Influence of artificial fibers and Corn Cob Ash on the durability properties of High Performance Concrete

In the present study, durability characteristics such as abrasion resistance, electrical resistivity, rapid chloride penetration test, drying shrinkage, water absorption, water penetration, fire resistance and chemical resistance of High Performance Concrete (HPC) containing Corn Cob Ash (CCA) and artificial fibers have been investigated. The CCA was added in different contents of 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25% by weight of cement. The Polypropylene (PP) and Polystyrene fiber (PS) were added 0.1, 0.2, 0.3 and 0.4 % by weight of binders. The chemical attack test was conducted for HPC specimens with 90 days of exposure in 6 mediums; hydrochloric acid (10% HCl), sulfuric acid (10% H ₂ SO ₄ ), magnesium chloride (10% MgCl ₂ ), sodium chloride (10% NaCl), magnesium sulfate (10% MgSO ₄ ), and sodium sulfate (10% Na ₂ SO ₄ ). Results revealed that the inclusion of 15 wt % CCA was found to be economical dosage for HPC. However, above 15% of CCA replacement was unable to attain close enough values to control concrete. The results revealed that 15% of CCA with 0.4% of artificial fibers were showed better results in abrasion resistance, electrical resistivity, rapid chloride penetration, water absorption, water penetration, fire resistance and chemical resistance of HPC, compared to control mix without CCA and fibers.