The workability and mechanical properties of basalt fiber reactive powder concrete (BFRPC) were investigated by univariate analysis. The acoustic emission (AE) was used as a non-destructive technique to reveal the damage characterization of concrete samples of varying basalt fiber content. The fracture stages and modes of specimens during flexural test were determined by AE parameters. The content of silica fume, quartz sand and basalt fiber of 0.4, 1.3 and 10 kg/m³, respectively, was found related to optimal improvements in mechanical strength. As for the characteristics of fracture, it was found that the fiber content was a significant determinant, and the key AE parameters, namely, hits, energy and amplitude, were found related to the damage stage of specimens. Furthermore, rise time (RA) and average frequency (AF) were found to have opposite trends during loading while their variation related to the fracture modes of BFRPC.

Basalt fibers are widely used in the modification of concrete materials due to its excellent mechanical properties and corrosion resistance. In this study, the basalt fibers were used to modify reactive powder concrete (RPC). The effect of four mix proportion parameters on the working and mechanical properties of basalt fiber reactive powder concrete (BFRPC) was evaluated by the response surface methodology (RSM). The fluidity, flexural and compressive strength were tested and evaluated. A statistically experimental model indicated that D (the silica fume to cement ratio) was the key of interactions between factors, affecting other factors and controlling properties of BFRPC. The increase in basalt fiber content had a remarkable effect on increasing the flexural and compressive strength when D = 0.2. The addition of basalt fiber obviously improved the mechanical properties of RPC. While when D = 0.4, the decrease of fiber content and the increase of quartz sand content could increase the compressive strength.

Basalt fiber and crumb rubber, as excellent road material modifiers, have great advantages in improving the mechanical properties and fracture behavior of concrete. Acoustic emission (AE) is a nondestructive testing and real-time monitoring technique used to characterize the fracture behavior of concrete specimens. The object of this paper is to investigate the effects of crumb rubber replacement rate, basalt fiber content and water–binder ratio on the mechanical properties and fracture behavior of crumb rubber basalt fiber concrete (CRBFC) based on orthogonal test. The fracture behavior of a CRBFC specimen under three-point flexural conditions was monitored by AE technology and the relative cumulative hit (RCH) was defined to characterize the internal damage degree of CRBFC. The experimental results showed that, considering the mechanical strength and fracture damage behavior of CRBFC, the optimal crumb rubber replacement rate, basalt fiber content and water–binder ratio are 10%, 2 kg/m³ and 0.46, respectively. In addition, it was found that AE parameters can effectively characterize the fracture behavior of CRBFC. The fracture stages of CRBFC can be divided according to the cumulative AE hits and counts. AE amplitude value can be used as an early warning of CRBFC specimen fracture. Moreover, the fracture mode can be identified by RA and average frequency (AF) values variation during the loading process.