Polypropylene fiber reinforced concrete improved by using silica fume and acrylic emulsion polymer

The current study aims at exploring the beneficial effect of silica fume (SF) and acrylic emulsion polymer (PR) on the enhanced properties of polypropylene fiber reinforced concrete (FRC) with the supplementary cementitious binder comprised of the Portland cement, slag, silica fume and fly ash. The compressive strength and impact-abrasion resistance were used for the estimation of engineering properties while the water absorption performance, surface electricity resistance, and rapid chloride penetration resistance were used for estimation of durability. Experimental results showed that a sole addition of SF increased the compressive strengths but decreased the abrasion-impact resistances of modified FRCs, which was just opposite to the influence of a sole addition of PR. A sole addition of either the SF or PR could moderately improve the durability of modified FRCs, respectively. However, due to the beneficial effect of the complementary interaction between SF and the optimal amount of PR, the mechanical properties and durability of modified FRCs seemed to become significantly improved.