Mechanical Performance of Textile Reinforced Concretes using Steel Welded Mesh and AR-Glass Mesh Reinforcements

Comparative Study in M30 and M40 Grades

Abstract

This study compares the mechanical performance of textile reinforced concrete (TRC) using two commercially available two-dimensional mesh reinforcements — steel welded mesh and AR-glass mesh — across two concrete grades (M30, M40) and two reinforcement dosages (1% and 1.5%, achieved via two and three mould-placed mesh layers respectively). Eight reinforced series (SM1–SM4, GM1–GM4) and two unreinforced control mixes were cast into cubes, cylinders, beams, and thin cement-mortar panels (304.8 × 304.8 × 25 mm), then tested at 7 and 28 days for compressive, split tensile, and flexural strength, for a total of 216 specimens with triplicate replicates and Welch's t-test verification of significance.

Steel mesh matched or exceeded AR-glass mesh strength in every configuration, with the gap narrow in bulk specimens (1–3%) but reaching up to 31% in thin panels. Raising dosage from 1% to 1.5% consistently increased strength for steel mesh (up to ~12% in panels) but consistently decreased it for AR-glass mesh (up to ~6% in panels) — a divergence significant across all specimen types. The best-performing configuration, M40-grade concrete with 1.5% steel mesh (series SM4), reached 9.12 MPa panel flexural strength, outperforming its AR-glass counterpart by 31% and its grade-matched unreinforced control by 4.8–6.0% across all bulk tests. Isolated analysis of the grade and dosage effects shows a real but modest positive interaction between concrete grade and steel mesh dosage in thin panels, rather than a large synergistic effect.

The results indicate that reinforcement bond quality and geometry, not matrix strength alone, govern the response of thin-section TRC elements, and support steel welded mesh as the stronger option where corrosion protection is manageable, while AR-glass mesh remains suitable where corrosion resistance is the governing design constraint.