Experimental study on the axial tensile properties of polypropylene fiber reinforced concrete

In order to study the axial tensile properties of polypropylene fiber reinforced concrete, an axial tensile test device for concrete is developed in this paper. The device is composed of three parts: rigid frame, spherical hinge and puller, and specimen fabrication part. The test device can accurately measure the tensile strength and peak tensile strain of concrete, and perfectly solves the eccentricity problem of concrete specimens under tension. It can measure the post peak segment tensile strain, such that the whole process tensile stress–strain curve can be obtained. The axial tensile test of polypropylene fiber concrete was carried out using the above test device, and the results show that the tensile strength of concrete can be clearly improved by adding polypropylene fiber, which makes the tensile failure of concrete show certain plastic characteristics. The test results show that with the increase in fiber content, the tensile strength of concrete increases first and then decreases. The effects of polypropylene fiber content and curing age on the tensile properties of concrete were studied and the optimum polypropylene fiber content was determined. When the fiber content is 0.9 kg/m(3), the tensile strength of concrete reaches the maximum value. The splitting tensile test of concrete under the same condition was carried out simultaneously. The damage phenomenon and test results of the axial tensile test and splitting tensile test of concrete were compared and analyzed, and the applicability of the new developed device in the concrete axial tensile test was verified.