Polypropylene synthetic fibres in concrete road pavements for typical road construction (R-4147)

Fibre reinforced concrete (FRC) is a composite material of a concrete matrix and discrete, randomly dispersed fibres. The purpose of these fibres (steel, synthetic or natural) is to withstand the tensile stresses in the concrete and to limit the crack openings through an improved post-cracking behaviour. Fibre reinforced concrete is already applied as structural reinforcement in the construction of bridge decks, industrial slabs-on-ground, engineering structures,... Within the domain of roadway construction its use has currently been limited to the construction of (small-scale) roundabouts, service areas of service stations along highways, entrances and exits of industrial zones,... This PhD research concentrates on the applicability of polypropylene synthetic fibres as structural and/or functional reinforcement in concrete road pavements (ultrathin overlays, functionally graded pavements,...) for typical road construction. Previous research indicates that the use of polypropylene synthetic fibres inter alia leads to an improved fatigue, impact and abrasion resistance and a decrease of plastic shrinkage and permeability of the concrete, which is favorable for the sustainability, safety,... of the road pavement. Laboratory experiments (beams, round plates) will be carried out to examine the most important material properties that affect the improved performances of the road pavement. The finite element method (FEM) hereby allows for the numerical modeling of the (cracking) behaviour of polypropylene synthetic fibre reinforced concrete. A Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) will analyze the economical (fuel consumption, production and energy costs,...), ecological (recyclability, CO2-emission,...) and sociological (comfort, health,...) impact of polypropylene synthetic fibre reinforced concrete. All influence factors from the extraction of raw materials through the destruction of the concrete road pavement will be examined, i.e. during the entire life cycle of the concrete (cradle-to-grave analysis).

Keywords:bouwkunde

Disciplines:Ceramic and glass materials, Materials science and engineering, Semiconductor materials