Effects of basalt fiber length and distribution on flexural strength of cement-based materials

In this paper, the mechanical properties of the basalt fiber reinforced cement-based material were studied. The aim of the research work is to investigate the characteristic impact of 12mm and 25mm basalt length on the flexural strength of cement-based materials. According to the distribution of basalt fibers in mixed media, the random distribution of basalt fibers in the entire beam and the distribution in half of the beam were analyzed. Flexural tests were carried out on the beams using the three-point test set-up. From the analyzed result, it was noted that the flexural capacities recorded increased noticeably as basalt fiber was introduced. 2.5% of 12mm basalt fibers yielded the highest flexural strength of 6.962N/mm2 in the category of when the basalt fiber is randomly dispersed in the entire volume of the beam. Also, beam-reinforced fiber only at the tensile zone yielded higher flexural strength compared to when the fiber was randomly distributed at both the compressive and tensile zones. 1.5% of 12mm length that occupies the tensile zone only, yielded a flexural strength of 8.57N/mm2 as against the cement-based mixture with no basalt fiber (3.147N/mm2).