Innovative Infrastructure Solutions (2020) 5:103

https://doi.org/10.1007/s41062-020-00359-y

TECHNICAL PAPER

Performance of basalt fibre‑reinforced concrete for pavement

and flooring applications
Adeyemi Adesina1   · Amirreza Bastani1 · Jamshid Zohreh Heydariha1 · Sreekanta Das1 · David Lawn2

Received: 24 June 2020 / Accepted: 19 August 2020

© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020

Abstract
This paper investigates the effect of basalt fibres on the performance of concrete and is designed for applications in floor-
ing and pavement construction. A total of seven concrete mixtures were prepared using various lengths of chopped basalt
fibres (12 mm, 36 mm and 50 mm length) with two dosages of 4 kg/m3 and 8 kg/m3, respectively. In order to evaluate the
performance of these mixtures for these specified applications, the mechanical properties and durability related to the
intended application were examined. The investigation of these mechanical properties directly correlates to the compressive
strength and flexural strength of the basalt-reinforced concrete. The abrasion resistance, porosity, sorptivity and sorption
of the mixtures were also evaluated to determine the durability and subsequent performance of the mixtures. An Ultrasonic
Pulse Velocity test, a non-destructive test, was conducted to verify and validate the quality of the mixtures. Results from
this study showed a significant increase in flexural strength and abrasion resistance of concrete when combined with basalt
fibres, although a slight decrease in the compressive strength of concrete was observed. The introduction of basalt fibres
also served to increase the permeability properties of these mixtures. However, this resulting permeability was found to be
within an acceptable range for the designed application. Results from the Ultrasonic Pulse Velocity test and the subsequent
validation of the results validated the viability of assessing the quality of concrete mixtures incorporating basalt fibres by
employing this method of non-destructive testing.

Keywords  Concrete · Mechanical test · Durability test · Non-destructive test · Basalt fibre

Introduction nature and low flexural strength of concrete coupled with

the potential for significant shrinkage in applications with
Concrete is a versatile building material that has been used large surface areas require additional measures to reinforce
extensively for various applications which include pave- this composite (i.e. concrete). Reduced service life is almost
ment and industrial floor construction. However, the brittle always a resultant outcome when a standard concrete mix
is used for the above-noted applications. One such effective
way to improve these properties of concrete is the incorpo-
* Adeyemi Adesina ration of fibres, for this study—basalt, as an added form of
adesina1@uwindsor.ca reinforcement. In recent years, various types of fibres such
Amirreza Bastani as cellulose [1], polypropylene [2], glass [3], carbon [4],
bastani@uwindsor.ca basalt [5–8] and polyvinyl alcohol [9–11] have been used
Jamshid Zohreh Heydariha to reinforce standard concrete mixes. With the increase in
zohreh@uwindsor.ca sustainability awareness in the construction industry, it is
Sreekanta Das paramount that eco-friendly fibres are also used when rein-
s.das@uwindsor.ca forcing concrete. The recent development of basalt fibres as
David Lawn a possible reinforcement for concrete has opened a pathway
dlawn@medagroup.com for improving the performance of concrete while using eco-
1 friendly (green) reinforcement, which brings with it many
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering,
University of Windsor, Windsor, ON, Canada added benefits beyond that of just reinforcement and durabil-
2 ity. Basalt fibre is a product obtained from volcanic igneous
MEDA Limited, Windsor, ON, Canada

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 103   Page 2 of 10
rock (basalt), and by melting the rock (no harmful gases or
chemicals are released), it is turned into a fibre. Further, the
production of this fibre does not result in any environmental
waste, and hence, basalt fibre is a non-toxic and inert product
[12, 13].
Literature review
Previous research studies have shown that basalt fibre has a
slightly higher tensile strength than E-glass fibre and greater
ultimate strain than carbon fibre. In addition, its significant
resistance to acidic environments [12] and moderate immu-
nity to alkali attack [14], combined with its high heat resist-
ance and low cost, make basalt a competitive alternative to
other fibres [15–18].
Since the recent push to further develop basalt fibre appli-
cations because of its many valuable properties, incorpora-
tion into concrete to improve various properties, especially
as a reinforcement to reduce various forms of shrinkage in
concrete [5, 6], has been a significant focus. Until now, only
limited studies have explored the effect of basalt fibres on the
mechanical properties of concrete. The mechanical proper-
ties of plain concrete reinforced with basalt filament fibres
were investigated by Iyer et al. [19] and Branston et al. [6].
Both studies found that 36-mm-long basalt fibres at a dos-
age of 8 kg/m3 were optimum and thereby had increased
the modulus of rupture of concrete. They also reported that
increasing the basalt fibre dosage to a level above 8 kg/m3
resulted in the “clumping” of these fibres. This resulted in
significantly detrimental effects on the mechanical prop-
erties of the test samples. The pre-cracking strength and
post-cracking behaviour of basalt fibre-reinforced concrete
were studied by Branston et al. [6]. Their study showed an
increase in the pre-cracking and post-cracking of concrete
when reinforced with basalt fibres and minibars. A simi-
lar study by Branston et al. [5] showed the effectiveness of
basalt fibres in the prevention of early age cracks in concrete
as a result of shrinkage reduction of the matrix using basalt
fibre reinforcement.
Past studies have explored the effect of basalt fibres on
strength and shrinkage, but only to a minor extent. However,
research on the effect of basalt fibres on the abrasion resist-
ance and permeability properties of concrete, especially
those designed for pavement and flooring applications, is
very limited. The abrasion and permeability properties of
concrete designed for pavement and flooring applications
are extremely critical due to the constant moving load to
which it is subjected, coupled with the potential exposure
to various forms of precipitations create significant perfor-
mance concerns. Various factors can contribute to the abra-
sion resistance of plain concrete. These factors can be, but
are not limited to: the aggregate, paste hardness, entrapped
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Innovative Infrastructure Solutions (2020) 5:103
voids, binder types, surface treatment, weathering effects,
water content, curing and additives/admixes such as super-
plasticizers. Supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs)
and fibres have also been reported to have a significant effect
on the abrasion resistance of concrete [20]. The surface wear
resistance of self-compacted mortar was investigated by
Felekoglu et al. [21]. Their study showed that the incorpo-
ration of steel fibre resulted in a decrease in the mass loss
of mortar by up to 42% with the corresponding improve-
ment of about 19% in the flexural strength. Grdic et al. [22]
showed the effectiveness of using polypropylene fibres to
address abrasion resistance and tensile strength of concrete.
Results from their study concluded that the incorporation of
monofilament polypropylene fibres at a dosage of 0.91 kg/
m3 increased the abrasion resistance and tensile strength
of concrete by 7.08% and 13.4%, respectively. Abrasion
resistance and flexural strength of high-strength and normal
concrete with low content of basalt fibres were investigated
by Kabay [23]. An improvement in the flexural strength of
high-strength concrete and normal concrete was found to
range from 9 and 13%, respectively, at a dosage of 4 kg/m3.
In addition, the study concluded that the abrasion resistance
of plain concrete could be increased by up to 18% with the
use of basalt fibres. However, the lengths of the basalt fibres
used in this study were limited to 12 mm and 24 mm.
Research significance and objectives
Although many studies have been conducted on the influ-
ence of fibres on compressive strength and shrinkage prop-
erties, there continues to be a limited number of studies on
the overall performance of basalt fibre-reinforced concrete
(BFRC), especially when considering the abrasion and per-
meability properties of mixture design for applications such
as pavement and flooring construction. In addition, there
appears to be no study available to evaluate the properties of
basalt fibre-reinforced concrete using non-destructive tests
such as Ultrasonic Pulse Velocity (UPV). Therefore, this
extensive study was carried out to investigate the effect of
different dosages and length of basalt fibres on the criti-
cal performance properties associated with pavement and
flooring service performance. In this study, the mechanical
properties mainly: the compressive and flexural strengths,
were considered. In addition, durability properties such as
abrasion resistance and permeability properties of the mix-
tures were also evaluated. Ultrasonic Pulse Velocity tests
were conducted to assess the quality of these mixtures using
non-destructive testing.
Innovative Infrastructure Solutions (2020) 5:103 Page 3 of 10  103

Experimental program used. For example, mixture CBF-12-4 indicates chopped

basalt fibres with 12 mm length were used to reinforce plain
Materials and mixture design concrete using the dosage amount of 4 kg/m3.

Type 1 Portland cement was used as the binder for all mix-
tures and also consisted of fine and coarse aggregates. Pota-
ble water was used as a mixing solution for all the mixtures.
Basalt fibre with three different lengths was used in this
study to reinforce the mixtures. A picture of the basalt fibres
used is presented in Fig. 1, and the mechanical properties of
the basalt fibres provided by the manufacturer are presented
in Table 1.
A total of seven mixtures were prepared with two different
dosages for each type of fibre, while the other components in
the mixture were kept unchanged. The details of the mixture
design are presented in Table 2. The mixtures are identified
according to the fibre length and the corresponding dosage
Test methods
Mechanical tests
In order to evaluate the effect of basalt fibres on the mechan-
ical behaviour of these concrete mixtures, the compressive
and flexural strengths at 28 days after casting were evalu-
ated. The compressive and flexural strengths were measured
in accordance with ASTM standards. A cylindrical sample
with a diameter of 100 mm and a height of 200 mm was
cast to evaluate the compressive strength in accordance with
ASTM C 39 [24]. A concrete prism with a dimension of
100 mm × 100 mm × 350 mm was also cast to evaluate the

Fig. 1  Basalt fibres: 12 mm

(left), 36 mm (middle) and
50 mm (right)

Table 1  Mechanical properties of chopped basalt fibres

Fibre type Length (mm) Diameter (µm) Aspect ratio (%) Density (g/ Ultimate Elasticity Elongation (%)
cm3) stress (MPa) modulus (GPa)

M106-12XF-Z 12 16 7.5 2.7 2000 75 3.1

M106-36XC-Y 36 13 27.7 2.7 2000 75 3.1
M106-50XF-Z 50 16 31.3 2.7 2000 75 3.1

Table 2  Mixture proportions of Mixture Coarse aggre- Fine aggre- Cement (kg/m3) Water (kg/m3) Basalt Fibre type
concrete mixtures gate (kg/m3) gate (kg/ fibre (kg/
m 3) m3)

Control 981 514 374 187 0 N/A

CBF-12-4 981 514 374 187 4 M106-12XF-Z
CBF-12-8 981 514 374 187 8 M106-12XF-Z
CBF-36-4 981 514 374 187 4 M106-36XC-Y
CBF-36-8 981 514 374 187 8 M106-36XC-Y
CBF-50-4 981 514 374 187 4 M106-50XF-Z
CBF-50-8 981 514 374 187 8 M106-50XF-Z

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flexural strength in accordance with ASTM C 1609 [25] as
shown in Fig. 2. A total of three samples were used for each
test, and the resultant data represent the average of each
sample group.
Durability tests
The abrasion resistance of these samples was evaluated at
28  days after casting using test procedures in accordance
with ASTM C944 [26]. An abrasion device with the abrad-
ing cutter that rotates at the speed of 220 rev/min is lowered
until contact with the test sample. Figure 3 depicts the image
of the test rig and a sample under testing.

Abrasion resistance  To evaluate abrasion resistance of the
concrete modified with basalt fibres, rectangular samples
with a dimension of 200 mm × 140 mm × 40 mm were cast.
Porosity  Cylindrical samples with a diameter of 100  mm
and a height of 50  mm were cast to evaluate the porosity
(i.e. the percentage of voids) of the mixtures at 28 days in
accordance with ASTM C 642 [27]. The porosity of the
mixtures was obtained from the dry and apparent densities
which were obtained as an outcome of the test.

Sorption  Sorption of concrete is an indication of its perme-

ability and overall durability. The sorption of the mixtures
at 28  days was evaluated in accordance with the test pro-
cedures in ASTM C 1757 [28]. Cylindrical samples with
a diameter of 100 mm and a height of 50 mm were cast for
this test. The samples were first dried at 50 °C for approxi-
mately 48 h after which it is allowed to cool down in ambi-
ent conditions for an additional 24  h. The dry mass was
measured and logged, followed then by the immersion of
the samples in water for approximately 30 min to obtain the
wet mass value. The sorption of these samples was obtained
by finding the amount of water absorbed and dividing it by
the corresponding surface area of the sample.

Sorptivity  The sorptivity of these mixtures at 28 days was

evaluated by measuring the initial absorption in accordance
with the test procedures in ASTM C 1585 [29]. This method
presents the rate at which the mixtures absorb water. Cylin-
drical samples with a diameter of 100 mm and a height of
Fig. 2  Flexural test set-up 50 mm were also cast to be used for this test.

Fig. 3  Test rig and (abraded)

sample

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Innovative Infrastructure Solutions (2020) 5:103 Page 5 of 10  103
Fig. 4  Ultrasonic Pulse Velocity (UPV) test rig
Non‑destructive test
The effect of the basalt fibres on the quality of the concrete
samples at 28 days was also assessed using Ultrasonic Pulse
Velocity (UPV). The UPV test was carried out in accord-
ance with test procedures in ASTM C 597 [30]. Figure 4
presents the schematics for Ultrasonic Pulse Velocity (UPV)
testing of the samples. The UPV tests evaluate the velocity
of longitudinal stress waves passing through the concrete.
This test is capable of measuring the uniformity and rela-
tive quality of concrete. The transit time of the longitudinal
stress wave is obtained from the test. The time is divided by
the corresponding length of the sample; thereby, the pulse
velocity is obtained. A higher UPV value indicates a con-
crete with better quality—a lower value translates to lower-
quality concrete.
Results and discussion
Compressive strength
Compressive strength is one of the critical properties of
concrete to which other properties can be related. The com-
pressive strength of these mixtures as tested at 28 days is
presented in Fig. 5. The results presented are an average of
compressive strength obtained from three samples for each
of the three sets of mixtures. It can be observed in Fig. 5
that the basalt fibre reduced the compressive strength of
all mixtures irrespective of the basalt fibre length or dos-
age. In all mixtures, the reduction of compressive strength
for mixtures incorporating basalt fibre at a dosage of 4 kg/
m3 is lower when compared to when a higher dosage was
used (i.e. 8 kg/m3). At a dosage of 4 kg/m3, the compres-
sive strength of mixtures incorporating 12 mm, 36 mm and
50 mm is 3.9%, 5.9% and 10.7%, respectively, lower com-
pared to the control. Similarly, the compressive strength of
mixtures incorporating basalt fibre at a dosage of 8 kg/m3 at
a length of 12 mm, 36 mm and 50 mm is reduced by 9.1%,
12.8% and 13.9%, respectively, compared to the control. The
Fig. 5  Compressive strength of mixtures at 28 days
reduction in the compressive strength with the introduction
of basalt fibre can be attributed to the introduction of voids
into the composite. This effect becomes more evident with
the increasing length and/or dosage of the basalt fibres into
the concrete mixtures. This observation corresponds to that
of Branston et al. [6] where they reported lower compressive
strength in concrete mixtures incorporating basalt fibres.
Nevertheless, it can be observed in Fig. 5 that the lowest
compressive strength obtained (i.e. 39.6 MPa) still makes
the weakest concrete mixture (i.e. CBF-50-8) suitable for
various flooring and pavement applications. Observing the
failure patterns of the mixtures (Fig. 6) with the incorpora-
tion of fibres into the mixtures resulted in a ductile failure in
contrast to the brittle failure obtained for the control mixture.
Flexural strength
The flexural strength of the mixtures as tested at 28 days is
presented in Fig. 7. The results presented represented the
average flexural strength obtained from three samples for
each mixture. It can be observed in Fig. 7 that in contrast
to the compressive strength, the flexural strength of the
mixtures improved with the inclusion of the basalt fibres.
However, significant enhancement of the flexural strength
is only evident at a dosage of 8 kg/m3. For example, the
flexural strength of the concrete mixture with basalt fibre
and a length of 12 mm with a dosage of 4 kg/m3 increased
by 1.2% when compared to the control mixture without
basalt fibre, whereas at a dosage of 8 kg/m 3, the flexural
strength increased by 13.3% when compared to the control
mixture. Similarly, the flexural strength of the concrete mix-
tures including basalt fibres and with lengths of 36 mm and
50 mm and a dosage of 4 kg/m3 had improved by 4.3% and
10.6%, respectively, compared to the control. The flexural
strength at a dosage of 8 kg/m3 was enhanced by 13.7%
and 16.3% for 36  mm and 50  mm basalt fibre lengths,
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 103   Page 6 of 10
Fig. 6  Plain concrete sample
(left) versus chopped fibre-rein-
forced concrete sample (right)
Sudden failure (brittle)
Fig. 7  Flexural strength of mixtures at 28 days
respectively, compared to the mixture without basalt fibres.
These results support the findings of Branston et al. [6] when
they concluded that basalt fibres can be incorporated into
concrete mixtures to improve its flexural properties. There-
fore, despite the minor detrimental effect of basalt fibre on
the compressive strength of concrete, the beneficial effect on
the flexural strength will help to improve the overall perfor-
mance of the composite.
Abrasion resistance
For each mixture, abrasion resistance tests were carried out
on three samples. The resistance of the mixtures is quantified
by the mass loss in accordance with the guidelines in ASTM
C 944 [26]. The average mass loss for each mixture after
each abrasion test is presented in Fig. 8. It can be noted that
the incorporation of basalt fibre reduced the mass loss for all
concrete samples when incorporating basalt fibres. However,
similar to the flexural strength results (Fig. 7), the addition
of the basalt fibre is more effective at a dosage of 8 kg/m3.
The abrasion resistance of concrete mixtures incorporating
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Innovative Infrastructure Solutions (2020) 5:103
Ductile failure
Fig. 8  Mass loss of mixtures after abrasion test at 28 days
12 mm basalt fibre at a dosage of 4 kg/m3 increased by 7.3%
when compared to that of the mixture without basalt fibres.
At a dosage of 8 kg/m3, the abrasion resistance increased by
approximately 27% when 12 mm and 36 mm basalt fibres
were used compared to the mixture without basalt fibre. For
concrete mixtures with basalt fibre and a length of 50 mm,
the abrasion resistance increased by 11.3% and a further
33.2% for a dosage of 4 kg/m3 and 8 kg/m3, respectively,
compared to the control mixture.
Porosity
The porosity of concrete has a significant effect on the resist-
ance of concrete which can suffer from severe performance
issues in the environment to which it is may be subjected.
The porosities of the mixtures evaluated are presented in
Fig. 9. The introduction of basalt fibres into the concrete
mixtures did however increase the porosity. Notably, the
effect at a lower dosage (i.e. 4 kg/m3) was nominal for basalt
fibres with 12 mm and 36 mm lengths. The porosity of mix-
tures with 4 kg/m3 basalt fibre increased by 4.7% for basalt
Innovative Infrastructure Solutions (2020) 5:103 Page 7 of 10  103

Fig. 9  Porosity of mixtures at 28 days Fig. 10  Sorption of mixtures at 28 days

fibre with a length of 12 mm, while an increase of 11.3% and is presented in Fig. 11. It can be noted from this graph
was observed for basalt fibres with a length of 36 mm when that regardless of the basalt dosage, the slope of the curve
compared to the control mixture. Similarly, there is no sig- decreases with time and thereby shows a slower rate of
nificant difference in the effect of basalt fibres incorporated water absorption. However, similar to other permeability
into the mixture at a dosage of 8 kg/m3. The porosity of properties, the sorptivity rate of water absorption rises with
mixtures incorporating basalt fibre at a dosage of 8 kg/m3 increases in fibre length and dosage. The initial absorp-
for fibre lengths of 12 mm, 36 mm and 15 mm is reduced tion of the mixtures at 20 min is 32.1%, 64.3% and 78.6%
by 39.1%, 35.5% and 41.7%, respectively, compared to the higher than the control for mixtures reinforced with 4 kg/
control mixture. This increasing porosity with the addition m3 basalt fibres with a length of 12 mm, 36 mm and 50 mm,
of basalt fibres into the mixtures can be attributed to the respectively. For mixtures reinforced at the higher dosage
introduction of more voids into the matrix. of basalt fibre (i.e. 8 kg/m3) and lengths of 12 mm, 36 mm
and 50 mm, the initial sorptivity is 57.1%, 69.4% and 78.6%,
Sorption respectively, higher than that of the control. The increasing
sorptivity of these mixtures by the introduction of basalt
The movement of water through concrete is directly related fibres can be attributed to the introduction of voids and fur-
to its durability. One of the ways to investigate the ease at ther by the physical properties of the basalt fibres. There-
which moisture penetrates concrete is by measuring its sorp- fore, depending on the application and location where these
tion. The sorption measured for the seven mixtures evaluated mixtures will be used, a smaller length and dosage of basalt
in this study is presented in Fig. 10. Similar to the poros- fibre should be considered.
ity results, the sorption of the mixtures increased with the
presence of the basalt fibres in the mixtures. The sorption
of the mixtures increased with larger fibre lengths and dos-
ages. The sorption of these concrete mixtures incorporating
basalt fibre at a dosage of 4 kg/m3 increased by 1.9%, 26.2%
and 34.1% for fibre lengths of 12 mm, 36 mm and 50 mm,
respectively, compared to the control. However, for concrete
mixtures reinforced with 36 mm and 50 mm basalt fibre and
a dosage of 4 kg/m3, there appears to be no significant effect
on sorption. For example, the sorption is regardless of the
fibre dosage. Nevertheless, the sorption measured for all the
mixtures incorporating basalt performance does not indicate
any significant detrimental effect on its overall performance.

Sorptivity

The sorptivity curve of the mixtures represents the rate

of water absorption within 20 min (i.e. initial absorption) Fig. 11  Sorptivity of mixtures at 28 days

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Non‑destructive testing

After evaluating the mechanical and durability properties

of these mixtures incorporating basalt fibres, it is also par-
amount to investigate the viability of using a non-destruc-
tive test such as an Ultrasonic Pulse Velocity (UPV) test
to evaluate the quality of the basalt fibre concrete. The
UPV test results for the mixtures are presented in Fig. 12.
The introduction of basalt fibres resulted in a reduction of
the UPV rate of penetration into the mixtures. It can be
seen in Fig. 12 that the UPV was reduced with increas-
ing fibre length, which then with increased dosages was
reduced further. The reduction in the UPV for the mixtures
reinforced with basalt fibre and at a dosage of 4 kg/m3
dropped by 4.4%, 9.7% and 15.4% for 12 mm, 36 mm and
50 mm basalt fibres, respectively, compared to the control
mixture. For samples reinforced at a dosage of 8 kg/m3,
the UPV was reduced by 9.4%, 13.3% and 22.6% for basalt
fibre with lengths of 12 mm, 36 mm and 50 mm, respec-
tively, compared to the control.
An attempt was made to correlate the UPV test results
with the compressive strength and porosity of the mixture
and is presented in Figs. 13 and 14. It can be observed
from these figures that there is a good correlation between
compressive strength, porosity and UPV. This result shows
that the performance of concrete mixtures incorporating
basalt fibre can be predicted using a non-destructive test
such as the UPV.
In order to have a general overview of the effect of vari-
ous dosage of basalt fibre and length on the performance
of concrete, a comparison was made with the control (i.e.
mixture without basalt fibre) and the effects presented in
Table 3.
Fig. 13  Correlation between UPV and compressive strength at
28 days
Conclusions
This study was undertaken to investigate the effect(s)
of chopped basalt fibre on the performance of concrete
designed for application as a construction material for pave-
ment and flooring systems. A total of seven concrete mix-
tures were made using three different lengths of basalt fibres
(12 mm, 36 mm and 50 mm length) at two dosages of 4 kg/
m3 and 8 kg/m3. Based on the experimental results, the fol-
lowing conclusions can be drawn:
• The addition of basalt fibres could provide significant
improvement to the performance of concrete in terms of
flexural strength and abrasion resistance. However, there
are some detrimental effects on the compressive strength
and permeability properties such as sorption, sorptivity
and porosity.
• The reduced compressive strength and permeability prop-
erties due to the addition of basalt fibres do not affect its
overall performance of the basalt fibre concrete for the

Fig. 12  Ultrasonic Pulse Velocity of mixtures at 28 days Fig. 14  Correlation between UPV and porosity at 28 days

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Innovative Infrastructure Solutions (2020) 5:103 Page 9 of 10  103

Table 3  Effect of basalt fibre Property Basalt fibre dosage

dosage on the properties of
concrete compared to control 4 kg/m3 8 kg/m3
12 mm 36 mm 50 mm 12 mm 36 mm 50 mm

Compressive strength (%) ↓3.9 ↓5.9 ↓10.7 ↓9.1 ↓12.8 ↓13.9

Flexural strength (%) ↑1.2 ↑4.3 ↑10.6 ↑13.3 ↑13.7 ↑16.3
Abrasion resistance (%) ↑7.3 ↑10.9 ↑11.3 ↑27.3 ↑27.1 ↑33.2
Porosity (%) ↑4.7 ↑11.3 ↑34.3 ↑39.1 ↑35.5 ↑41.7
Sorption (%) ↑1.9 ↑26.2 ↑34.1 ↑21.0 ↑29.5 ↑36.9
Initial sorptivity (%) ↑32.1 ↑63.4 ↑78.6 ↑57.1 ↑69.4 ↑78.6
Ultrasonic Pulse Velocity (%) ↓4.4 ↓9.7 ↓15.4 ↓9.4 ↓13.3 ↓22.6

application to which it was designed for. An increase of
about 14% (on average) in flexural strength of concrete
was obtained with an 8 kg/m3 dosage of basalt fibres.
This is a great benefit for pavement construction.
• The abrasion resistance of concrete more remarkably
increased when basalt fibres were incorporated. The
maximum increase of 33% was observed when with a
dose of 8 kg/m3 of 50 mm chopped basalt fibres were
used. Similar to the flexural strength, the amount of
increase in abrasion resistance of concrete has a direct
correlation to the dosage of fibres.
• Results from this study also showed the viability of using
a non-destructive test such as Ultrasonic Pulse Velocity
(UPV) to evaluate the performance of concrete mixtures
when incorporating basalt fibres.
Acknowledgements  The authors would like to thank MEDA limited
located in Windsor, ON, Canada, for the supplied basalt fibres and the
technical assistance provided for this research.
Compliance with ethical standards  00296​-w
Conflict of interest  The authors declare that they have no conflict of
interest.
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