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https://doi.org/10.1007/s12633-020-00532-z

ORIGINAL PAPER

Development of Eco-Friendly Basalt Fibre Reinforced Cementitious

Composites Using Taguchi Method
Adeyemi Adesina 1 & Sreekanta Das 1

Received: 13 March 2020 / Accepted: 13 May 2020

# Springer Nature B.V. 2020

Abstract
In order to improve the sustainability of cementitious composites used for repair and construction applications, environmentally
friendly materials can be incorporated as components in the composites. As materials with a higher ductility are preferred for the
repair of structures such as pavement, short fibres can be incorporated into cementitious composites to improve the flexural and
tensile strength. In order to develop an eco-friendly composite, this study utilized fly ash to replace a high proportion of Portland
cement alongside basalt fibre which is an eco-friendly binder to reinforce to developed composites. Taguchi method was used to
design the mixtures in order to investigate the effect of various parameters on the performance of the developed composites. A
total of nine mixtures was developed according to the L9 array. Analysis of variance of the experimental results was carried out to
evaluate the effect of each of the investigated parameters, and the sum of squares method used to calculate the percentage
contribution of each parameter. Results obtained from this study showed that the use of fly ash to Portland cement ratio of 2
to 4 alongside a basalt fibre dosage of 2% resulted in acceptable mechanical properties for repair applications.

Keywords Fibre-reinforced composite . Cementitious composite . Basalt fibre . Mechanical properties . Taguchi method

1 Introduction issues. The development of basalt fibre from volcanic rocks in

Cementitious composites have been a preferred choice of con-
struction and repair material over the centuries due to its high
compressive strength and ability to form it into different
shapes. However, the failure of concrete after the first cracking
has limited its application for tensile and flexural applications.
In addition, the high content of Portland cement which is the
main binder used for these composites contributes a signifi-
cant amount to its embodied energy and carbon [1, 2]. In
pursuit of improving the performance of cementitious com-
posites, short fibres can be incorporated as reinforcement.
Numerous types of short fibre are currently available in the
market, however, the high cost and high embodied carbon of
most of these fibres pose major economic and sustainability
* Adeyemi Adesina
adesina1@uwindsor.ca
Sreekanta Das
sdas@uwindsor.ca
1
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of
Windsor, Windsor, Ontario, Canada
a less energy-intensive process has made it a greener alterna-
tive compared to other types of fibre. In addition to the sus-
tainability advantage of basalt fibres, its low cost coupled with
higher performance has made it a viable eco-friendly alterna-
tive binder to be used in cementitious composites [3–7].
However, as this is a relatively new material, its application
has been limited to the reinforcement of only concrete mix-
tures. In addition, the effect of the basalt fibre dosage on the
performance of cementitious mixtures is not yet well under-
stood. Therefore, having a comprehensive understanding of
how basalt fibre interacts with other components in cementi-
tious composite and the resulting performance is important.
On the other hand, the increasing emission of carbon dioxide
into the environment due to the production of the main binder
in cementitious composite (i.e. Portland cement) has called for
a need to find alternative materials that can be used to replace
it. Fly ash which is a waste product of the coal power gener-
ation is one of the viable materials that can be used as supple-
mentary cementitious material to replace the Portland cement.
Fly ash has been used extensively to replace Portland cement
in conventional cementitious materials such as concrete and
mortar due to its pozzolanic reaction and filler ability [8–12].
However, its use in a basalt fibre reinforced composite (BCC)

Table 1 Chemical composition of the binders
Chemical composition (%) PC FA
CaO 62.43 1.33
SiO2 19.78 61.3
Al2O3 5.38 19.91
Fe2O3 2.67 6.9
SO3 3.47 0.28
Available alkalis, as Na2O 0.12 1.02
is non-existent. The possible use of fly ash to replace Portland
cement is expected to improve the stability of the basalt fibres
in addition to improving the overall sustainability of the com-
posite. Hence, the main objective of this study is to develop a
cementitious composite made with high replacement of
Portland cement with fly ash up to 80% and reinforced with
basalt fibres. In order to evaluate the viability of the use of the
developed composite (i.e. BCC) for structural repair applica-
tions, the flexural and split tensile strength of the resulting
composites was investigated in this study. The main parameter
affecting the flexural and tensile performance of fibre-
reinforced composites are its composition which are the bind-
er content, fibre content, aggregate to binder ratio and water to
binder ratio [13, 14]. Therefore, the effect of fly ash to
Portland cement ratio, sand to binder ratio, water to binder
ratio and fibre dosage on the developed BCC was investigat-
ed. In order to be able to investigate the effects of these pa-
rameters effectively with minimal experimental work, the
Taguchi method was utilized for the mixture design. The
Taguchi method is an experimental design method that can
be used to evaluate the effect of various parameters concur-
rently and accurately [15–18]. The Taguchi method has been
used to evaluate the effect of various parameters on the per-
formance of the various cementitious composite. For example.
Riahi et al. [18] use the Taguchi method to investigate the
effect of various parameters on the compressive strength of
geopolymers at an early age. However, its application in the
design and optimization of fibre reinforced cementitious com-
posites is none. Therefore, this study employs the use of the
Taguchi method in developing and optimizing the effect of the
main parameters on the flexural and split tensile strength of
basalt fibre reinforced concrete. Based on this method, nine
sets of experiments were carried out, and the results obtained
were analyzed using ANOVA to determine the effect of each
level of every parameter on the resulting performance of BCC.
Table 2 Properties of basalt fibre
Length Diameter Density
(mm) (μm) (g/cm3)
18 16 2.7
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Table 3 Chemical composition of basalt fibres obtained from EDS
Compound SiO2 Al2O3 MgO CaO Na2O K2O
% 32.79 10.20 3.36 4.41 2.51 1.22
Microstructural investigations were also carried out on the
basalt fibre and some of the BCC mixtures.
2 Experimental Program
2.1 Materials
A binary blend of OPC (ordinary Portland cement) and fly ash
was used as a binder in this study. The chemical compositions
of the binders are presented in Table 1. Ultrafine silica sand
with an average and maximum aggregate size of 110 μm and
250 μm was used as the aggregate. Chopped basalt fibres with
an aspect ratio of 110 and mechanical properties and chemical
composition presented in Tables 2 and 3 respectively, were
used to reinforce all mixtures. The microstructural image of
the basalt fibre is presented in Fig. 1 and the corresponding
energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) spectrum is pre-
sented in Fig. 2. It can be observed from Fig. 1 that the basalt
fibres are made up of microfibrils which will ensure more
fibre-matrix bond. In order to achieve a workable mixture,
superplasticizer was employed to enhance the workability of
the mixtures.
2.2 Mixture Design
Four main parameters with the corresponding values consid-
ered in this study are presented in Table 4. These parameters
are fly ash to Portland cement ratio (1, 2, 4), sand to binder
ratio (0.25, 0.45, 1), water to binder ratio (0.25, 0.30, 0.35),
and the fibre dosage (1%, 2%, 5%). The target 28-day mini-
mum compressive strength for the mix design was 15 MPa
and the range of the compressive strength of these mixtures
obtained was 15 MPa to 45 MPa. The binder represents the
combined content of Portland cement and the fly ash and the
fibre dosage is with respect to the overall volume of the mix-
ture. Based on the Taguchi’s L9 array, a total of 9 test runs
were prepared. Each of the test runs (BCC1 to BCC9) are
presented in Table 5. Based on the signal to noise ratio, the
Tensile strength Elastic modulus Elongation
(MPa) (GPa) (%)
2000 75 3.1
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Fig. 1 Microstructural image of basalt fibre
obtained properties from the tests were used to calculate the
response index. Analyses of variable (ANOVA) was used to
analyze the results to determine the optimum levels.
2.3 Preparation and Curing of Specimen
The binder and aggregates were first dry mixed for two mi-
nutes followed by the addition of water premixed with a
superplasticizer. After all the water has been added, the
chopped basalt fibres were slowly added to the mixture as
mixing continues. After a uniform mixture has been obtained,
the fresh mixtures were cast into steel moulds. At approxi-
mately 24 h, all samples were demoulded and moist cured
until testing age.
2.4 Test Methods
The flexural and split tensile strength of the mixtures was
evaluated in accordance with ASTM standards. A schematic
of the test setups is presented in Fig. 3.
Fig. 2 EDS spectrum of basalt
fibre
Table 4 Parameters and levels used in the Taguchi’s design
Parameters Levels
A: Fly ash/Cement ratio 1, 2, 4
B: Sand to Binder ratio 0.25, 0.45, 0.35
C: Water to Binder ratio 0.25, 0.30, 0.35
D: Fibre dosage (%) 1, 2, 5
2.4.1 Flexural Strength
In order to determine the flexural strength of the mixtures
investigated, prisms specimens with a dimension of 100 mm ×
100 mm × 350 mm were tested using the four-point loading in
accordance with ASTM C 1609 [19].
2.4.2 Split Tensile Strength
The split tensile strength of the mixtures was carried out by
using cylindrical specimens with a dimension of 100 mm ×
200 mm respectively and following the test procedures in
ASTM 496 [20].
2.4.3 Microstructural Properties
Images of the microstructure of the basalt fibre used alongside
the microstructure of some of the mixtures were obtained
using scanning electron microscopy (SEM).
3 Results and Discussions
3.1 Flexural Strength
The flexural strength of the nine mixtures investigated is pre-
sented in Fig. 4. It can be observed that all the mixtures have a
flexural strength greater than 1 MPa. The flexural strength
greater than 1 MPa indicates the presence of basalt fibres in
the mixtures improved the flexural capacity of the mixtures. In
order to understand the effect of each parameter on the flexural
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Table 5 Values of parameters used in mixture

Test run Parameter A Parameter B Parameter C Parameter D

BCC1 1 0.25 0.25 1

BCC2 2 0.25 0.35 5
BCC3 2 1 0.25 2
BCC4 4 0.45 0.25 5
BCC5 4 0.45 0.35 1
BCC6 1 1 0.30 2
BCC7 1 1 0.30 5
BCC8 4 0.25 0.30 2
BCC9 2 0.45 0.35 1
Fig. 4 Flexural strength of BCC mixtures

strength, the ANOVA of the experimental results was carried
out.
Based on the ANOVA, the effects of various parameters on
the flexural strength of the mixtures are presented in Fig. 5. It
can be observed from Fig. 5 that the flexural strength of the
mixtures reduces with increasing fly ash content. This reduc-
tion in the flexural strength with increasing fly ash content can
be attributed to the lower reactivity of the fly ash which result-
ed in a lower bond between the components in the matrix.
However, as there is a lower effect of fly ash content on the
flexural strength (i.e. less than 1 MPa for fly ash to cement
ratio between 1 and 4), the use of large content of fly ash can
be incorporated into BCC mixtures to enhance its sustainabil-
ity. It can also be seen from Fig. 5 that there is an optimum
level for the sand to binder ratio and fibre dosage on the
flexural strength of BCC mixtures. The highest flexural
strength was observed when the sand to binder ratio and fibre
dosage were 0.45 and 2%, respectively. The reduction in flex-
ural strength of BCC mixtures past sand to binder ratio of 0.45
can be attributed to the higher aggregate content in the mixture
which results in higher porosity and a corresponding lower
flexural strength. The increase in the flexural strength of
BCC with increasing dosage of basalt fibre up to 2% can be
attributed to the enhancement of the matrix with the

Fig. 3 Test setup a Flexural

strength b split tensile strength
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Fig. 5 Effect of various

parameters on the flexural
strength of BCC mixtures

introduction of the basalt fibres. The increase in flexural fibre used to reinforce BCC7, it resulted in the lowest split
strength with increasing basalt fibre dosage is similar to that tensile strength. This result showed that the possible effect
observed by Branston et al. [13] and the study reported an associated with higher fibre dosage resulted in a reduction in
increase in flexural strength of concrete when the dosage of the split tensile strength of the mixtures. The higher split ten-
36 mm basalt increased from 4 kg/m3 to 8 kg/m3. However, sile strength for the other two BCC mixtures (i.e. BCC2 and
the consequential reduction of the flexural strength above the BCC4) incorporating 5% basalt fibre can be attributed to the
2% fibre dosage can be as a result of balling effect and intro- higher fly ash content which improves the workability of the
duction of more void content into the matrix. An enhanced mixture and the distribution of the fibres in the mixture. BCC8
flexural strength has also been improved for other cementi- exhibiting the highest flexural strength out of the three mix-
tious composites when fibres such as polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) tures can be attributed to the combined effect of the fibre
fibres were used as reinforcement [12, 21, 22]. Similar to
conventional cementitious materials (i.e. concrete, mortar,
etc.), it can be observed from Fig. 5 that the flexural strength
of the mixtures reduces with increasing water to binder ratio.
This reduction in flexural strength can be attributed to the
binder dilution effect. However, depending on the intended
application of BCC and the corresponding workability, water
to binder ratio up to 0.35 can be used as the resulting flexural
strength is still above 2 MPa.

3.2 Split Tensile Strength

The split tensile strength of the mixtures obtained from the

experimental evaluation of the nine mixtures is presented in
Fig. 6. It can be seen from Fig. 6 that despite the high basalt Fig. 6 Split tensile strength of BCC mixtures
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Fig. 7 Effect of various

parameters on the split tensile
strength of BCC mixtures

dosage and high content of fly ash. Several other studies in the
field of fibre reinforced cementitious composites where fibres
other than basalt fibres were used have shown that the use of
short fibres at 2% of the mixture volume is optimum [12, 23,
24].
Similar to the experimental results obtained for flexural
strength, ANOVA was also carried out on the experimental
results obtained for split tensile strength and the effect of var-
ious parameters on the split tensile strength presented in
Fig. 7. It can be found from Fig. 7 that the introduction of a
higher content of fly ash into the mixtures improved the split
tensile strength. This increasing split tensile strength with a
higher content of fly ash can be attributed to the fly ash parti-
cles acting as fillers and enabling optimal bond between fibre-
matrix interface. This observation indicates that up to 80% of
Portland cement can be replaced by fly ash without causing
any detrimental effect on the split tensile strength of the mix-
tures. For the effect of sand to binder ratio, it can be found
from Fig. 7 that up to a ratio of 0.45 there is no significant
effect of this parameter. However, above the ratio of 0.45, the
split tensile strength of the mixtures decreased significantly.
The reduction in split tensile strength above the sand to binder
ratio of 0.45 can be attributed to the possible increase in the
frictional bond between the components in the matrix which
leads to a hasten drop in the resistance to a tensile force. In
terms of the effect of the water to binder ratio on the split
tensile strength, it can be observed from Fig. 7 that the water
to binder has no significant effect on the split tensile strength
of the BCC mixtures. However, there still exists a decreasing
split tensile strength with increasing water to binder ratio
which can be attributed to the lowering of the bond between
the components in the matrix. As for the effect of fibre dosage
on the split tensile strength, the split tensile strength of the
mixtures increased up to a fibre dosage of 2% after which
there is a reduction in the split tensile strength. This observa-
tion is similar to the effect of fibre dosage observed on the

Table 6 Derived equations for

parameters Derived equations R2 p value

Flexural strength (MPa) = +2.10 + 0.38A +0.19B +0.60C -0.23D 0.95 0.0122
Split tensile strength (MPa) = +1.45–0.32A +0.15B +0.0120C -0.29D 0.98 0.0426

A - Fly ash/Portland cement B - Sand/Binder C - Water/Binder D - Dosage of basalt fibre (%)

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flexural strength (Fig. 5). The increase in the split tensile

strength up to 2% can be attributed to the fibre being able to
hold the matrix together with the introduction of higher fibre
dosage. This study agrees strongly with the results of other
studies where different types of fibres were used as reinforce-
ment for cementitious composites [12, 21, 24]. However, a
fibre dose of more than 2% f, the high void content created
with the higher fibre dosage coupled with possible balling
effect led to a detrimental reduction of the split tensile
strength. The visual observation of the balling of basalt fibres
in mixtures containing 5% fibre further confirms the detrimen-
tal effect of balling on the performance of BCC mixtures.

3.3 Optimization and Validation

Based on the experimental results and analysis, models were

Fig. 8 Percentage contributions of parameters on the flexural strength of
BCC
Fig. 9 Percentage contributions of parameters on the split tensile strength
of BCC mixtures
developed and used to obtain the graphical representation of
the effect of various parameters presented in Figs. 5 and 7. The
equations for the two properties investigated in this study are
presented in Table 6. The equations in Table 6 were obtained
after multiple linear regression analyses have been carried out
to determine the parameters and parameter interactions that
are statistically significant. The letters A, B, C, and D in
Table 6 represent the value for the fly ash to cement ratio,
sand to binder ratio, water to binder ratio, and the fibre dosage,
respectively. The percentage contribution of each parameter
on the flexural and split tensile strengths were also calculated
using the sum of squares method and the results presented in
Figs. 8 and 9 respectively. It can be observed from Fig. 8 that
the fibre dosage has a more significant effect on the flexural
strength of the mixtures followed by the water to binder ratio,
sand to binder ratio, and the fly ash to Portland cement ratio.
The high significant effect of fibre dosage can be attributed to
the presence of fibre improving the post cracking behaviour of
the composite. From Fig. 9, it can be observed that similar to
the effect of water to binder ratio on the split tensile strength
(Fig. 7) there is no significant effect of the water to binder ratio
on the split tensile strength. However, the fly ash to Portland
cement ratio plays a significant role (i.e. 43% contribution).
The high significance of the fly ash to Portland cement can be
attributed to the introduction of fly ash into the mixtures

Table 7 Optimized composition

of BCC Solution Fly ash/ Sand/ Water/ Fibre Flexural Split tensile
Cement Binder Binder dosage strength strength
(%) (MPa) (MPa)

S1 4 0.45 0.25 2 3.29 2.45

S2 4 0.45 0.35 2 3.03 1.88
S3 2 0.25 0.30 2 2.74 1.82
S4 4 0.25 0.25 2 3.16 2.43
S5 2 0.45 0.30 2 2.88 1.84

Table 8 Optimized and
experimental results of the top 3 Mixture Optimized
mixtures
Flexural strength
(MPa)
S1 3.29
S2 3.03
S5 2.88
affecting the interaction at the fibre-matrix interface. The fibre
dosage in the BCC mixtures has approximately the same con-
tribution to the split tensile strength as that to the flexural
strength.
The models developed were then used to further optimize
the mixtures in terms of maximizing both the flexural and split
tensile strengths of the mixtures. This numerical optimization
was done using the desirability function of the response of the
material property. Based on the optimization, the top five
mixtures provided as a solution are presented in Table 7 with
their corresponding composition and properties. It can be ob-
served that top mixtures obtained from the optimization of
maximizing the flexural strength and flexural strength sug-
gested the use of a 2% basalt fibre dosage for all the five
solutions. This optimization results further support the exper-
imental and numerical results obtained. It is also interesting to
observe from Table 7 that for all the optimized mixtures, the
fly ash to Portland cement ratio is higher than one showing
that the incorporation of fly ash into the mixtures improves
both the mechanical performance and sustainability of the
BCC mixtures. In order to validate the optimized proportions
obtained from the Taguchi method, the top three optimized
mixtures were selected based and experimental investigations
carried out to evaluate the flexural and the split tensile
strengths of the mixtures. The predicted results and the exper-
imental results of the mixture selected are presented in
Table 8. It can be observed from Table 8 that the experimental
values agree closely with the optimized results showing that
Fig. 10 Correlation between optimized and experimental results
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Experimental
Split tensile strength Flexural strength Split tensile strength
(MPa) (MPa) (MPa)
2.45 3.79 2.82
1.88 3.54 2.76
1.84 3.12 2.49
the Taguchi method is effective in optimizing the parameters
and properties of the BCC mixtures. A correlation between the
experimental results and optimized results is derived and pre-
sented in Fig. 10.
3.4 Microstructural Properties
The microstructural images of a few mixtures were ob-
tained using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The
SEM images of BCC1, BCC2, and BCC4 are presented
in Fig. 11. It can be observed from the figure that there is
a high presence of unreacted fly ash in all the mixtures.
This indicates more cementitious products will be formed
as the pozzolanic reaction progress slowly leading to en-
hanced performance. The study by Branston et al. [13]
and Scheffler et al. [3] reported the degradation of basalt
fibres in concrete mixtures due to the high alkalinity of
the cement solution. Comparing the SEM image of the
fibre presented in Fig. 1 and those in the composites in
Fig. 11, it can be observed that no degradation of the fibre
occurred. This stability of the basalt fibres in the BCC
mixtures evaluated in this study can be attributed to the
use of high content of fly ash used to replace Portland
cement leading to lowering the alkalinity of the pore sys-
tem. Dias and Thaumaturgo [25] reported similar stability
of basalt fibres in geopolymer concrete comprised of
metakaolin as a replacement of Portland cement. Also,
Branston et al. [13] reported that coarse aggregate dam-
aged the basalt fibre during the mixing process. However,
no damage was observed on the basalt fibres surfaces in
this study due to the elimination of coarse aggregate in
BCC mixtures and the use of ultra-fine aggregate.
4 Conclusions
In this paper, basalt fibre reinforced cementitious composite
was designed, evaluated, and optimized for structural repair
applications. Based on the experimental and analytical results
obtained in this study, the following conclusions can be
drawn:
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Fig. 11 SEM images a BCC1 b
BCC2 c BCC4
1. Eco-friendly cementitious fibre reinforced composites can
be developed with the use of high content of fly ash to
replace Portland cement and an optimum dose of basalt
fibre without any resulting detrimental effect on the per-
formance of the developed composite.
2. The incorporation of basalt fibre up to a dosage of 2% is
optimum to improve the flexural and split tensile strength
of BCC mixtures. A dose higher than 5% fibre, the per-
formance of the BCC mixtures deteriorated significantly
due to the balling effect associated with higher fibre dos-
age in the cementitious composite.
3. Microstructural investigations showed that the use of fly
ash to partially replace Portland cement in the BCC mixture
resulted in the stability of the basalt fibres in the mixtures in
addition to improving the sustainability of the composite.
4. A good correlation between the optimized results and ex-
perimental results showed that the Taguchi method is a
viable method to design and optimize the performance
and composition of basalt fibre reinforced composites
with a minimal amount of experimental work.
Acknowledgments The authors acknowledge the Natural Sciences and
Engineering Research Council of Canada for the financial support provided.
Data Availability All data presented in the paper.
Compliance with Ethical Standards
Conflict of Interest None.
Code Availability Not applicable.
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