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Although Basalt fibre reinforced concrete (BFRC) has a proven record of outstanding behaviour, concerns regarding the decline in its performance beyond certain content remains a major concern. To address this concern, a varying content of Silica Fume (SF) was introduced into the BFRC mix, and their combined influence on concrete's mechanical and impact resistance was investigated using experimental and Response Surface Analysis (RSA). Using regression models developed from experimental results, 13 responses of statistically designed experiments were predicted. The findings revealed significant improvement in the concrete performance with increases between 28% and 65% in compressive strength, 35%–107% in split tensile strength, 11%–46% in flexural strength and 117%–150% in the impact resistance. Therefore, appropriate proportions of BF and SF can be utilised as an eco-friendly sustainable material in concrete.

Fibre-reinforced concrete (FRC) is an emerging construction material. However, improving its mechanical properties using sustainable materials remains a concern. In this paper, a combination of experimental and numerical techniques is applied to investigate the combined influence of kenaf (K) and polypropylene fibre (PPF) on the mechanical properties of KPPFRC. The optimal design component of Response Surface Methodology was utilised with combined fibre content between 0.5% and 2%. The results show a general increase in the mechanical properties with KF being the main contributing factor, and corresponding decreases in all responses with the increase in PPF. Nonetheless, the predicted optimal volume fraction of 1.5% consisting of 1.0 kg kF and 0.51 kg PPF gives a 100%, 174% and 100% rise in compressive, split tensile, and flexural strength respectively compared to the control sample. Hence, these optimal proportions of KF and PPF can be utilised as an eco-friendly sustainable material in concrete.