The construction and building industries are among the most impacting activities on the environment. As concrete is one of the leading composite materials for construction, the identification of strategies aimed to reduce its environmental impact is crucial for greening the building industry. One way to reduce this impact involves the opportunity to recycle waste material employing it as fiber in concrete reinforcement, following the circular economy principles. The feasibility of using different waste materials in Recycled Fiber Reinforced Concrete (RFRC) is attracting practitioners’ attention. The main reasons are the possibility of reducing raw materials withdrawals and costs, waste disposal volumes, environmental pollution and improving resource conservation. Additionally, the introduction of different fiber reinforcements in concrete can effectively enhance its toughness, strength, shrinkage and durability. Through a systematic literature review, the paper analyzes the academic literature on concrete reinforcement using recycled fibers. The main goal is to provide an exhaustive analysis of the phenomenon with rigorous and reproducible research criteria. The original 648 records were collected through the Scopus database. After material evaluation, 194 papers matched the research questions formulated. The material was critically analyzed using structural dimensions to group literature into analytical categories. The analytical categories employed were type of research, keywords network analysis, sustainability, RFRC properties, material of recycled fibers and source industries. RFRC is a research topic, which is rapidly growing over the last years and scholars’ attention is focused both on engineering aspects and environmental sustainability considerations. Results show how the recycled materials that have been mainly studied are plastic fibers and steel fibers, followed by natural fibers. Eventually, the study provides limitations and proposes future lines of research.

Recycled Fibers in Reinforced Concrete: a systematic literature review (short version)

Alessia Acampora;
2019-01-01

Abstract

The construction and building industries are among the most impacting activities on the environment. As concrete is one of the leading composite materials for construction, the identification of strategies aimed to reduce its environmental impact is crucial for greening the building industry. One way to reduce this impact involves the opportunity to recycle waste material employing it as fiber in concrete reinforcement, following the circular economy principles. The feasibility of using different waste materials in Recycled Fiber Reinforced Concrete (RFRC) is attracting practitioners’ attention. The main reasons are the possibility of reducing raw materials withdrawals and costs, waste disposal volumes, environmental pollution and improving resource conservation. Additionally, the introduction of different fiber reinforcements in concrete can effectively enhance its toughness, strength, shrinkage and durability. Through a systematic literature review, the paper analyzes the academic literature on concrete reinforcement using recycled fibers. The main goal is to provide an exhaustive analysis of the phenomenon with rigorous and reproducible research criteria. The original 648 records were collected through the Scopus database. After material evaluation, 194 papers matched the research questions formulated. The material was critically analyzed using structural dimensions to group literature into analytical categories. The analytical categories employed were type of research, keywords network analysis, sustainability, RFRC properties, material of recycled fibers and source industries. RFRC is a research topic, which is rapidly growing over the last years and scholars’ attention is focused both on engineering aspects and environmental sustainability considerations. Results show how the recycled materials that have been mainly studied are plastic fibers and steel fibers, followed by natural fibers. Eventually, the study provides limitations and proposes future lines of research.
2019
978-84-09-16893-4
Concrete
Recycled fiber
Fiber reinforced concrete
Sustainability
Circular Economy
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12606/2500
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