 Application of Bamboo Fibre Reinforced Concrete in Rigid Pavement in Improving

Flexural Behaviour and Capacity For Rigid Pavements

- A
- B
- My name is Hafiz M Awais.
- The title of this research is “Application of Bamboo Fibre Reinforced Concrete in
Rigid Pavement in Improving Flexural Behaviour and Capacity For Rigid Pavements”

 Research motive
- The motivation of conducting this research is to provide better infrastructure for road
pavements to public.
- By minimizing detrimental effects on rigid pavements, overall maintenance cost will be
reduced.
- To provide a smooth, comfortable and durable surface for traffic to move.
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 Literature review
- Aspect 1
- Janq et al. (1994) reported that crack formation in concrete pavements is mainly due to
the development of tensile stresses caused by temperature-induced volumetric change .
- William et al. (2002) reported that combining the tensile stresses with low resistance
concrete result in cracking.
- Aspect 2
- Yildizel in (2014) used basalt fibre reinforced concrete to enhance freeze-thaw
resistance. Basalt fibres of 6 mm, 12 mm and 24 mm in length were added to the
mixture, 2% by volume.
- It was concluded that flexural strength increases for basalt fibre reinforced concrete
 Aspect 3
- Brindha et al. in (2017) made the comparison between the PC & BFRC at 7 days, 14
days and 28 days curing.
- Improved tensile strength (upto 37%) was observed.
 Aspect 4
- Ali in (2012) reviewed the use of natural fibres, including bamboo fibre, as a
construction material and their use as a reinforcement of concrete is economical to
improve their tensile strength.
- To the author’s best knowledge, the research conducted bamboo fibre reinforced
concrete (BFRC) is very limited for for improving flexural behaviour and capacity of
pavements.
- Problem statement
- These picture shows the cracks in rigid pavement section.(Slide No 5)
- These crack needs to be controlled for long term performance of rigid pavements.
- To attain this objective, the fibers can be utilized in concrete to improve their
performance against these types of cracks.

 Overall aim and Specific goal

- The overall aim of this research program is to explore materials for better performance
of rigid pavements by using the concrete having enhanced functionality and durability.
- The specific goal of this research is to enhance flexural performance and capacity
of conventional concrete (PC) by inclusion of bamboo fibers.

 Scope of work and Limitation

- In this work, flexural load carrying capacity of bamboo fiber reinforced concrete
(BFRC) and reinforced concrete (RC) were determined.
- For determining material property only two specimens were casted separately from RC
and BFRC.
- This results of this study will be valid for only 5% of bamboo fibre by mass of cement.

 Background
- The mix design ratio for plain concrete i.e. (cement: sand: aggregate: water are 1:4:2:
0.6)
- The same mix design ratio is used for BFRC having 5cm long fibers by 5% content of
cement mass.
- The longitudinal and transverse reinforcement in PC and BFRC beam-lets are Ø6 steel
rebars of Grade-280.
- Two beamlets were casted for each PC and BFRC.
- Slump, density and MoR test were performed as per ASTM standards.
- Same ASTM procedure was adopted for BFRC because of non-availability of fiber
reinforced concrete test standards.

 Design Equation
- The design equation for flexural capacity is shown for BFRC and PC . (Slide no 9)
- The rigid pavement design equation is shown .(Slide no 9)
whereas ZR = Standard normal deviation for desired reliability; W18 = Traffic load in
equivalent standard axle loads; D = Slab thickness (mm); SO = Overall standard
deviation ; S’c = Flexural strength of concrete (MPa) ; Ec = Elastic modulus of
concrete (MPa); PSI = Serviceability index; Cd = Drainage coefficient ; k =
subgrade reaction modulus and J= Load transfer coefficient .

 Empirical Design Equation(Code Recommended)

- The empirical design equation between modulus of elasticity and cylindrical
compressive strength is shown (Slide no 10)
- The empirical design equation between modulus of rupture and cylindrical compressive
strength is shown (Slide no 10)

 Empirical Design Equation(Regression analysis)

- The empirical design equation between modulus of elasticity and cylindrical
compressive strength is shown (Slide no 11)
- The empirical design equation between modulus of rupture and cylindrical compressive
strength is shown (Slide no 11)

 Results (Flexural properties)

- The load-deformation curves of PC and BFRC are shown here (Slide no 12).
- The first crack in PC and BFRC appeared at 60% and 100% of their respective
maximum load as shown in graph
- Energy absorbed is taken as total area under load-deformation curve from zero to
maximum stress.
- The toughness index is the ratio of energy absorbed to pre-crack energy absorbed.
- The ductility is the ratio of ultimate deflection over the maximum load deflection.
- The MoR ,Energy absorbed ,toughness & ductility of PC and BFRC are shown here
(Slide no 12).
- An increase in all the properties mention above are observed for BFRC as compared to
that of PC as shown here.

 Flexural capacity
- The comparison of theoretical and experimental moment capacities for PC and BFRC is
given (Slide no 13).
- A maximum increase of 5 % in moment capacity of BFRC with flexural reinforcement
(i.e. 2 -Ø6 ) is observed as shown here.(Slide no 13).
 Rigid pavement design
- The rigid pavement design by using code recommended relationship is shown (Slide no
14).
- A decrease of 5 % in thickness was observed in case of BFRC as shown here (Slide no
14).

- The rigid pavement design by using empirical relationship is shown (Slide no 14).
- A decrease of 3% in thickness was also observed in case of BFRC as shown here
(Slide no 14).

 Discussion
- Cracks formation in rigid pavements was mainly due to development of tensile stresses
(Jenq et al. 1994).
- For the bamboo fibers,an increase in tensile properties was found as compared to PC.
(Brindha et al. 2017).
- MoR for BFRC increases by 10% (current study).
- Moment capacity for BFRC increases by 5% (current study).

 Conclusion
- MoR, E, TI & µ of BFRC were increased by 42%, 73%, 225% and 300% respectively
as compared to that of PC, ensuring its high performance.
- Thickness of rigid pavement for BFRC decreased by 3% as compared to that of PC,
ensuring its low cost as compared to PC.
- Moment capacity for BFRC increases by 5% , ensuring its high performance.
- Overall results are favouring its utility for use in rigid pavements in improving capacity
and performance.

 Recommendations
- To investigate BFRC & its other properties with different mix design ratios (i.e.
fibres length, content mix design ratio, w/c ratio, etc.) for its application in rigid
pavement.
- To investigate the effectiveness of bamboo fibre in reducing cost and improving
performance.

 Acknowledgements
- The author would like to thanks Engr. Dr. Majid Ali for his kind guidance during the
research.
 Thank you!!
 Any Questions??
 Reference