Examining the compressive strength of bacterial concrete of grade M20 reinforced with polypropylene fiber

Abstract

Aim: The aim of the study is to Increase the compressive strength of concrete by adding polypropylene fibre to the concrete and to quantify the compressive strength of polypropylene fibre reinforced self compacting M20 grade bacterial concrete using a novel Microbial Induced Calcite Precipitation (MICP) technique. Novel MICP is a biological process in which calcite calcium carbonate (CaCO₃) formation is achieved as a result of the active metabolism of bacteria. Materials and Methods: A total of 36 samples were prepared for this study in which 18 samples per group. one group with fibre, another group without fibre. The fibre is like polypropylene fibre. Bacillus subtilisbacteria was prepared using novel MICP technique in the Microbiology laboratory using a mother strain brought from the hi-media labs. Using SPSS software version 21, an independent sample T-test was performed, revealing a clear increase in the compressive strength of the polypropylene fibre reinforced self compacting bacterial concrete compared to self compacting bacterial concrete. Results: The mean compressive strength of polypropylene fibre reinforced self compacting M20 grade bacterial concrete was 33.3347N/mm² and the compressive strength of self compacting bacterial concrete without fibre was 27.5841N/mm² using novel MICP technique.Independent sample t-test was performed to analyse the results. Standard deviation for polypropylene fibre reinforced bacterial concrete was 1.98535 Significance of the events was p=0.003 (p>0.05). Conclusion: The polypropylene fibre reinforced self compacting concrete had more strength compared to bacterial concrete without fibres using novel MICP technique. When compared to bacterial concrete, the polypropylene fibre compressive strength increased by 20.85%.