Effect of nano-particles on durability of fiber-reinforced concrete pavement

In this study frost resistance and mechanical properties of fiber-reinforced concrete pavement containing nano-particles are studied. Nano-particles are employed to be as substitute of a portion of cement. For comparison the frost resistance and mechanical properties of plain concrete (control concrete), concrete containing nano-particles (without fibers) and concrete containing polypropylene fibers are also experimentally studied separately in this work. The specimens were subjected to cycles of freezing and thawing in water according to ASTM C666A. Experimental results show that using 5% nano-silica (by the weight of cementitious materials) improves the compressive strength and frost resistance of concrete as much as 30% and 83% respectively. Substitution 3% of cement by nano-alumina particles can improve compressive strength and frost durability of concrete as much as 8% and 81% respectively. Experimental results also show that polypropylene fibers can slightly affect the frost durability and compressive strength of concrete. As a general result it can be concluded that using nano-particles incorporating polypropylene fibers enhances frost resistance and compressive strength of concrete pavement because of that the permeability and porosity of concrete are reduced due to the use of nano-particles and also the tensile strength of concrete is enhanced due to the use of polypropylene fibers. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.