Effect of curing condition on mode‐I and mode‐II cracking resistance of glass fiber reinforced concrete and their relations with tensile and compressive strengths

Abstract Glass fiber‐reinforced concrete is a favorable material for constructing structures, especially for those placed in watery environments. The concrete in the watery environments can be roughly placed in two conditions, above the water (dry) or under the water (submerged). On the other hand, water bodies can also be categorized as fresh or salt water. In the current study, the effect of fiber length (e.g., plain, 10, 20, and 30 mm), curing environment (e.g., dry, fresh, and saltwater), and age (28, 90, and 180 days) was studied on glass fiber reinforced concrete. The measured mechanical parameters were direct tensile ( σ t ) and compressive ( σ c ) strengths, along with pure mode‐I ( K Ic ) and pure mode‐II fracture ( K IIc ) resistance. The results show that the tensile strength, mode‐I and mode‐II fracture toughness constantly increase with the increase of fiber length to 30 mm, while compressive strength reduces if fiber length increases by more than 15 mm. The optimum fiber length was obtained as 30 mm (based on tensile data). The trend analysis shows a meaningful relation between the tensile and compressive strength and between the mode I and mode II fracture toughness.