Shear Strength of Steel Fiber Reinforced Reactive Powder Concrete & Geopolymer Concrete – A Comparison

Reactive Powder Concrete (RPC) is an ultra-high strength concrete composite prepared by the replacement of natural aggregates with quartz powder, silica fume and steel fibers. The use of RPC yields high strength, high ductile concrete with optimized material use and contributes to economic, sustainable and ecofriendly constructions. Past research has indicated that RPC offers significant improvement in the mechanical and physical properties owing to its homogenous composition with less defects of voids and microcracks. This leads to enhancement of ultimate load capacity of RPC members and results in superior ductility, energy absorption, tensile strain-hardening behavior, crack control capability and durability. Geo-polymer concrete (GPC) is a type of concrete that is made by reacting aluminate and silicate bearing materials with a caustic activator. Usually, waste materials such as fly ash or slag from iron and metal production are used, which helps lead to a cleaner environment.  This paper attempts to review the effect of steel fibers on the shear strength of steel fiber reinforced RPC and compare the results with those of geopolymer concrete.