Recycled Polyethylene Fibres for Structural Concrete

Modern society demands more sustainable and economical construction elements. One of the available options for manufacturing this type of element is the valorisation of end-of-life waste, such as, for example, the recycling of polymers used in industry. The valorisation of these wastes reduces costs...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Jose A. Sainz-Aja, Marcos Sanchez, Laura Gonzalez, Pablo Tamayo, Gilberto Garcia del Angel, Ali Aghajanian, Soraya Diego, Carlos Thomas
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2022-03-01
Series:Applied Sciences
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/12/6/2867
Description
Summary:Modern society demands more sustainable and economical construction elements. One of the available options for manufacturing this type of element is the valorisation of end-of-life waste, such as, for example, the recycling of polymers used in industry. The valorisation of these wastes reduces costs and avoids the pollution generated by their landfill disposal. With the aim of helping to obtain this type of material, this work describes a methodology for recycling polyethylene for the manufacture of fibres that will later be used as reinforcement for structural concrete. These fibres are manufactured using an injection moulding machine. Subsequently, their physical and mechanical properties are measured and compared with those of the material before it is crushed and injected. The aim of this comparison is to evaluate the recycling process and analyse the reduction of the physical-mechanical properties of the recycled polyethylene in the process. Finally, to determine the properties of the fibre concrete, three types of concrete were produced: a control concrete, a reinforced concrete with 2 kg/m<sup>3</sup> of fibres, and a reinforced concrete with 4 kg/m<sup>3</sup> of fibres. The results show an enhancement of mechanical properties when the fibres are incorporated, particularly the tensile strength; and they also show excellent performance controlling cracking in concrete.
ISSN:2076-3417