Effect of Polypropylene Fibers on the Long-term Tensile Strength of Concrete

The influence of low volume fraction of polypropylene（PP） fibers on the tensile properties of normal and high strength concretes was studied. The experimental results indicate that the addition of PP fibers in concrete leads to a reduction in tensile strength during the age of 28 d. Whereas, after 28 days, there is a notable effect in tensile strength due to PP fibers restraining the formation and growth of microcracks in concrete, which improves the continuity and integrality of concrete structure, Thus, a low volume fraction of PP fibers is beneficial to enhancing the long-term tensile strength of concrete materials and improving the durability of concrete structures.

Effect of Co-polyester antistatic agent modified by carbon nanotubes on the properties of polypropylene fibers

Antistatic polymer fibers were investigated by using carbon nanotubes （CNTs） to enhance the antistatic ability of inner antistatic agents based on the mechanism of attracting moisture by polar radical groups. It is indicated that the antistatic ability of the fibers filled with composite antistatic agents that contain CNTs and organic antistatic agents was superior to that of the fibers filled either with pure organic antistatic agents or pure CNTs. The antistatic ability of the composite antistatic agent fabricated by an in situ process was superior to that of the composite antistatic agent fabricated by direct dispersing CNTs in the antistatic agent carrier. Moreover, the heat-treated CNTs could further enhance the antistatic effect compared with the initial CNTs. The antistatic effect is significantly influenced by the content of CNTs in the composite antistatic agent.

Preparation and Properties of Alkali Activated Foam Cement Reinforced with Polypropylene Fibers

A new form of foam cement was produced by mixing alkali-activated slag,clay,a small amount of polypropylene fibers with prepared foam during stirring.The preparation of the material is quite different from the normal one,which is produced just at room temperature and without baking.The fabrication of this energy-saving and low-price material can be favorable for lowering carbon emission by using recycled industrial wastes.Thermal conductivity of 0.116 W/（m·k）,compressive strength of 3.30 MPa,flexural strength of 0.8 MPa and density of 453 kg/m3 can be achieved after 28 days aging.The hydration product is C-S-H with less Ca（OH）2,calcium aluminum and zeolite,which was characterized by X-ray diffraction（XRD） measurement.This prospective foam cement may be expected to be an excellent economical energy-saving building material.

ANNEALING INDUCED VARIATION OF CRYSTALLINE STRUCTURE AND MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF SYNDIOTACTIC POLYPROPYLENE FIBERS

Syndiotactic polypropylene （sPP） as-spun fiber （sPP1） and drawn fiber （sPP2） were prepared by melt-spinning and melt-spinning/hot-drawing, respectively. The structure transition of the two fibers induced by annealing at different temperatures and the corresponding mechanical properties were subsequently investigated by the combination of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy （FTIR）, wide-angle X-ray diffraction （WAXD） and tensile testing. The results indicate that the chain conformation and crystal forms of the two sPP fibers are not obviously changed at low annealing temperature （40℃）. With increasing the annealing temperature, the trans-planar conformation and mesophase in sPP1 and sPP2 fibers can be completely transformed to helical conformation and crystal form I under tension. Upon removing the tension, a small amount of mesophase and trans-planar conformation will be regained. The mechanical properties of the annealed fibers are manifestly dependent on their initial structure and the annealing temperature.

Studies on the Crystallization Properties and Morphology Structure of the Cationic Dyeable Polypropylene Fibers

The crystallization properties and morphology structure of the cationic dyeable polypropylene fibers which were produced by the blending spinning method were studied by making use of X-ray and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). It comes to the conclusions that the larger the crystallite size in the fibers is , the better the dyeable properties of the fibers are and there is a little compatibility between the dyeable agent and polypropylene resin. And the dye-uptake of the fibers may be up to 90% because the dyeable agent can uniformly be scattered in polypropylene.

Effects of cement content, polypropylene fiber length and dosage on fluidity and mechanical properties of fiber-toughened cemented aeolian sand backfill

Using aeolian sand(AS)for goaf backfilling allows coordination of green mining and AS control.Cemented AS backfill(CASB)exhibits brittle fracture.Polypropylene(PP)fibers are good toughening materials.When the toughening effect of fibers is analyzed,their influence on the slurry conveying performance should also be considered.Additionally,cement affects the interactions among the hydration products,fibers,and aggregates.In this study,the effects of cement content(8wt%,9wt%,and 10wt%)and PP fiber length(6,9,and 12 mm)and dosage(0.05wt%,0.1wt%,0.15wt%,0.2wt%,and 0.25wt%)on fluidity and mechanical properties of the fibertoughened CASB(FCASB)were analyzed.The results indicated that with increases in the three aforementioned factors,the slump flow decreased,while the rheological parameters increased.Uniaxial compressive strength(UCS)increased with the increase of cement content and fiber length,and with an increase in fiber dosage,it first increased and then decreased.The strain increased with the increase of fiber dosage and length.The effect of PP fibers became more pronounced with the increase of cement content.Digital image correlation(DIC)test results showed that the addition of fibers can restrain the peeling of blocks and the expansion of fissure,and reduce the stress concentration of the FCASB.Scanning electron microscopy(SEM)test indicated that the functional mechanisms of fibers mainly involved the interactions of fibers with the hydration products and matrix and the spatial distribution of fibers.On the basis of single-factor analysis,the response surface method(RSM)was used to analyze the effects of the three aforementioned factors and their interaction terms on the UCS.The influence surface of the two-factor interaction terms and the three-dimensional scatter plot of the three-factor coupling were established.In conclusion,the response law of the FCASB properties under the effects of cement and PP fibers were obtained,which provides theoretical and engineering guidance for FCASB filling.

The effect of carbon nanotubes and polypropylene fibers on bond of reinforcing bars in strain resilient cementitious composites

Stress transfer between reinforcing bars and concrete is engaged through rib translation relative to concrete, and comprises longitudinal bond stresses and radial pressure. The radial pressure is equilibrated by hoop tension undertaken by the concrete cover. Owing to concrete＇s poor tensile properties in terms of strength and deformability, the equilibrium is instantly released upon radial cracking of the cover along the anchorage with commensurate abrupt loss of the bond strength. Any improvement of the matrix tensile properties is expected to favorably affect bond in terms of strength, resilience to pullout slip, residual resistance and controlled slippage.The aim of this paper is to investigate the local bond of steel bars developed in adverse tensile stress conditions in the concrete cover. In the tests, the matrix comprises a novel, strain resilient cementitious composite （SRCC） reinforced with polypropylene fibers （PP） with the synergistic action of carbon nano-tubes （CNT）. Local bond is developed over a short anchorage length occurring in the constant moment region of a four-point bending short beam. Parameters of investigation were the material structure （comprising a basic control mix, reinforced with CNTs and/or PP fibers） and the age of testing. Accompanying tests used to characterize the cementitious material were also conducted. The test results illustrate that all the benefits gained due to the synergy between PP fibers and CNTs in the matrix, namely the maintenance of the multi-cracking effect with time, the increased strength and deformability as well as the highly increased material toughness, were imparted in the recorded bond response. The local bond response curves thus obtained were marked by a resilient appearance exhibiting sustained strength up to large levels of controlled bar-slip; the elasto-plastic bond response envelope was a result of the confining synergistic effect of CNTs and the PP fibers, and it occurred even without bar yielding.

Application of modified polypropylene （crude） fibers concrete to strengthen the support structures in deep mine roadway

The an thors developed a new composite cement base material by mixing the high tenacity polypropylene （coarse） fiber in plain cement base for the cement-layer-spray technology. By studying the key parameters of the fiber dosage, the spray layer thickness, and the fiber reinforced concrete injection time, etc. It is found that the ideal volume ratio of polypropylene （crude） fiber is 0.8% （V/V）, and the secondary lining fiber concrete spraying should start when the shrinkage rate is lower than 0.5 mm/d, and the optimal thickness of shotcrete is 120 mm. The supporting effects and the economic benefits were studied using a real project practice, and the result obtained can be a good reference for practical applications of this new supporting material in the future.

Atomic layer deposition of Al_2O_3 on porous polypropylene hollow fibers for enhanced membrane performances

Porous polypropylene hollow fiber(PPHF) membranes are widely used in liquid purification. However, the hydrophobicity of polypropylene(PP) has limited its applications in water treatment. Herein, we demonstrate that, for the first time, atomic layer deposition(ALD) is an effective strategy to conveniently upgrade the filtration performances of PPHF membranes. The chemical and morphological changes of the deposited PPHF membranes are characterized by spectral, compositional, microscopic characterizations and protein adsorption measurements. Al_2O_3 is distributed along the cross section of the PP hollow fibers, with decreasing concentration from the outer surface to the inner surface. The pore size of the outer surface can be easily turned by altering the ALD cycles. Interestingly, the hollow fibers become much more ductile after deposition as their elongation at break is increased more than six times after deposition with 100 cycles. The deposited membranes show simultaneously enhanced water permeance and retention after deposition with moderate ALD cycle numbers.For instance, after 50 ALD cycles a 17% increase in water permeance and one-fold increase in BSA rejection are observed. Moreover, the PP membranes exhibit improved fouling-resistance after ALD deposition.

Effect of Polypropylene Fiber on the Unconfined Compressive Strength of Loess with Different Water Content

Fiber-reinforced soils have been of great interest to experimenters for building foundations’strength performance,time,and economy.This paper investigates the effects of water content and polypropylene fiber dosage and length on loess’s unconfined compressive strength(UCS)according to the central composite response surface design test procedure.The water content is 11%–25%,the mass ratio of fiber to soil is 0.1%–0.9%,and the fiber length ranges from 6–18 mm.The response surface method(RSM)developed full quadratic models of different variables with response values.After analysis of variance(ANOVA),the mathematical model developed in this study was statistically significant(p≤0.05)and applicable to the optimization process.The optimization results showed that the optimal water content values,fiber amount,and fiber length were 16.41%,0.579%,and 14.90 mm,respectively.The unconfined compressive strength of the optimized specimens was increased by 288.017 kPa.The research results can reference the design and construction of fiber-reinforced soil in practical projects such as road base engineering and foundation engineering.

Experimental study on mechanical and frost heave behaviors of silty clay improved by polyvinyl alcohol and polypropylene fiber

Silty clay is widely used as subgrade filler in cold regions,which suffer from frost heave in winter and mud pumping in spring.In this study,polyvinyl alcohol(PVA)and polypropylene(PP)fiber were used to improve the mechanical and frost heave behavior of silty clay in cold regions,and the direct shear test and one-dimensional frost heave test were employed in studying improvement effects.Moreover,improvement mechanisms of PVA and PP fiber were analyzed based on test results.The main findings are as follows.(1)Both PP and PVA can heighten the strength of silty clay and suppress frost heave,but the PVA solution has a more decisive influence on improving mechanical properties than PP fiber.(2)The improvement mechanism of the PVA solution is cementing.The improvement effect of 2%PVA solution is the best,which can increase the shear strength by approximately 40%–60%at different stress levels and decrease the frost heave ratio from 0.89%to 0.16%at optimal water content.(3)For 2%PVA improved samples,0.25%PP fiber can further increase soil cohesion by approximately 20–30 kPa at different stress levels and further decrease the frost heave ratio from 0.16%to 0.07%at optimal water content.The improvement effect is neglectable when the PP fiber content exceeds 0.25%.Overall,2%PVA with 0.25%PP fiber is the optimum combination to improve silty clay in cold regions.

Properties and Mechanism on Flexural Fatigue of Polypropylene Fiber Reinforced Concrete Containing Slag

Properties and mechanism were investigated on flexural fatigue of concrete containing polypropylene fibers and ground granulated blast furnace slag（GGBFS）.Four polypropylene fibers’volume fractions and five slag proportions were considered.An experiment was conducted to obtain the fatigue lives at three stress levels in 20 Hz frequency and at a constant stress level of 0.59 in four frequency respectively.Mechanism and evaluation were investigated based on the experimental data.Fatigue life span models were established.The results show that the addition of polypropylene fibers improves the flexural fatigue cumulative strength and fatigue life span.It is proposed that the slag particles and hydrated products improve Interfacial Transition Zone（ITZ）structure and benefit flexural fatigue performance.A composite reinforce effect is found with the incorporation of slag and polypropylene fibers.The optimum mixture contents 55%slag with 0.6%polypropylene fiber for the cumulative fatigue stress.Fatigue properties are decreased as the stress level increasing,the higher frequency reduces the fatigue strength more than lower frequency at a constant stress level.

Mechanical Properties of Polypropylene Fiber Reinforced Concrete under Elevated Temperature

Apart from many advantages,High Strength Concrete(HSC)has disadvantages in terms of brittleness and poor resistance to fire.Various studies suggest that when polypropylene(PP)fibers are uniformly distributed within concrete,they play an active role in improving spalling resistance of concrete when exposed to elevated temperature while having no adverse effect on its mechanical properties.Therefore,there is a necessity to quantify the effect of the addition of polypropylene fibers in terms of the fiber dosage,the strength of the concrete,and the residual mechanical properties of fiber-reinforced concrete under exposure to high temperature from fire.The study was carried out on three water/cement(w/c)ratios(0.47,0.36&0.20)using granite aggregate for determining short term mechanical properties of Polypropylene fiber reinforced concrete in comparison to control mix.The experimental program includes 100×200 mm&150 x 300 mm cylinders with fiber volume of 0.5%,that were subjected to temperatures exposures of 400°C and 600°C for durations of 1 hour.From the results,it was observed that no significant enhancement in mechanical properties such as modulus of elasticity,Poisson’s ratio,split tensile strength,flexural strength,and compressive strength was observed at room temperature and at elevated temperatures.

Preparation and mechanical properties of polypropylene fiber reinforced calcined kaolin-fly ash based geopolymer

To improve the environmental benefits and solve the problems of large shrinkage and high brittleness, the partial replacement of calcined kaolin by fly ash as a raw material for geopolymer synthesis and the influences of polypropylene (PP) fiber on the mechanical properties and volume stability were investigated. The results show that compressive strength of the geopolymer containing 33.3%(mass fraction) fly ash by steam curing at 80 ℃ for 6 d is improved by 35.5%. The 3-day compressive strength, flexural strength and impacting energy of geopolymers containing 0.05%PP fiber increase by 67.8%, 36.1% and 6.25%, while the shrinkage and modulus of compressibility decrease by 38.6% and 31.3%, respectively. The results of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and the appearances of crack growths confirm that PP fiber can offer a bridging effect over the harmful pores and defects and change the expanding ways of cracks, resulting in a great improvement of strength and toughness.

Effect of polypropylene fiber and coarse aggregate on the ductility and fluidity of cemented tailings backfill

Adding polypropylene(PP)fibers and coarse aggregates has become a popular way to enhance the strength and stability of the cemented tailings backfilling(CTB)body.It is essential to explore the influence of tailings-aggregate ratio and fiber content on the mechanical properties of CTB samples.The comprehensive tests of the unconfined compressive strength(UCS),slump and microstructure were designed,and the regression models were established to characterize the effect of the strength,ductility and fluidity.The results indicate that the tailings-aggregate ratio of 5:5 and PP fiber content of 0.5 kg/m^(3) are the optimum point considering the UCS,cracking strain,peak strain and post-peak ductility.The tailings-aggregate ratio is consistent with the unary quadratic to the UCS and a linear model with a negative slope to the slump.Microstructural analysis indicates that PP fiber tends to bridge the cracks and rod-mill sand to serve as the skeleton of the paste matrix,which can enhance the compactness and improve the ductility of the CTB.The results presented here are of great significance to the understanding and application of coarse aggregates and fibers to improve the mechanical properties of CTB.

The Mechanical Properties of Polypropylene Fiber Reinforced Concrete

The compressive, shear strengths and abrasion-erosion resistance as well as flexural properties of two polypropylene fiber reinforced concretes and the comparison with a steel fiber reinforced concrete were reported.The exprimental results show that a low content of polypropylene fiber (0.91kg/m3 of concrete) slightly decreases the compressive and shear strengths, and appreciably increased the flexural strength, but obviously enhances the toughness index and fracture energy for the concrete with the same mix proportion, consequently it plays a role of anti-cracking and improving toughness in concrete. Moreover, the polypropylene mesh fiber is better than the polypropylene monofilament fiber in improving flexural strength and toughness of concrete, but the two types of polypropylene fibers are inferior to steel fiber. All the polypropylene and steel fibers have no great beneficial effect on the abrasion-erosion resistance of concrete.

SURFACE MODIFICATION OF MICROPOROUS POLYPROPYLENE MEMBRANES BY GRAFT POLYMERIZATION OF N,N-DIMETHYLAMINOETHYL METHACRYLATE

Surface modification of microporous polypropylene hollow fiber membranes was performed by radical-induced graft polymerization of N,N-dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate (DMAEMA). The influences of temperature, monomer concentration and pre-adsorbed amount of benzoyl peroxide on grafting degree were studied respectively. It was found that the appropriate graft temperature was 75 'C, at which the grafting degree was the highest and the hydrolytic decomposition of DMAEMA the lowest. Scanning electron photomicrography and the average pore diameters of the modified membranes demonstrated that part of the micropores on the membrane surface was plugged by the grafted polyDMAEMA chains, especially at high grafting degree. Contact angle and water swelling experiments showed that a moderate grafting degree could improve the hydrophilicity of the membranes. In the range of 11.3%-12.0% grafting degree, the water swelling percentage reached its maximum (51.1%) and the contact angle reached its minimum (74 degrees). The bovine serum albumin (BSA) adsorption experiment indicated that the grafted polyDMAEMA had a dual effect on protein adsorption. At the first stage, the BSA adsorption decreased with increasing of DMAEMA grafting degree. As the interaction between BSA and polyDMAEMA on membrane surface increased, the BSA adsorption increased with increasing of DMAEMA grafting degree.

Damage Processes of Polypropylene Fiber Reinforced Mortar in Different Fiber Content Revealed by Acoustic Emission Behavior

The performances of the cement-based materials can be improved by the incorporation of polypropylene fiber, but the damage processes become more complex with different fiber contents at the same time. The acoustic emission（AE） technology can achieve the global monitoring of internal damage in materials. The evolution process of failure mode and damage degree of polypropylene fiber reinforced mortar and concrete were analyzed by measuring the AE energy, RA value, AF value and b value. It was found that the cement matrix cracked on the initial stage, the cracks further developed on the medium stage and the fibers were pulled out on the last stage. The matrix cracked with minor injury cracks, but the fiber broke with serious damage cracks. The cumulative AE energy was proportional to the polypropylene fiber reinforced concrete and mortar＇s ductility. The damage mode and damage degree can be judged by identifying the damage stage obtained by the analysis of the AF value.

Improving the Unconfined Compressive Strength of Red Clay by Combining Biopolymers with Fibers

To explore an environmentally friendly improvement measure for red clay,the function and mechanism of xanthan gum biopolymer and polypropylene fibers on the strength properties of red clay were investigated by unconfined compressive strength and scanning electron microscopy tests.The test results demonstrated that the contents and curing ages of xanthan gum had significant influences on the unconfined compressive strength of red clay.Compared with untreated soil,1.5%xanthan gum content was the optimal ratio in which the strength increment was between 41.52 kPa and 64.73 kPa.On the other hand,the strength of xanthan gum-treated red clay increased,whereas the ductility decreased with the increase in curing ages,indicating that the xanthan gum-treated red clay started to gradually consolidate after 3 days of curing and stiffness significantly improved between 7 and 28 days of curing.The results also showed that the synergistic consolidation effects of the xanthan gum–polypropylene fibers could not only effectively enhance the strength of red clay but also reduce the brittle failure phenomenon.The strengths of soil treated with 2.0%xanthan gum-polypropylene fibers were 1.9–2.41 and 1.12–1.47 times than that of red clay and 1.5%xanthan gum-treated clay,respectively.The results of study provide the related methods and experiences for the field of ecological soil treatment.

Flexural Strength and Behavior of Polypropylene Fiber Reinforced Concrete Beams

The strength and deformation characteristics of polypropylene fiber reinforced concrete ( PFRC) beams were investigated by four-point bending procedures in this paper. Two kinds of polypropylene fibers with different fiber contents (0.2% , 0.5% , 1.0% and 1.5% ) by volume were used in, the beam, which measured 100 × 100 mm with a span of 300 mm. It was found that the strength of the reinforced concrete beams was significantly decreased, whereas the flexural toughness was improved, compared to those unreinforced concrete beams. Geometry properties and volume contents of polypropylene fiber were considered to be important factors for improving the flexural toughness. Moreover, the composite mechanism between polypropylene fiber and concrete was analyzed and discussed.