Fiber-reinforced concrete (FRC) and engineered cementitious composite materials have demonstrated promising requisite in construction industry owing to its superior mechanical and durability properties. In this study, a sustainable approach was taken, i.e., to use industry waste as a reinforcement with improved interfacial bonding leading to enhanced mechanical performance of FRC. An efficient in situ recycling process allowed the authors to extract glass fibers from glass fiber-reinforced polymer acrylic waste. Concrete mixes with low fiber dosages including 0.1%, 0.2%, and 0.3% (by volume) of recycled as well as virgin glass fibers were prepared. The slump of concrete was maintained ∼150 mm by using high water-reducing admixture (HWRA). Notably, lower amount of HWRA was required for raw glass fibers vis-à-vis recycled ones due to its hydrophobic nature. Overall, FRC enclosing 0.3% recycled glass fiber demonstrated >20% enhancement in compressive, split tensile, and flexural strength as compared to control (after 28 days of curing), also supported by morphological analysis.
Development of FRC Materials with Recycled Glass Fibers Recovered from Industrial GFRP-Acrylic Waste
