Investigations on the Response of Novel Layered Geopolymer Fibrous Concrete to Drop Weight Impact

In recent years, geopolymer concrete (GC) has become more popular in construction because of its multiple benefits, such as eco-friendliness, high temperature resistance and resistance to chemical attack in harsh environments. However, GC has limited deformation capability and tensile strength compared to ordinary concrete. Geopolymer fibrous concrete (GFC) exhibits high mechanical properties, such as compressive strength and impact strength. This study aimed to develop a novel composite comprising GFC at the tension zone and GC at the compression zone, and vice versa, are these composites were examined. The impact resistance of two-layered GC-GFC with various ratios (25–75, 50–50, 75–25%) was examined. In addition, a single layer specimen comprising GC and GFC was fabricated and tested as the reference specimen. Twenty-nine mixtures were developed and divided into four series. Four different types of fibre were used in this study; short polypropylene fibre, long polypropylene fibre, short steel fibre and long steel fibre. The ACI committee 544 drop weight test was used to evaluate the impact strength of specimens. Results indicated that the impact strength of GFC was significantly improved in long steel fibre-based specimens. In addition, two-layered specimens comprising different fibres—short polypropylene, long polypropylene, short steel and long steel—exhibited a positive influence on impact strength. Compared to a single-layer specimen, inferior impact strength was recorded in the two-layered specimen.

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