Construction and Building Materials 186 (2018) 678–685

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Construction and Building Materials

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The properties of chopped basalt fibre reinforced self-compacting

concrete
Zeynep Algin a,⇑, Mustafa Ozen b
a
Department of Civil Engineering, Harran University, 63000 Sßanlıurfa, Turkey
b
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Harran University, 63000 Sßanlıurfa, Turkey

h i g h l i g h t s

We studied utilization of different amount and length of basalt fibre in SCC.

Effect of basalt fibre on the fresh and hardened properties of SCC was investigated.

The addition of basalt fibre in SCC decreases the workability.

Utilization of basalt fibre improves the mechanical properties of SCC.

The optimum values of fibre content and length were determined using RSM.

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: The use of basalt fibre in the production of self-compacting concrete (SCC) has been studied to identify
Received 23 January 2018 how the fresh and hardened properties of SCC are affected by the addition of fibre. The basalt fibres of
Received in revised form 8 June 2018 3, 6, 12 and 24 mm in length are incorporated into the SCC mixtures as 0%, 0.1%, 0.3% and 0.5% of concrete
Accepted 11 July 2018
volume. After the progression of flow diameter, T500 flow time and V-funnel time tests on the fresh SCC,
Available online 28 July 2018
the tests of compressive strength, flexural strength, splitting tensile strength, rapid chloride permeability
and water penetration have been conducted to identify the hardened properties of SCC produced with
Keywords:
basalt fibre. The response surface method is employed in the conducted multi objective optimization
Self-compacting concrete
Basalt fibre
analysis considering the maximisation of the compressive, flexural and splitting tensile strength param-
Strength eters while minimising the response criterion of rapid chloride permeability and water penetration
Durability depth. The results reveal that the use of basalt fibre decreases the workability but improves the mechan-
Fresh properties ical properties of SCC. The highest flexural and splitting tensile strength results are obtained from the
Multi-objective optimization concrete mixtures incorporated with the content of 0.5% fibre having the length of 24 mm. Whereas,
the highest compressive strength result is obtained from the mixtures containing the fibre content of
0.1% for the utilised fibre lengths of 12 mm and 24 mm. The optimum volume fraction and length of
basalt fibre are determined as 0.49% and 21.12 mm considering the optimized strength and permeability
based durability properties of SCC.
Ó 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
Since the limited amount of short fibre addition into the fresh
concrete during the mixing process increases the toughness of con-
crete [1], many researches [2–5] reveal that the incorporation of
steel, polymer, glass and carbon fibres into concrete significantly
improves the material properties such as the tensile, flexural,
impact, fatigue and abrasion strength characteristics. The increase
⇑ Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: zyilmaz@harran.edu.tr (Z. Algin), mustafaozen@harran.edu.tr
(M. Ozen).
in the toughness of concrete and in the reduction of the size and
amount of defects subsequently improve the performance of the
concrete by remedying its brittle behaviour that mostly provokes
the low values of properties such as tensile strength, ductility
and energy absorption.
Basalt fibre is relatively a new type of inorganic fibre that is
produced by environmentally friendly melting process of volcanic
rocks in non-hazardous manner [6–8]. Although the production
process of basalt fibre is similar to that of glass fibre, it consumes
less energy and misses out the additives. In this sense, basalt
fibre is of advantageous in terms of the cost than that of glass or
carbon fibres [8–10]. Additionally, basalt fibre is an alternative

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2018.07.089
0950-0618/Ó 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
 Z. Algin, M. Ozen / Construction and Building Materials 186 (2018) 678–685
reinforcement material for concrete compared to other fibres such
as glass, carbon or aramid owing to the several advantages of
higher graded material properties on its modulus, strength,
thermal and chemical resistance [7,8,11–16].
Ma et al. [17] has conducted a laboratory study on the concrete
incorporated with pre-soaked basalt fibre in various lengths (10, 20
and 30 mm) and dosages (3, 5 and 7 kg/m3). It is revealed that the
increase in content and length of basalt fibre reduces the workabil-
ity of concrete [17]. The effect of basalt fibre utilisation with the
various ratios (0–0.5%) on the workability of concrete has also been
investigated by Borhan [18] who concluded that the increase in the
percentage of fibre volume leads to a reduction in the slump value
of concrete. Singaravadivelan et al. [19] states that the slump of
concrete mixture produced with different basalt fibre contents
decreases while the fibre content is increased. The reduction in
the workability of concrete is attributed to the large fibre surface
area and the high utilisation content of fibres that absorb more
cement paste to wrap around. This subsequently constitutes a
reduction in the water cement ratio and the increase in viscosity
of mixture that finally leads to the loss of slump [4,20,21].
Arivalagan [22] underlines that the compressive strength of
concrete incorporated with basalt fibre is higher than the compres-
sive strength of the control concrete. Borhan [18] also states that
the compressive strength of concrete is increased by the increment
in the content of basalt fibre utilised up to the incorporation of 0.3%
and this enhancement gradually decreases by the further increase
of this ratio. The effect of basalt fibre lengths on the compressive
strength of concrete has been studied by Palchik [23] who states
that the concrete incorporated with basalt fibre having the lengths
of 12 and 24 mm lead to increase the compressive strength as 58%
and 25%, respectively. However, Ma et al. [17] highlights that the
variation in content and length of pre-soaked basalt fibre does
not induce an increase at the compressive strength of concrete.
Jun and Ye [24] point out that the maximum compressive strength
value is achieved for the basalt fibre utilisation of 0.1%.
Considering the tensile strength variation, Ma et al. [17] has also
investigated the effect of different lengths of basalt fibre (10, 20
and 30 mm) on the tensile strength of concrete. It is stated that
the increase in the length of pre-soaked basalt fibre causes a rise
in the tensile strength value and the highest tensile strength is
achieved by the use of basalt fibre having the length of 30 mm.
Budkonstruktsiya [25] has investigated the effect of basalt fibre
on the tensile strength of concrete using the fibre lengths of 12,
24 and 50 mm with the amount of 1–3%. It is underlined that the
higher tensile strength values are achieved for the fibre length of
12 mm and the utilisation of 1–2%. It is also highlighted that an
insignificant difference is observed between the tensile strength
values of concrete mixes having the fibre lengths of 24 and 50
mm [25]. Ketan and Kulkarni [26] however point out that the addi-
tion of 1% basalt fibre reduces the tensile strength of concrete.
Chen [27] states that the utilisation of basalt fibre increases the
28 days tensile strength of concrete about 19%.
The effect of basalt fibre utilisation on the flexural strength of
the concrete has been investigated by Jun and Ye [24] using the
fibre having the length of 30 mm and the incorporated fibre
amount of 0.1–0.35%. The drawn conclusions include that the flex-
ural strength of concrete increases with the rising amount of fibre
addition and the maximum value of flexural strength is obtained in
the case of 0.3% basalt fibre utilisation. However, Ketan and Kulka-
rni [26] state that 1% basalt fibre addition to concrete reduces the
flexural strength. Al-Baijat [28] concludes that the increase in the
amount of basalt fibre utilisation leads to higher flexural strength
of the concrete.
The availability of surplus raw materials and the low production
cost of basalt fibre increase its widespread utilisation as a concrete
reinforcement material. This popular attracted reference has
679
brought about the need to fully identify the effect of basalt fibre
utilisation in the mechanical properties of concrete. In this sense,
many researchers [18,20,29] have investigated this issue in the
current literature and highlighted that the incorporating amount
of basalt fibre up to approximately 0.3–0.5% by volume provides
beneficial results. However, this outcome and the utilised fibre
content differ notably in terms of the type of concrete produced [30].
Mohamed and Al-Hawat [31] investigated influence of fly ash
and basalt fibre on strength and chloride penetration resistance
of SCC. It was stated that addition of basalt fibre (varying range
of 1–2%) to the SCC mixture incorporated with 40% fly ash
improves chloride penetration resistance of SCC compared to the
mixture without basalt fibre.
In the study conducted by Paulraj et al. [32], the behaviour of
SCC produced with basalt fibre was investigated using the fibre
amounts ranging from 0.6% to 2.0%. It was stated that the addition
of fibre into SCC increases the 28-day splitting tensile and flexural
strength by 5% to 50% and 30% to 48%, respectively. It was revealed
that the 7, 14 and 28-day compressive strength, splitting tensile
strength and flexural strength results from SCC mixtures produced
with basalt fibres become highest for the fibre utilisations of 0.3%,
0.4% and 1.4%, respectively.
Ponikiewski and Katzer [33] conducted a study in which the
effect of fibre type and content on the rheological properties of
SCC was analysed. It was stated that SCC can be successfully formed
despite the deterioration of the workability due to fibre addition.
Rohilla et al. [34] examined fresh and hardened properties of
SCC reinforced with various fibre contents. It was stated that the
addition of fibre to SCC induces to loss of the fresh concrete char-
acteristics. Also, it was revealed that 28-day compressive strength,
split tensile strength and flexural strength results of SCC incorpo-
rated with the content of 0.25% basalt fibre causes the increase
by about 50%, 34% and 61% compared to the control concrete,
respectively. In this study it was indicated that basalt fibre is the
best option to improve the overall quality of SCC pertaining to opti-
mum dosage and cost.
Accordingly, the recent increase in the use of basalt fibre as a
micro-reinforcement in the concrete production industry has
brought about the need to investigate how the basalt fibre utilisa-
tion affects the engineering properties of SCC. Although several
studies [4,6–30] have been carried out to establish the influence
of basalt fibre addition on the properties of conventional concrete,
most of the previous studies [31–37] pertaining to self-compacting
concrete have been conducted to investigate the influence of only
the amount of basalt fibre and the invariant fibre length. In order to
overcome this shortcoming in the current literature, the presented
paper focuses on the behaviour of self-compacting concrete using
two factors influencing the results that are the varying amounts
(0.1–0.5%) and lengths (3–24 mm) of basalt fibre. These engaging
varying independent variables provide an opportunity to identify
the optimum basalt fibre length and amount that should be uti-
lised in an effective SCC mixture design incorporated with basalt
fibre. Accordingly, the objective of this study is to investigate the
potential use of basalt fibre and identify these optimum levels
for the amount and length of basalt fibre affecting the mechanical
and permeability related properties of SCC. In this respect, this
paper tackles this important issue and provides the scientific data
required by the concrete industry for the production of SCC rein-
forced with basalt fibre.
2. Experimental details and methodology
2.1. Materials
The materials used in this research are CEM I 42.5R Portland cement, natural
fine and coarse aggregates, superplasticizer and basalt fibre having the length of
3, 6, 12 and 24 mm. The typical chemical compositions and some physical
680 Z. Algin, M. Ozen / Construction and Building Materials 186 (2018) 678–685

Table 1 properties of Portland cement are provided in Table 1. In the produced SCC mixes,
Chemical composition and physical properties of the commercially available polycarboxylic-ether type superplasticizer (SP) having
cement. specific gravity of 1.10 is used.
The river sand is utilized as fine aggregate having the maximum size of 4 mm.
Chemical properties The values of specific gravity and water absorption for this sand are 2.63 and 0.55%,
CaO 64.15 respectively. The basalt coarse aggregate having the maximum size of 16 mm and
SiO2 19.18 the specific gravity value of 2.9 is also used in the production of SCC mixes. Particle
Al2O3 5.15 size gradations and some physical properties of these aggregates are provided in
Fe2O3 3.13 Table 2.
MgO 1.48 The typical views for basalt fibres having the length of 3, 6, 12 and 24 mm used
SO3 2.50 in this study are shown in Fig. 1. These fibres have a specific weight of 2.78 and the
K2O 0.56 filament diameter of 14 ± 2 mm.
Na2O 0.21
Loss on ignition (%) 3.44
Physical properties 2.2. Details of mixes and preparation
Specific gravity 3.12
Blaine fineness (m2/kg) 293 SCC mixes are produced with the water/cement (w/c) ratio of 0.4 and the
cement dosage of 500 kg/m3. 50% of total aggregate weight is used as river sand
for the fine aggregate, and basalt aggregate is used as coarse aggregate. Table 3
shows the detail composition of thirteen different concrete mixtures prepared in
Table 2 this study. The name of each mix varies according to the length and amount of
Physical properties and sieve analysis results of aggregates. the basalt fibres used. For instance, the notation of BF3%0.1 indicate that for this
SCC mixture the basalt fibre length of 3 mm is used and the amount of fibre incor-
Sieve analysis Percentage passing (%)
porated into the mix is the content of 0.1% based on the concrete volume.
River sand Coarse aggregate Since the produced SCC mixes are targeted to be in the class of SF2 according to
EFNARC [38], the amount of superplasticizer is increased for the mixes incorporated
Sieve size (mm)
with the fibre having the volumetric content of 0.5%, except for the mixture with
16 100 100
the fibre length of 3 mm. In order to have the uniform distribution of basalt fibre
8 100 47.6
in the SCC mixtures, the coarse aggregate and the fibre are mixed first, then the
4 99.8 3.5
cement and the fine aggregate are incorporated with the mixing process. The dura-
2 94.4 0.4
tion of this dry blending is increased depending on the increment in the amount of
1 61.9 0
basalt fibre utilised. The water and superplasticiser are gradually incorporated into
0.5 29.6 0
the dry blend and mixed about 3 min. Then, the concrete mixture is left to rest for 1
0.25 7.8 0
min to be able to extract the air bubbles inside and finally the mixture is mixed
Fineness modulus 2.06 5.48
another 1–2 min and thereafter the mixing process is completed.
Physical properties
Specific gravity 2.63 2.9
Absorption (%) 0.55 0.45 2.3. Testing

Fig. 1. Basalt fibres having the lengths of 3, 6, 12 and 24 mm.
The testing program is designed to identify the effect of the considered fibre
length and quantity on the fresh and hardened properties of SCCs produced. Accord-
ingly, the tests for V-funnel time, T500 flow time and slump flow diameter are con-
ducted to define the fresh properties. Additionally, the tests for compressive
strength, flexural strength, splitting tensile strength, rapid chloride permeability,
and water penetration are performed to determine the hardened properties of
SCC produced with basalt fibre.
The defined specifications in EFNARC [38] is followed to identify the fresh
properties of SCCs produced. In this context, the slump-flow test advises on the
flowability and flow rate, the T500 time test provides the information on the speed
of flow and V-funnel test measures the filling ability of the SCC produced. The
V-funnel flow time is measured using the V shaped funnel test apparatus in which
the fresh concrete is filled up and released by the lower rim and the time taken for
concrete to flow out of the funnel is measured as the V-funnel flow time. The former
tests are conducted by pouring the concrete into the slump cone, it is proceeded by
the upward movement of cone which causes the concrete to flow freely. In this
process the time for the concrete to reach a diameter of 500 mm is named as T500
time. The largest diameter that is defined as the slump-flow diameter is defined
as the average of the longitudinally perpendicular spreading diameters of SCCs
tested.

Table 3
The proportions of SCCs (kg/m3).

Mix No. Mix Description w/c Cement Water SP Aggregate

River Sand (0–4 mm) Coarse Aggregate (8–16 mm) Coarse Aggregate (4–8 mm)
1 Control 0.4 500 200 4 855.65 256.69 598.95
2 BF3%0.1 0.4 500 200 4 855.65 256.69 598.95
3 BF3%0.3 0.4 500 200 4 855.65 256.69 598.95
4 BF3%0.5 0.4 500 200 4 853.98 256.19 597.79
5 BF6%0.1 0.4 500 200 4 855.65 256.69 598.95
6 BF6%0.3 0.4 500 200 4 855.65 256.69 598.95
7 BF6%0.5 0.4 500 200 5.35 853.98 256.19 597.79
8 BF12%0.1 0.4 500 200 4 855.65 256.69 598.95
9 BF12%0.3 0.4 500 200 4 855.65 256.69 598.95
10 BF12%0.5 0.4 500 200 5.35 853.98 256.19 597.79
11 BF24%0.1 0.4 500 200 4 855.65 256.69 598.95
12 BF24%0.3 0.4 500 200 4 855.65 256.69 598.95
13 BF24%0.5 0.4 500 200 5.35 853.98 256.19 597.79
 Z. Algin, M. Ozen / Construction and Building Materials 186 (2018) 678–685 681

Considering the compressive strength measurement of SCCs produced, the cubi- an increase in the incorporating amount of superplasticizer to
cal samples of 150  150  150 mm are tested by complying with ASTM C 39 [39].
achieve the targeted slump value. However this circular reasoning
The test is conducted on three cube samples from each concrete mix at 28 days and
the compressive strength is computed by averaging the results from these three
in this sense affects the workability in which the reduction is based
tests. The splitting tensile strength is measured on the cylindrical samples having on two factors [17]. The first is the increase in the coefficient of
the dimensions of 150x300 mm as recommended by ASTM C 496 [40]. It is also friction between cement and fibre during the mixing and the
obtained by averaging the results from the three tested cylindrical samples from second is the use of a certain amount of moisture by the basalt
each concrete mix. Flexural strength is obtained from the performed three point
fibre.
bending tests according to ASTM C 78 [41] standard using the beam samples having
the dimensions of 75  50  350 mm and it is also computed by averaging the Fig. 3 shows the variation of T500 flow time in terms of the fibre
results from the three tested samples. length and the fibre content incorporated into the mixes prepared
The rapid chloride permeability test (RCPT) is conducted in order to determine in this study. The T500 flow time values of fresh SCC mixes vary in
the resistance of concrete to the chloride ions penetration by complying ASTM
the range of 1.3–4 s. Fig. 3 shows that the amount of fibre incre-
C1202 [42]. Two specimens from each concrete mix are tested simultaneously at
28 days. After curing, 50 mm thick disc samples are cut from the middle of each
ment for each length increases the T500 flow time. The results of
cylinder having the dimensions of Ø100  200 mm and the moisture is measured V-funnel tests conducted in this study are shown in Fig. 4 that indi-
as defined in ASTM C1202 [42]. Then, the disc specimens are transferred to the test cates the ranging data are between 3.94 sec and 6.19 sec which
cell in which one face of specimen is placed in contact with 0.30 N NaOH solution refers to the SCC class of VF1 according to EFNARC [38]. Fig. 4
and the other face is placed in contact with 3% NaCl solution. A direct voltage of 60
shows that the amount of basalt fibre increment brings about an
± 0.1 V is applied across the faces. The data logger has recorded the current that is
passed through the concrete specimen over a period of 6 h. When the test is termi- increase in the V-funnel time results. Due to the high content
nated after 6 h, the data regarding the current (in amperes) versus the time (in sec- incorporated and the large surface area of fibres, more cement
onds) are plotted for each concrete, and the area underneath the curve is integrated paste is absorbed around the fibres, hence the viscosity of mixture
to obtain the charge passed (in coulombs).
subsequently increases [21].
The water permeability results of SCCs are obtained by complying TS EN 12390-
8 [43]. In this experiment, the samples are exposed to water at pressures of
In this study, the segregation resistance for all of the mixtures
500 ± 50 KPa for 72 h, and after that the samples are divided into half to measure were assessed by the visual examination of slump flow tests. A typ-
the greatest water penetration depth. ical slump flow test result for SCC mixture incorporated with the
content of 0.5% fibre having the length of 24 mm is shown in
Fig. 5. As can be seen in Fig. 5 that no segregation is observed even
3. Experimental results and discussion when the longest and the maximum amount of basalt fibres were
utilised in the presented study. Additionally, the L-box height ratio
3.1. Results of fresh test of SCC mixture produced with the same fibre content and length
was obtained as 0.85 that indicates the required specifications
In this study, the class of slump diameter for all mixtures is defined by EFNARC [38] is achieved in this study.
selected as SF2 [38]. As can be seen in Fig. 2, the variation in the
obtained slump flow diameter that varies in terms of the utilised
amount and length of basalt fibre is between 660 and 740 mm.
Although the workability of basalt fibre reinforced SCC is directly
affected by the incorporated fibre length and amount, it is rela-
tively consistent around the desired level that is controlled by
the amount of additive used. In mixtures having the fibre length
of 6, 12 and 24 mm and the incorporated fibre content of 0.5%,
the amount of superplasticizer is required to be increased in order
to be able to achieve the target slump flow diameter. As can be
seen in Fig. 2, the increasing amount of basalt fibre reduces the
slump flow diameter of SCC produced.
The utilisation of fibre generally worsens the workability of
concrete that has been concluded previously [e.g. 44] and as a mat-
ter of fact this effect is the characteristic feature for most of fibres
utilised and it is attributed by the extra consumption of mixing
water and cement paste to cover the surface area of the fibres
[45]. Kabay [44] highlights that the utilisation of fibre brings about Fig. 3. Variation of the T500 flow time with fibre content for different fibre lengths.

Fig. 2. Variation of the slump flow diameter with fibre content for different fibre
lengths. Fig. 4. Variation of the V-funnel time with fibre content for different fibre lengths.
682 Z. Algin, M. Ozen / Construction and Building Materials 186 (2018) 678–685
Fig. 5. Slump flow result for the mixture of BF24% 0.5.
3.2. Results of mechanical test
The 28-day compressive strength test results for the SCC mixes
prepared with and without basalt fibre incorporation are provided
in Fig. 6 that indicates the results ranging between 83 and 91 MPa.
Fig. 6 depicts that the addition of basalt fibre to the SCC mixtures
increases the compressive strength results. Considering the length
of each basalt fibre separately, the highest compressive strength is
obtained for the concrete mixes having the fibre volume fraction of
0.1%. For the concrete mixtures having the fibre volume fraction of
0.3% and 0.5%, the compressive strength is relatively lower than the
mixture having the content of 0.1%, but the results are higher than
the control mixture. The use of basalt fibre as reinforcement mate-
rial leads to an increase in amount of the compressive strength
compared to the control mixture. However, the addition of fibre
increases the poor areas of interface in the cement matrix system
which induces a decrease in the compressive strength of the con-
crete [21]. For all of the fibre lengths the increment of basalt fibre
utilisation from 0.1% to 0.3% leads to a decrease in compressive
strength results. However, for basalt fibre having length of 3 mm,
the increasing utilisation from 0.3% to 0.5% causes a rise in the test
results while an insignificant variation is observed for other config-
urations considered. As can be seen in Fig. 6 that the highest com-
pressive strength is obtained from the samples containing the fibre
content of 0.1% for the utilised fibre lengths of 12 mm and 24 mm
length. The comparison indicates that the resulted compressive
strength of these samples are about 9.5% higher than the control
sample.
Accordingly, there is a good agreement between the demon-
strated results above and the outcomes previously stated in the lit-
erature which highlights the results for the utilisation of basalt
Fig. 6. Variation of the compressive strength with fibre content for different fibre
lengths.
fibre in conventional concrete. More specifically, Arivalagan [22]
underlines that the average compressive strength of concrete pro-
duced with basalt fibre is higher than that of the normal concrete.
Borhan [18] reports that the utilisation of basalt fibre up to the
content of 0.3% increases the resulting compressive strength, but
for the cases of higher incorporated content, the strength decreases
about 12%. Palchik [23] points out that the use of basalt fibre
lengths of 12 and 24 mm increases the compressive strength of
conventional concrete by 58% and 25%, respectively. Jun and Ye
[24] highlights that the increment in the basalt fibre utilisation
induces an increase in the 28-day compressive strength results
and the maximum compressive strength is obtained from the
mixes having the basalt fibre content of 0.1% for the conventional
concrete.
The splitting tensile strength test results for the SCC mixes pre-
pared with and without basalt fibre incorporation are shown in
Fig. 7 which depicts that the addition of basalt fibre to the SCC
mixtures also increases the splitting tensile strength results. It
demonstrates that the splitting tensile strength increases with
the increment in the amount of fibre for all of the fibre lengths uti-
lised. The highest value for the splitting tensile strength is obtained
from the concrete mixture incorporated with the content of 0.5%
fibre having the length of 24 mm which indicates an increase in
the splitting tensile strength value by about 15% compared to the
control concrete. The presented results for the splitting tensile
strength are also in relatively good agreement with the previous
studies conducted on the normal concrete indicating that the use
of basalt fibre causes an increase in the splitting tensile strength
of the concrete. For instance, Jiang et al. [20] states that the basalt
fibre content increment results in an increase in the splitting ten-
sile strength by about 15–25%. In addition, it is observed that the
splitting tensile strength for the concrete with the fibre length of
22 mm provides better results than that of concrete produced with
the basalt fibre length of 12 mm.
The addition of basalt fibre improves splitting tensile strength
because of the fibres located and distributed across the cracks that
induce bridging action in which they effectively initiate restraining
the propagation of micro cracks. Accordingly, they transfer the
stresses to the bridging fibres and the development of macro
cracks is postponed. The increment of fibre length provides proba-
bly a bridging effect. Hence, the use of longer fibres in concrete
contributes to the strength improvement due to greater bridging
effect and stronger pulling out resistance compared to shorter
fibres [20].
The flexural strength test results for the SCC mixes prepared
with and without basalt fibre incorporation are depicted in Fig. 8
that indicates the results ranging between 7.4 and 8.9 MPa. Fig. 8
shows that the control sample has the lowest bending strength
and the addition of basalt fibre to the SCC mixtures increases the
flexural strength results. The comparison of results indicates that
Fig. 7. Variation of the splitting tensile strength with fibre content for different
fibre lengths.
 Z. Algin, M. Ozen / Construction and Building Materials 186 (2018) 678–685
Fig. 8. Variation of the flexural strength with fibre content for different fibre
lengths.
the highest flexural strength is obtained from the concrete mixture
incorporated with the content of 0.5% fibre having the length of 24
mm. The flexural strength results of concrete samples produced
with the fibre lengths of 3, 6, 12 and 24 mm for the incorporating
fibre content of 0.5% induce the increase by about 12%, 17%, 16%
and 19% compared to the control concrete, respectively.
The presented results for the flexural strength are in relatively
good agreement with the previous studies conducted on the con-
ventional concrete indicating that the addition of basalt fibre to
concrete can significantly increase the bending behaviour. For
instance, Jiang et al. [20] reports that the incorporation of basalt
fibres at a rate of 0.05–0.5% induces the increase in the flexural
strength by the ranges of 6.30–9.58% and 7.35–10.37% for the
lengths of 12 mm and 22 mm, respectively. This study is also in
agreement with the notion that the longer fibres provide the
stronger anchorage, bonding mechanism and bridging effects that
provide an improvement in the flexural strength results.
3.3. Results of water penetration and RCP tests
Fig. 9 shows the variation for the depth of water penetration
under pressure in terms of the fibre length and the fibre content
incorporated into the SCC mixes. As can be seen in Fig. 9, the
increments in both fibre length and fibre content induce an
increase in the water penetration depth results and the lowest
water penetration depth is obtained at the control sample.
Whereas, the highest depth of water penetration under pressure
is obtained in concrete mixture produced with the content of
0.5% basalt fibre having the length of 24 mm. As for the increase
in the water penetration depth this hike appears pertaining to
the poor areas of interface in the cement matrix system due to
the additional use of fibre that also induces a decrease in the com-
pressive strength of the concrete [21].
Fig. 9. Variation of the depth of water penetration under pressure with fibre
content for different fibre lengths.
683
Fig. 10. Variation of the rapid chloride permeability with fibre content for different
fibre lengths.
Fig. 10 shows the results obtained by the rapid chloride perme-
ability tests conducted on the SCC samples produced with and
without basalt fibre incorporation. It indicates that the use of
basalt fibre reduces the chloride permeability of SCC and it varies
in the range of 1850–2500 Coulombs. As can be seen in Fig. 10 that
only two mixes provide results under the threshold level of 2000
Coulombs obtained for the content of 0.5% fibre utilisation having
the lengths of 12 and 24 mm. Since the rest of the rapid chloride
permeability results are obtained over this threshold level, they
are graded as moderate class according to the classification pro-
vided in ASTM C1202 [42]. The micro-cracks in the concrete and
interconnected porosity in the cement paste affect the permeabil-
ity of concrete [46]. The utilization of fibre in concrete decreases
the connected pore channels in the cement paste and the internal
bleeding passage of concrete. Accordingly, the fibre reduces poros-
ity and promotes to improve the compactness of concrete, thereby
the permeability of concrete is greatly decreased [47].
4. Multi-objective optimization
The response surface method (RSM) [48] is an optimization pro-
cedure that combines statistical and mathematical methods of
experiment design, regression analysis and optimization. RSM
has been conducted on the 2 independent and 8 dependent vari-
ables considered in the presented experimental study. These two
independent variables (or factors) are the length of basalt fibre
and the incorporated fibre content, and the dependent variables
(or responses) are considered as slump flow diameter, T500 time,
V-funnel time, compressive strength, flexural strength, splitting
tensile strength, rapid chloride permeability and the water pene-
tration depth. RSM is useful to visually analyse the effect of factors
on the responses. The procedure is initiated with the response
surface modelling in which a proper model is selected to fit the col-
lection of data by considering the adequacy of the chosen model.
This stage is followed by the optimisation process subjected to
determine the required best solution using the response surface
of the chosen model.
The optimization study aims to identify the optimum values of
basalt fibre length and the utilised amount while maximizing the
compressive strength, flexural strength, splitting tensile strength
and in the case for minimizing the corresponding values of rapid
chloride permeability and water penetration depth. For this
purpose, the responses influenced by the multiple factors are
optimized using the procedure of RSM in which the desirability
function is defined for the target responses to optimize the
responses (e.g. [48,49]). After establishing the relationships
between the factors and the responses and building the regression
model, the factors are varied simultaneously and independently to
optimise the objective functions. The desirability functions (di ) are
684 Z. Algin, M. Ozen / Construction and Building Materials 186 (2018) 678–685

defined in the process of RSM for each response and they are used
to optimize the responses simultaneously (e.g. [49,50]). A desir-
ability function (di ) is quantified within the range of 0 6 di 6 1.
When the responses or the factors fall outside the desirability
range, the overall function becomes zero.
The desirability is defined by the following expressions for max-
imising and minimising the individual response, (Eqs. (1) and (2),
respectively. Accordingly, the obtained desirability for each indi-
vidual response (di ) is combined into a desirability function given
by Eq. (3) to reflect the desirable range for the optimum results.
8
> 0 Y i 6 min f i
<h iwti
Y i min f i
di ¼ max f i min f i
and 0 < di < 1 min f i < Y i < max f i ð1Þ
>
:
1 Y i P max f i

8
> 1 Y i 6 min f i
<h iwti
max f i Y i
di ¼ max f i min f i
and 0 < di < 1 min f i < Y i < max f i ð2Þ
>
:
0 Y i P max f i

1=n
D ¼ ðd1 xd2 xd3 x . . . dn Þ ð3Þ

where, di ,Y i , minf i and maxf i are the desirability function, the fitted
value, and minimum and maximum actual values of ith response,
respectively. The power value wti is a weighting factor for the ith
response. Fig. 11. Graphical demonstration of the variation of overall desirability function in
terms of the fibre length and the fibre content incorporated into the SCC mixes.
Desirability is an objective function that ranges from zero to one
which respectively indicate that the optimisation is outside the
range and the goal of optimisation is satisfied. The desirability is Table 5
Optimum result for SCC incorporated with basalt fibre.
targeted to be maximized to achieve a point in the numerical opti-
mization. The weighting factor of a response may be altered to Factors and responses Optimum values and
define the important characteristics of a goal. The target response expected response
is defined as a desirability function by using the procedure pro- Fibre length (mm) 21.120
vided by Myers and Montgomery [50]. Fibre content (%) 0.490
Slump flow diameter (cm) 67.766
An optimization problem is formulated to determine the opti-
T500 time (sec) 2.978
mum values for the basalt fibre length and the incorporated fibre V-funnel time (sec) 5.632
content against several responses. The basalt fibre length and the Compressive strength (MPa) 91.150
incorporated fibre content are optimized simultaneously for mini- Splitting tensile strength (MPa) 4.091
mizing the values of rapid chloride permeability and water pene- Flexural strength (MPa) 8.892
Rapid chloride permeability (Coulomb) 2028.269
tration depth while for maximizing the values of compressive
Depth of water penetration (mm) 41.776
strength, splitting tensile strength and flexural strength. Moreover,
Desirability 0.705
slump flow diameter, T500 slump flow time and V-funnel flow time
are defined as constraints of fresh properties in the range of
EFNARC [38]. All of the objective functions and constrains defined
cates that the optimum result having the highest desirability value
in the problem are given in Table 4.
can be obtained for the mixture containing the basalt fibre length
Fig. 11 demonstrates the variation of desirability function
of 21.12 mm and the basalt fibre content of 0.49%.
obtained from the optimisation analysis that is performed on the
responses of SCC incorporated with basalt fibre. The obtained opti-
mum solution for this optimisation is provided in Table 5 which 5. Conclusions
indicates that the defined upper and lower limits are satisfied
and the desirability values are in the acceptable range. Table 5 indi- Based on the findings from the presented parametric experi-
mental study, the following conclusions may be drawn:

Table 4
The workability of SCC reinforced with basalt fibre is directly

Definitions for the factors and the responses in the optimization problem. affected by the utilised fibre length and the incorporated con-
Name of factors and response Goal Lower Upper tent, it is relatively consistent around the desired level con-
limit limit trolled by the amount of superplasticizers used. The amount
Fibre length (mm) In range 0 24 of fibre increment for each length increases the results of T500
Fibre content (%) In range 0 0.5 flow time and V-funnel time.
Slump flow diameter (cm) In range 66 74
The highest compressive strength (91.15 MPa) is obtained from
T500 time (sec) In range 1.34 4
the samples containing the fibre content of 0.1% for the utilised
V-funnel time (sec) In range 3.94 6.19
Compressive strength (MPa) Maximize 83.1 91.15 fibre lengths of 12 mm and 24 mm. The resulted compressive
Splitting tensile strength (MPa) Maximize 3.65 4.19 strength of these samples are about 9.5% higher than the control
Flexural strength (MPa) Maximize 7.488 8.928 sample.
Rapid chloride permeability (Coulomb) Minimize 1849 2512

The highest value for the splitting tensile strength (4.19 MPa) is
Depth of water penetration (mm) Minimize 13 54
obtained from the concrete mixture incorporated with the
 Z. Algin, M. Ozen / Construction and Building Materials 186 (2018) 678–685
content of 0.5% fibre having the length of 24 mm which indi-
cates an increase in the splitting tensile strength value by about
15% compared to the control concrete.

The highest flexural strength (8.93 MPa) is obtained from the
concrete mixture incorporated with the content of 0.5% fibre
having the length of 24 mm.

The increments in both fibre length and fibre content induce an
increase in the water penetration depth and the highest value is
obtained from the concrete mixture incorporated with the con-
tent of 0.5% basalt fibre having the length of 24 mm.

The optimum result having the highest desirability value can be
obtained for the mixture containing the basalt fibre length of
21.12 mm and the basalt fibre content of 0.49%.
Conflict of interest
None.
Acknowledgement
The authors would like to thank Harran University Scientific
Research Centre (HÜBAK) for the support provided (Project no:
16006).
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