the samples were poured, they were
cast in the moulds for 24 h. Then they were cured for up to 7, 28
and 90 d. In total, 352 cylinders and 48 prismatic samples were
made from RCC concretes.

3
Magazine of Concrete Research Mechanical properties and impact
resistance of roller-compacted concrete
containing polypropylene fibre
Yazici, Mardani-Aghabaglou, Tuyan and Üte

Mix wopt: % ª9I max : ª9k max : ªI max: ªk max: D: %

kg/m3 kg/m3 kg/m3 kg/m3

RCC 5 .32 2419 2297 2402 2390 99

PPFRCC1 5 .56 2384 2259 2394 2378 100
PPFRCC2 5 .60 2384 2257 2382 2371 100
PPFRCC3 5 .78 2389 2259 2376 2363 99

Table 3. Optimum water content, maximum density and

compaction ratio values of all RCC mixtures

Mix Water/ Cement Water Polypropylene fibre Aggregate

cement ratio
0–5 mm 5–15 mm 15–25 mm

RCC 0 .40 300 120 0 1171 478 419

PPFRCC1 0 .43 300 129 2 .3 1154 471 413
PPFRCC2 0 .44 300 131 4 .6 1148 468 410
PPFRCC3 0 .45 300 136 6 .8 1136 464 406

Table 4. Mix proportions of all RCC mixtures (kg)

the standard curing procedure. Modulus of elasticity tests were

conducted on three samples from each mixture. Before testing the
modulus of elasticity of the sample, 40% of its maximum
strength was preloaded three times. Modulus of elasticity was
determined using the chord method. Mechanical tests were
conducted in accordance with the standards EN 12390-3 (CEN,
2010a), EN 12390-5 (CEN, 2010b), EN 12390-6 (CEN, 2010c)
and TS 3502 (TSI, 1981).

Impact resistance tests were conducted in compliance with ACI

Figure 2. Bosch GSH 11 E-type concrete compacter used in
compaction process
Tests relating to various issues were performed on the samples,
such as uniaxial compression, splitting tension, flexure, modulus
of elasticity, impact resistance and compactibility. Uniaxial com-
pressive and splitting tensile strength tests were conducted on the
cylindrical samples, which had been kept in curing conditions for
7, 28 and 90 d. One-sided sulfur caps were added on the
cylindrical samples used for the compression test. Flexural
strength tests were conducted on the prismatic samples at the end
of 28 d of the curing procedure. Prismatic samples were placed
between two supports and broken by applying a point load onto
the middle.
544, 2R-89 (ACI, 1996) on 150 mm dia., 64 mm high cylindrical
samples at the end of the 28-d curing period. Impact tests were
conducted on three 64 mm high discs cut from cylindrical samples
from each mixture. In this test, a hammer weighing 4 .5 kg was
dropped from a height of 450 mm. Load between the hammer and
the sample was transferred with a 64 mm wide steel ball. During
the test, fall count at the appearance of the first crack on the disc
surface and the fall count that created the fracture were both
recorded. A schematic diagram of this impact test is presented in
Figure 3.
Test results and discussion
Optimum water content, maximum density and
compaction ratio
The optimum water content, maximum density and compaction
ratio of all RCC mixtures are given in Table 3.

The modulus of elasticity values of the RCC mixtures were tested The notation in Table 3 is fully defined in the Notation list at the
using the 150/300 mm cylindrical specimens at the end of 28 d of beginning of this paper. ª9I max and ª9k max are maximum density

4
Magazine of Concrete Research Mechanical properties and impact
resistance of roller-compacted concrete
containing polypropylene fibre
Yazici, Mardani-Aghabaglou, Tuyan and Üte

2350 y ⫽ ⫺546·93x2 ⫹ 5814·3x ⫺ 13 156

Dry density: kg/m3

2300 5·06

2250 5·31 5·62

2200 4·93

2150
4·77
2100
4·6 4·8 5·0 5·2 5·4 5·6 5·8
Water content: %

Figure 4. Relation between optimum water content and

maximum dry desity of control mixture (RCC)

2300 y ⫽ ⫺322·29x2 ⫹ 3572·2x ⫺7639·5

Dry density: kg/m3

2275
5·35
2250 5·77
5·61
2225
5·19
2200

2175
5·0 5·2 5·4 5·6 5·8 6·0
Water content: %

Figure 5. Relation between optimum water content and

maximum dry density of mixture containing 0 .25 PPF (PPFRCC1)

2300
y ⫽ ⫺241·48x2 ⫹ 2705·4x ⫺ 5320·2
Dry density: kg/m3

5·20
2250
5·99
5·53
2200
5·04
2150

2100
4·8 5·0 5·2 5·4 5·6 5·8 6·0 6·2
Water content: %

Figure 6. Relation between optimum water content and

maximum dry density of mixture containing 0 .50 PPF (PPFRCC2)
Figure 3. Photograph of impact test equipment

2300
5·51
2250
Dry density: kg/m3

values obtained from the first stage (finding the water content in 5·95
2200
the mixtures) of a two-stage experiment and are accepted as 5·39
2150
laboratory findings. ª9I max and ª9k max represent the second stage
2100 y ⫽ ⫺490·73x2 ⫹ 5675·8x ⫺14153
of the experiment (casting process of the samples) and are
accepted as field findings. Compaction ratio of RCC mixtures 2050
5·12
express the ratio (ªI max /ª9I max ) between wet densities obtained 2000
with field findings and reference wet densities obtained with 1950
laboratory findings. 5·0 5·2 5·4 5·6 5·8 6·0 6·2
Water content: %

The relationship between optimum water content and maximum Figure 7. Relation between optimum water content and
dry density for each mixture was plotted. From the resultant maximum dry density of mixture containing 0 .75 PPF (PPFRCC3)
curve the optimum water content corresponding to the maximum

5
Magazine of Concrete Research Mechanical properties and impact
resistance of roller-compacted concrete
containing polypropylene fibre
Yazici, Mardani-Aghabaglou, Tuyan and Üte

5·9
dry density was determined as shown in Figures 4–7. The results

Optimum water content: %

are given in Table 3. 5·8
y ⫽ ⫺38·77ln(x) ⫹ 306·89
5·7
R2 ⫽ 0·9725
In Table 3, it can be seen that RCC compaction percentages 5·6
varied between 99% and 100%. It can be observed that maximum
5·5
wet and dry densities decline when polypropylene fibre is added.
5·4
Also, it can be seen that the water requirement for the mixtures
increases. 5·3
5·2
Polypropylene fibres do not flocculate in the matrix material with 2360 2365 2370 2375 2380 2385 2390 2395
cement, owing to their hydrophobic nature. However, polypropy- Maximum dry density: kg/m3
lene fibres flocculate in the mixer if they are added to RCC
Figure 8. Relationship between optimum water content and
during the mixing process. This ruins homogeneity in the mix-
maximum dry density of all RCC mixtures
tures. For this reason, some water was added to the fibrous
mixtures and, as a result, water content of the mixtures increased.
It can be seen in Tables 3 and 4 that polypropylene fibre content
increases as water demand increases in the PPFRCC mixtures. results that the compressive strength of RCC and PPFRCC
This is due to decreasing workability of the PPFRCC mixtures. samples after 7 d of curing varied between 27 .5 MPa and
30 .6 MPa. The 28-d and 90-d compressive strength of the same
As can be seen from Table 3, the optimum water content of RCC samples varied between 32 .2 and 37 .1 MPa, and between 34 and
and PPFRCC mixtures varied between 5 .32% and 5 .78%. Maxi- 43 .1 MPa, respectively.
mum dry density values varied between 2 .363 kg/m3 and
2 .390 kg/m3. The relationship between optimum water content When polypropylene fibres were used at 0 .25% per 1 m3 of RCC
and maximum dry density of all RCC mixtures is shown in mixture, the effect of fibre on compressive strength was not
Figure 8. It can be seen from this figure that the optimum water significant compared to that of RCC mixture without fibre.
content of RCC mixtures decreased with increase of maximum However, the compressive strength of the RCC mixture contain-
dry density. ing 0 .75% (per 1 m3 of RCC mixture) polypropylene fibre
decreased by 21% compared to that of the control mixture.
Mechanical properties
The 7-d, 28-d and 90-d compressive strengths of RCC and The stress deformation curves of RCC and PPFRCC under
PPFRCC mixtures are shown in Table 5. It can be seen from test compression can be seen in Figure 9. Toughness values based on

Mix Compressive strength: Splitting tensile strength: Flexural Maximum Modulus of Toughness:
MPa MPa strength: deflection in elasticity: GPa N mm/mm3
MPa flexure: mm
fc7 fc28 fc90 fct7 fct28 fct90 fce28  E R

RCC 30 .6 37 .1 43 .1 3 .4 3 .8 4 .3 6 .1 0 .27 37 .3 0 .026

PPFRCC1 28 .5 35 .8 42 .6 3 .3 3 .5 4 .6 5 .3 0 .30 39 .2 0 .054
PPFRCC2 27 .5 33 .6 37 .4 3 .7 4 .0 4 .6 5 .9 0 .35 30 .1 0 .072
PPfRCC3 28 .6 32 .2 34 .0 3 .4 3 .5 4 .1 6 .1 0 .37 27 .50 0 .086

The relative properties of PPFRCC mixtures compared to control mixture

Mix Relative compressive Relative splitting tensile Relative

strength: % strength: % flexural
strength: %

RCC 100 100 100 100 100 100 100

PPFRCC1 93 96 99 97 92 107 87
PPFRCC2 90 91 87 109 105 107 7
PPfRCC3 93 87 79 100 92 95 100

Table 5. Mechanical properties of all RCC mixtures

6
Magazine of Concrete Research Mechanical properties and impact
resistance of roller-compacted concrete
containing polypropylene fibre
Yazici, Mardani-Aghabaglou, Tuyan and Üte

40
38
36
34
32
30
Compressive stress: MPa

28
26
24
22
20 RCC
18
16 PPFRCC1
14 PPFRCC2
12 PPFRCC3
10
8
6
4
2
0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32 34 36
Strain: ⫻ 10⫺4 mm/mm

Figure 9. Relationship between compressive strength and strain

of RCC mixtures

these curves are presented in Table 5. It was observed that
toughness values of RCC with fibre increased three times in
contrast with control RCC mixtures.
The results of splitting tensile strength tests on the RCC and
PPFRCC samples are presented in Table 5. It can be seen
from the test results that the splitting tensile strength of RCC
and PPFRCC samples after the 7-d curing varied between
3 .3 MPa and 3 .7 MPa. The splitting tensile strength of the
same samples varied, after the 28-d curing, between 3 .5 MPa
and 4 .0 MPa; and after 90 d of curing, the values varied
between 4 .1 MPa and 4 .6 MPa. When polypropylene fibre was
added at different ratios, the splitting tensile strength changed
by 9% when compared with RCC mixtures without poly-
propylene fibre.
The fracture patterns in splitting tensile strength tests of both the
fibrous and control RCC and PPFRCC samples are presented in
Figure 10. It can be seen in Figure 10 that control samples were
fractured according to a brittle behaviour, whereas fibrous
samples were fractured according to ductile behaviour. Polypropy-
lene fibre dispersed within the matrix in three dimensions, limit-

(a) (b)

Figure 10. Fracture behaviour of RCC mixtures: (a) without

polypropylene fibre; (b) with polypropylene fibre

7
Magazine of Concrete Research
ing the development of cracks and changing the type of crack by
transferring tension, although to a lesser extent than steel fibre.
The results of 28-d flexural strength tests on the RCC and
PPFRCC samples are presented in Table 5. The flexural strength
of RCC and PPFRCC varied between 5 .3 MPa and 6 .1 MPa.
When polypropylene fibre was added at the rates of 0 .25%,
0 .50% and 0 .75% per 1 m3 of RCC mixture, flexural strength of
the RCC decreased by up to 13%.
Generally, polypropylene fibre used in RCC mixtures causes a
slight loss of mechanical properties. The main reason of this loss is
the increase in optimum water content due to the use of fibre in the
mixtures. Polypropylene fibre increases the water content, com-
pared to the control RCC mixture, and this weakens the mechanical
qualities. However, it is known that polypropylene fibre does not
have remarkable impacts on the mechanical qualities of concrete.
The results of 28-d modulus of elasticity tests on both the fibrous
and control RCC mixtures are presented in Table 5. The 28-d
modulus of elasticity of RCC and PPFRCC mixtures varied
between 27 .5 and 39 .2 GPa. As the amount of polypropylene
fibre increased, the modulus of elasticity of RCC mixtures
decreased. The modulus of elasticity of the RCC mixtures was
calculated using the following equation
2  1
E¼
1: 2  1
where E is the modulus of elasticity of concrete (MPa); 2 is
40% of the ultimate compressive strength of concrete (MPa); 1
is the compressive strength corresponding to a deformation of
0 .5 3 104 mm/mm (MPa); 2 is the deformation corresponding
to an ultimate compressive strength of 40% (mm/mm); and 1 is
the deformation of 0 .5 3 104 mm/mm.
The results of impact resistance tests on all RCC mixtures are
presented in Table 6. According to the test results, the first crack
in the RCC mixture with polypropylene fibre appeared earlier
than it did in the RCC mixture without polypropylene fibre. The
number of first crack impacts (Nc) in the RCC mixture with fibre
Mix Number of first Number of Fracture
crack impact, fracture impact, toughness in
Nc Nf impact test:
N mm/mm3
RCC 131 134 0 .024
PPFRCC1 124 137 0 .025
PPFRCC2 116 141 0 .032
PPfRCC3 112 141 0 .038
Table 6. Impact resistance test results and toughness values
8
Mechanical properties and impact
resistance of roller-compacted concrete
containing polypropylene fibre
Yazici, Mardani-Aghabaglou, Tuyan and Üte
decreased as the amount of fibre increased. However, the number
of fracture impacts (Nf) and fracture toughness appeared to be
relatively higher than the equivalent values for RCC mixture
without fibre. As the amount of polypropylene fibre increased, the
fracture toughness increased correspondingly. Additionally, with
the use of polypropylene fibre, the number of impacts decreased.
Therefore, the reliability of results obtained from the RCC
mixture with fibre is much higher than for RCC mixture without
fibre. The number of first crack impacts and the number fracture
impacts applied to the RCC mixture without fibre are very close,
whereas the difference between these numbers was greater for
RCC mixture with fibre. In other words, RCC mixture without
fibre was found to be brittle when the first fracture appeared and
the RCC mixture with fibre tended to break later, which revealed
that fibres were activated right after the first fracture in the
matrix. The fracture toughness in impact testing of all RCC
mixtures was calculated using the following equation
1
9 .81 N f PH
2:
R¼
V
where R is fracture toughness (N mm/mm3), Nf is number of
fracture impact, P is hammer weight (kg), H is drop height (mm)
and V is volume of the specimen (mm3).
Conclusions
As a result of this experimental study, the following results have
been found. The use of polypropylene fibre in RCC mixtures
increased the water requirement. Because this increase also
increased water/cement ratio, the mechanical properties de-
creased. With the use of polypropylene fibre in RCC mixtures,
the mechanical properties of RCC mixtures decreased by 20%.
Therefore, depending on the 20% strength reduction of RCC
mixtures, the number of first crack impact declined. However,
owing to the increase in RCC ductility by using of polypropylene
fibre, the number of fracture impacts and toughness increased.
Additionally, the use of polypropylene fibre in impact tests led to
positive impacts on the coefficient of variation. Accordingly, the
use of polypropylene fibre increased the ductility of RCC, as well
Coefficient of
variation: %
6 .7
3 .2
3 .5
3 .1
 Magazine of Concrete Research
as decreased the number and size of cracks which appeared as a
result of mechanical effects.
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