Experimental evaluation of dynamic properties of fibre reinforced polymer modified concrete

Findings of this research will determine how Fibre Reinforced Polymer Modified Concrete (FRPMC) can provide improved mechanical performance under dynamic loading conditions. One important parameter in a concrete structure is the damping characteristics of the concrete material. In places with earthquakes or wind loads, high risks are posed to buildings and more specifically tall buildings. Two main sources of damping are categorised as intrinsic damping which is basically provided by the structure and its material, and the supplementary damping that is the additional devices attached to the structure such as tuned mass dampers, sloshing dampers, viscous dampers, and friction devices. Damping ratios of plain concrete, with or without reinforcement, is known to have relatively non-desirable properties. Accordingly, to improve the structural damping of buildings, additional dampers are introduced. The human resource, material and maintenance costs of these dampers are relatively high. Concrete buildings are generally known to have damping of 1-3% of critical. If it is possible to increase this percentage up to 5% or more, dampers can be eliminated or reduced in some of the structures and save a lot of energy and money. In this research, Styrene Butadiene (SB) Latex as polymer and Polypropylene (PP) fibre as intrinsic reinforcement have been added to concrete to evaluate the dynamic properties of FRPMC. Mechanical properties of the concrete are tested and an impact resonance test is performed on prismatic concrete samples. Results of the tests show that adding 10% SB latex increases the damping ratio of the concrete material. Adding lower percentage of PP fibre does not affect the material damping ratio significantly whereas in higher percentage up to 1%, damping enhancement can greatly be achieved.