Comparative study of carbon fiber and galvanized iron textile reinforced concrete

Carbon fiber textile (CT) is established as retrofitting and strengthening material for reinforced concrete structures worldwide. The CT is also used as reinforcing layers of thin wall concrete structures. However, its use in developing and underdeveloped countries is not widespread. On the other hand, galvanized iron textile (GIT) is cheaper than CT and is durable due to the galvanization of the iron wires. Therefore, its use as reinforcing thin concrete structures can be a potential alternative to CT. This paper presents a comparative study on the flexural and impact behaviour of textile-reinforced concrete (TRC) containing CT and GIT. Two types of specimens are cast, for the flexural behaviour, TRC panels of 750 mm x 300 mm, and for the impact behaviour, TRC plates of 300 mm x 170 mm of 50 mm and 75 mm thicknesses containing single layer and double layer CT and GIT. Results show that the flexural load capacity of GIT panels does not significantly increase with the increase in the GIT layer; however, it increases in CT panels by around 126% in 50 mm and 33% in 75 mm thick panels. Furthermore, CT with double layer reinforcement withstood more load than control specimens with a higher reinforcement percentage. Under impact loading, the CT reinforced specimens required up to thirty-seven times higher number of blows to fail than the GIT reinforced specimens with both circular and conical shaped impactors. With a circular impactor, CT reinforced specimens having 50 mm and 75 mm thickness show around twenty times and seventeen times greater impact energy, respectively than their GIT counterparts. While with a conical impactor, the CT reinforced specimens show around twenty-four and eighteen times higher impact energy than its GIT counterparts.

Automated summary

Carbon fiber textile (CT) is widely recognized as a retrofitting and strengthening material for reinforced concrete structures, while the use of galvanized iron textile (GIT) as an alternative to CT is not common in developing and underdeveloped countries due to its lower cost and durability. This study compares the flexural and impact behavior of textile-reinforced concrete (TRC) containing CT and GIT. Results show that the flexural load capacity significantly increases in CT panels, but not in GIT panels. Additionally, CT reinforced specimens demonstrate higher impact energy and resistance compared to GIT reinforced specimens.