Effect of macro-synthetic fibers on the drying shrinkage performance of rigid pavement

Rigid pavement provides excellent advantages in terms of durability and economic efficiency. However, appropriate maintenance of this pavement is difficult in case of deterioration. Drying shrinkage cracking in the rigid pavement is the main reason of such disadvantages, and the need of maintenance on road sites is rising every day. For the aim of restricting drying shrinkage cracking, fibers are used in fresh concrete. Accordingly, this study evaluates the performance of using macro-synthetic fibers (MSF) in reducing the drying shrinkage strain in order to reduce cracking of the concrete pavement mix to restrict the deterioration of the pavement. The mechanical properties (compressive strength, splitting tensile strength, flexural strength) and the drying shrinkage of the plain concrete (PC) and macro-synthetic fiber-reinforced concrete (MSFRC) are evaluated. The results show that the effect of MSF on the compressive strength is minimal, while the splitting tensile strength and flexural strength of MSFRC are improved by 20 and 34%, respectively. Furthermore, the drying shrinkage strain of MSFRC can be significantly reduced by about 60% compared with that of PC.