| Summary: | Intermingled fractal unit (IFU), composed of many fractal units with different fractal characteristics and geometries, is used to reconstruct the pore fractal characteristics of porous materials. In this paper, a three-dimensional (3D)-IFU model for characterising the pore structure of hybrid basalt-polypropylene fibre-reinforced concrete (HBPRC) was developed, and the applicability of this model was verified by test results. The results indicated that the volume fraction of the macropore (≥100 nm) of HBPRC increases with the addition of fibres. The higher fibre content causes a larger volume fraction of the macropore. Moreover, the lower matrix strength of concrete causes a more significant effect of fibres on the macropore of HBPRC. Compared with other fractal models, the 3D-IFU model not only has excellent simulation capability for cumulative porosity distribution and pore size distribution but also has high fitting accuracy for the total porosity, critical pore size and threshold porosity of HBPRC. Furthermore, the fractal dimension of the pore size distribution, derived from the 3D-IFU model, well reflects the effect of fibres on the pore structure characteristics of HBPRC. Keywords: Basalt fibre, Polypropylene fibre, Pore structure, 3D-intermingled fractal unit model, Fractal dimension
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