Impact of waste fibers on the mechanical performance of concrete composites

Abstract

Concrete composite reinforced with fibers enhances strength at the micro level, to reduce cracks and to make it lighter in weight. Previous researchers used metallic, vegetable as well as synthetic fibers for this purpose. In the current study, waste synthetic fibers (glass, polyester, and polypropylene) were added in three different proportions (2%, 4%, and 6%) by the weight of cement. The aim was to investigate their effect on the mechanical properties of fiber reinforced concrete (FRC) and fiber reinforced mortar (FRM). After curing of samples for 28 days different mechanical testing (compressive strength, impact strength, and three-point bending strength) were conducted to compare their performance. From the results obtained it was concluded that the mechanical properties were improved by adding the synthetic fibers with different proportions. Glass fiber has the highest effect on the compressive strength of FRC followed by polypropylene and polyester fibers. 4% proportions of the fibers had better performance in mechanical properties of FRC than 2% and 6% in all the samples tested. Also, in flexural strength, the same trend was observed while in impact strength the polyester performs better than polypropylene. From the results, it was concluded that the glass fiber reinforced concrete has given the best performance with 4% fiber ratio in all aspects.

Keywords:

• Synthetic fibers
• fiber reinforced concrete composite
• fiber reinforced mortar
• ordinary Portland cement

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.