Research on the impact of waste rubber particles and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) fibers on the static mechanical properties and impact resistance of concrete

Z. Luo; H. Liu; G. Liu

doi:10.3989/mc.2025.399824

Authors

Z. Luo School of Civil and Architectural Engineering, Liaoning University of Technology https://orcid.org/0009-0003-3445-3702
H. Liu School of Civil and Architectural Engineering, Liaoning University of Technology https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1012-3963
G. Liu School of Civil Engineering and Architecture, NingboTech University https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5128-9874

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.3989/mc.2025.399824

Keywords:

PVA fibers reinforced concrete, Rubber particles, Static Mechanical properties, Weibull distribution, Impact Resistance

Abstract

This article examines the impact of rubber particles and PVA fibers on concrete’s static mechanical properties and impact resistance. It analyzes the mechanism of action through scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The findings demonstrate that as the percentage of rubber particles increases, the compressive strength, flexural strength, and tensile strength of concrete gradually decrease, while the increase in the number of PVA fibers shows a trend of first increasing and then decreasing. When adding 0.15% PVA fibers, the static mechanical properties of concrete are the best. The impact resistance of rubber particles is markedly superior to that of PVA fibers. Compared with normal concrete (NC), adding 0.2% PVA fiber increases the initial and final cracking impact energy (W₁ and W₂) by 82.72% and 83.33%. Furthermore, a 5% rubber particle replacement rate has been found to increase W₁ and W₂ by 154.32% and 157.14%, respectively. The two-parameter Weibull distribution function can effectively describe the impact life evolution of the specimen.

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