PSI - Issue 70

V. Preethi et al. / Procedia Structural Integrity 70 (2025) 271–278

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3. Results and Discussions 3.1. Effect of Water content and GF dosage on Compressive strength of concrete

The variation of compressive strength with the change in water content and volume of glass fibers are presented in Fig 2. It includes both a 2D contour plot and a 3D surface plot to depict the interaction between these variables and their collective influence on the behavior of compressive strength of concrete.

Fig. 2. Prediction results of Compressive Strength w.r.t. Water content and GF (%) In the contour plot, compressive strength values are mapped across varying levels of water content (ranging from 153 to 278 kg/m3) and GF content (from 0% to 4.5%). The color gradient clearly shows that higher compressive strengths are achieved at lower water contents and higher GF percentages. For instance, at a water content below 180 kg/m3 and GF more than 3.6%, the compressive strength reaches close to 60 MPa. In contrast, as water content increases and at low GF percentage, there is a substantial decrease in strength, with values approaching 20 MPa in the least favorable conditions. The 3D surface plot reinforces these observations, showing a descending trend in compressive strength as water content increases and GF dosage decreases. This clearly indicates that the incorporation of glass fibers improves concrete strength, particularly when the water content is maintained low. 3.2. Effect of Water content and GF dosage on Flexural strength of concrete The contour plot shown in Fig 3 indicates that flexural strength increases with a higher percentage of GF and lower water content. Specifically, regions with GF content above 3.6% and water content below 180 kg/m3 exhibit higher strength values nearing 9.68 MPa. On the other hand, when the GF content is minimal and the water content exceeds 230 kg/m3, the flexural strength drops significantly to around 2.86 MPa.

Fig. 3. Prediction results of Flexural Strength w.r.t. Water content and GF (%)