Mechanical Properties of RC Beams with Polypropylene Fibers under High Temperature
Samir Shihada1, Mohammed Arafa2
1Samir Shihada, Professor at Department of Civil Engineering, The Islamic University of Gaza,  Palestine.
2Mohammed Arafa, Associate Professor at Department of  Civil Engineering, The Islamic University of Gaza,  Palestine.
Manuscript received on January 17, 2012. | Revised Manuscript received on February 05, 2012. | Manuscript published on February 29, 2012. | PP: 1-6 | Volume-1 Issue-3, February 2012. | Retrieval Number: C0220021312/2011©BEIESP

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Abstract: The objective of this study is to examine the impact of polypropylene fibers on fire resistance of steel reinforced concrete beams. In order to achieve this, concrete mixtures are prepared by using different contents of polypropylene; 0, 0.45 and 0.67 kg/m3. Simply supported beams are heated in an electric furnace to a temperature of 400° for exposure up to 4.5 hours and tested under a static point load on a universal loading frame. Based on the results of this study, it is concluded that the ultimate residual strengths of RC beams containing polypropylene fibers are higher than those without polypropylene fibers. Furthermore, the researchers find out that RC beams which are prepared using 0.67 kg/m3 of polypropylene fibers can significantly promote the residual ultimate strengths during heating..
Keywords: Reinforced Concrete, Polypropylene Fibers, Beams, Fire resistance, Flexural strength.