The Effect of the Basalt Fiber on Mechanical Properties and Corrosion Durability in Concrete

Cement-based materials have low tensile strength and naturel or synthetic-based fibers can be added to the concrete in order to eliminate this adverse effect. In this study, it was aimed to investigate the effects of basalt fiber on the mechanical properties of concrete and the corrosion performance of reinforcement concrete specimens. Control mix, 1, 2, and 3% basalt fiber additive concrete specimens were produced in the study. Concrete specimens were cured in a standard water curing environment for mechanical, physical, and durability tests. Unit weight, ultrasound transition time, splitting-tensile, compression, flexure, electrical resistivity, and rapid chloride permeability tests were performed on concrete specimens. Furthermore, accelerated corrosion and half-cell potential experiments were made on the reinforcement concrete specimens. The changes occurring under the effect of corrosion and the changes in the mechanical and physical properties of the control and basalt fiber concrete series were examined. A significant increase was observed in bending and splitting tensile strengths compared to the reference concrete by using basalt fibers in the concrete mixture. The best results in corrosion tests were seen in 2% basalt fiber reinforced concrete specimens. It has been observed that concretes by using basalt fiber are more resistant to corrosion than control specimens.