The effect of pre-setting pressure on the flexural strength and fracture toughness of SIFCON during the setting phase

Slurry Infiltrated Fibre Concrete (SIFCON) is a special type of steel fibre-reinforced cement composite with superior mechanical properties, including compressive, tensile, shear and flexural strengths with extraordinary toughness values. In this study, the effects of pre-setting the pressures of SIFCON were examined. The fresh (plastic) SIFCON samples were put into a specified beam mould. Six different (Control (without pressure), 3, 6, 9, 12 and 15 MPa) pre-setting pressures were applied. In this study, the maximum flexure strength was observed to be 67.54 MPa under 15 MPa pre-setting pressure. According to the without-pressure control, the flexure strength was improved by 43.5% at a 15 MPa pre-setting pressure. In addition, the fracture toughness was increased by approximately 46% with a 6 MPa pre-setting pressure. With the pre-setting pressure, the application can decrease the element thickness or the fibre proportion use, which is the most costly item.