Compression behaviour of polypropylene fibre reinforced cellular light weight concrete masonry prism

Sustainable development of the built environment in developing countries is a major challenge in the 21st century. The use of local materials in the construction of buildings is one of the potential ways to support sustainable development in both urban and rural areas where burnt clay bricks are used predominantly. This work focuses mainly on the use of polypropylene micro fibers in ordinary Cellular Lightweight Concrete blocks. The main objective is to develop a high-performance fibre reinforced cellular concrete to provide a better alternative than clay bricks for structural applications of masonry. This paper presents the stress-strain behaviour of polypropylene fibre reinforced Cellular Lightweight Concrete stack bonded prisms under axial compression. Masonry compressive strength is typically obtained by testing stack bonded prisms under compression normal to its bed joint. Use of micro-fibres enhances the pre-cracking behaviour of masonry by arresting cracks at micro-scale in the post-peak region. These efforts are necessary to ensure that CLC blocks become more accepted in the world of building materials and considered as a reliable option for providing low-cost housing.