Strengthening Concrete Beams with Basalt Fiber Reinforcement: Enhancing Impact Resistance

Basalt fibers offer potential benefits by improving the energy absorption capacity and impact resistance of concrete structures, enhancing their resilience. This research investigates the influence of incorporating basalt fibers on the compressive and flexural strength of concrete, as well as its resistance to impact loads. The study involved casting 15 cylinders (150 × 300 mm) to assess compressive strength, 10 prism beams (100 × 100 × 400 mm) for flexural strength, and 5 large-scale reinforced concrete beams (150 × 150 × 2000 mm) to evaluate impact resistance. Basalt fibers of 18 mm and 38 mm lengths were added in proportions of 0.26% and 0.39% by volume of the mix, separately. Impact resistance was assessed by subjecting the samples to an impact load apparatus, dropping 210 kg weight from a height of 750 mm using a pulley system. The findings demonstrate that incorporating basalt fibers enhances both compressive and flexural strength, as well as impact resistance. Specifically, the addition of 18 mm length basalt fibers at a dosage of 0.26% led to a remarkable 23% increase in compressive strength compared to plain concrete. BFRC samples also exhibited higher flexural strength than plain concrete. In terms of impact resistance, the large-scale beam sample B3, consisting of 38 mm length fibers at a 0.26% content, displayed the least deflection, while the beam without fibers exhibited the most deflection. Overall, all samples reinforced with basalt fibers demonstrated reduced deflection compared to those without fibers.