Sustainable High-Performance Concrete Reinforced with Hybrid Steel Waste Fibers

Abstract

This research aims to study the benefit of using fibers made from waste materials in concrete and evaluate the ability to use these fibers as a substitute for commercial fibers. Different aspect ratios of alternative fibers formed from cut steel tied wire waste were utilized. This material is selected because of its low price and wide availability. Two concrete mixes with 15% waste crushed clay brick coarse aggregate reinforced with different volume fractions of 1.0 and 1.5% and an aspect ratio of 40 were prepared. Also, three concrete mixes reinforced with a hybrid aspect ratio of 40 and 65 of tied wire waste steel fibers (TWWSF) with different volume fractions of 1.0% and 1.5% were prepared. The compressive, splitting tensile, flexural strengths, and ultrasonic pulse velocity (UPV) of all prepared concrete mixes were tested. The results illustrate that the inclusion of tied wire waste steel fibers significantly enhances the strength of concrete with 15% waste crushed clay brick coarse aggregate, and high-performance concrete with compressive strength of up to 85 MPa can be produced. The enhancement in compressive, splitting, and flexural strengths were 29%, 42.8%, and 38%, respectively, for concrete reinforced with a fiber aspect ratio of 40 and volume fraction of 1.5%. In comparison, for the same volume fraction, the percentage was 22%, 48%, and 44%, respectively, for equal content of hybrid aspect ratio of 40 and 65.