CHARACTERIZATION OF COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE ALKALI RESISTANT GLASS FIBER FOR CONCRETE REINFORCEMENT AND CHEMICAL DURABILITY COMPARISON WITH SrO-Mn2O3-Fe2O3-MgO-ZrO2-SiO2 (SMFMZS) SYSTEM GLASSES.

According to the relevant literature, the utilization of different kind of glass fibers in concrete introduces positive effect on the mechanical behavior, especially toughness. There are many glass fibers available to reinforce concretes. Glass fiber composition is so important because it may change the properties such as strength, elastic modulus and alkali resistance. Its most important property to be used in concrete is the alkali resistance. Some glasses of SrO-MgO-ZrO2-SiO2 (SMZS) quaternary system, such as 26SrO, 20MgO, 14ZrO2, 40SiO2 (Zrn glass), have been found to be highly alkali resistant thanks to their high ZrO2 and MgO contents. Previous researches on these glasses with MnO and/or Fe2O3 partially replacing SrO have been made with the aim of improving the chemical resistance and decreasing the production cost. The main target of the present study, first of all, was to characterize commercially available alkali resistant glass fiber for concrete reinforcement and then to compare its alkali durability with those of the SrO-Mn2O3-Fe2O3-MgO-ZrO2-SiO2 (SMFMZS) system glasses. For such purposes, XRF, Tg-DTA, alkali resistance tests and SEM analysis conducted with EDX were employed. According to the alkali endurance test results it was revealed that some of the SMFMZS system glass powders are 10 times resistant to alkali environments than the commercial glass fibers used in this study. Therefore, they can be considered as alternative filling materials on the evolution of chemically resistant concrete structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]