A Review on Flattened-End Nylon Fibre-Reinforced Geopolymer Concrete for Sustainable Composite Sandwich Panels

Authors:

Sonali Rohit*1, Amit Pandey *2, Ragini mishra*3

*¹Research Scholar, Department of Civil Engineering, Babulal Tarabai Institute of Research & Technology, Sagar (M.P.), India.

*²Asst. Prof., Department of Civil Engineering, Babulal Tarabai Institute of Research & Technology, Sagar (M.P.), India.

*3HOD, Department of Civil Engineering, Babulal Tarabai Institute of Research & Technology, Sagar (M.P.), India

Abstract:

The construction industry around the world is faced with two challenges: housing demand is continuously increasing and CO₂ emissions need to be drastically decreased. This represents an annual CO₂ emission of about 1.56 billion metric tonnes, from Portland cement production alone. Geopolymer Concrete (GPC) is a potential alternative low carbon concrete made with fly ash (FA) and ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS) as industrial by-products. When combined with Composite Sandwich Panels (CSPs), GPC provides lightweight, thermally efficient and structurally strong precast elements. GPC has, however, suffered from its own brittleness and lack of post-cracking resistance, restricting its use in structures. The findings of an experimental study on the use of a new developed Flattened-End Nylon Fibre (FENF) in traditional and geopolymer concrete matrices for CSP wythes and the evaluation of the mechanical, durability and structural performance are summarized in this review. FENF with volume fraction of 1.5% and aspect ratio of 55 was found to be having an improvement of 26.1% in flexural strength and 24.1% in split-tensile strength as compared to plain concrete, and workability was also found to be within the range of slump of slabs (100–120 mm). Durability was outstanding with water absorption under 0.61% and permeable voids of as little as 1.60%. CSPs with FENF-reinforced GPC wythes exhibited an ultimate load of 36.7 kN, ductility factor of 8.7 and an improvement of 10.9% in ultimate load compared to unreinforced GPC panels (at no additional panel density). Full-scale testing, fatigue characterization, hybrid fibre systems, life cycle assessment, and fire/blast resistance evaluation are identified as critical research pathways that will lead to broad use of FENF-reinforced GPC in precast construction, particularly in seismic-prone areas.

Keywords: Flattened-End Nylon Fibres (FENF); Geopolymer Concrete; Composite Sandwich Panels; Mechanical Properties; Durability; Ductility; Sustainable Construction; Fibre-Reinforced Concrete