Fiber Reinforced Composites (FRCs) for Construction Applications

A special issue of Fibers (ISSN 2079-6439).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 August 2021) | Viewed by 16332

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
College of Science and Engineering, Flinders University, South Australia 5042, Australia
Interests: advanced construction materials and technologies; fiber reinforced composite; eco-efficient and sustainable construction materials; nanocomposite; composite and smart structures; fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP); constitutive modelling of concrete
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor
Ingram School of Engineering, Texas State University, San Marcos, TX 78666, USA
Interests: structural engineering; construction materials; smart and high-performance infrastructure materials; high-strength and high performance concretes; waste-based concretes; geopolymers; fiber reinforced polymers (frps); composites incorporating recycled materials; green composites; biocomposites; structural applications of composites
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Science and Engineering, Flinders University, South Australia 5042, Australia
Interests: fiber-reinforced polymers (FRPs); concrete; high-strength concrete (HSC); confinement; concrete-filled FRP tube (CFFT); waste-based concrete
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Owing to their excellent strength-to-weight ratio, fiber-reinforced composites (FRCs) have received significant attention in different applications, e.g., automotive, marine, aerospace, and construction. This Special Issue of Fibers is dedicated to fiber-reinforced composites (FRCs) for construction applications. We are expecting to receive papers dealing with cutting-edge issues on the research and application of FRCs containing internal fibers in construction applications.

The topics of this Special Issue include but are not limited to the durability, mechanical, thermal, and fire properties of FRCs, FRCs that are manufactured using different types of internal fibers (including recycled, natural, and synthetic fibers), FRCs containing nanomaterials, and the long-term properties of FRCs. Both original contributions and reviews are welcome.

Dr. Aliakbar Gholampour
Prof. Dr. Togay Ozbakkaloglu
Dr. Thomas Vincent
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Fibers is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2000 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Fiber-reinforced composites (FRCs)
  • Construction
  • Internal fibers
  • Durability
  • Fire and thermal
  • Mechanical properties
  • Fire-resistant
  • Nano
  • Natural fibers
  • Recycled fibers
  • Synthetic fibers

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

14 pages, 28913 KiB  
Article
Reinforcement of Flexural Members with Basalt Fiber Mortar
by Dmitry Kurlapov, Sergey Klyuev, Yury Biryukov, Nikolai Vatin, Dmitry Biryukov, Roman Fediuk and Yuriy Vasilev
Fibers 2021, 9(4), 26; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/fib9040026 - 16 Apr 2021
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2220
Abstract
Reconstruction of buildings and structures is becoming one of the main directions in the field of construction, and the design and production of works during reconstruction are significantly different from the ones of new buildings and structures. After carrying out a number of [...] Read more.
Reconstruction of buildings and structures is becoming one of the main directions in the field of construction, and the design and production of works during reconstruction are significantly different from the ones of new buildings and structures. After carrying out a number of studies on the inspection of the technical condition of buildings in order to determine the effect of defects on the bearing capacity, the criteria for assessing the state of floor slab structures were identified. Conclusions on the state and further work of elements of reinforced concrete structures are considered. The authors achieve the aim of reinforcing flexural elements of reinforced concrete structures with fiber-reinforced mortar, which is especially important for floor elements with increased operational requirements. A technique for constructing a reinforcement layer using fiber-reinforced mortar from coarse basalt fiber has been developed. The parameters of basalt fiber in the reinforcement layer are substantiated. A method for solving problems of the operation of multilayer coatings under the influence of operational loads is used, in which the model prerequisites for describing the operation of layers are simplified, where the bearing layers are represented by classical Kirchhoff-Love plates. When solving problems, the maximum possible number of design features of flexural members is taken into account, in combination with appropriate experimental studies, the method allows us to consider all the variety of structures for reinforcing coatings and meet the needs of their practical application. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fiber Reinforced Composites (FRCs) for Construction Applications)
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11 pages, 6345 KiB  
Article
Cellulose Microfibril and Micronized Rubber Modified Asphalt Binder
by Ang Li, Abdu A. Danladi, Rahul Vallabh, Mohammed K. Yakubu, Umar Ishiaku, Thomas Theyson and Abdel-Fattah M. Seyam
Fibers 2021, 9(4), 25; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/fib9040025 - 07 Apr 2021
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2096
Abstract
Cellulose microfibrils (CMFs) and micronized rubber powder (MRP) can be derived from low or negative-cost agricultural/industrial waste streams and offer environment-friendly and cost-effective pathways to develop engineering products. This study investigated the efficacy of adding these micromodifiers on the performance characteristics of asphalt [...] Read more.
Cellulose microfibrils (CMFs) and micronized rubber powder (MRP) can be derived from low or negative-cost agricultural/industrial waste streams and offer environment-friendly and cost-effective pathways to develop engineering products. This study investigated the efficacy of adding these micromodifiers on the performance characteristics of asphalt binders. In this work, samples were produced using a mixture of slow-setting anionic asphalt emulsion with various combinations of MRP (at 0, 2 and 10 wt %) and four types of CMFs (hydrophobic and hydrophilic with crystalline ratios of 86% and 95%) at 0, 2 and 5 wt %. The performance of modified asphalt samples was assessed by penetration depth (PD), softening point (SP), and penetration index (PI). Linear regression analysis showed that adding CMFs and/or MRP reduced PD and increased SP values. The type of CMFs significantly affected the performance, which becomes more distinct with the increased weight content of CMFs. While hydrophilic CMFs caused increases in SP and PI values, no clear trend was seen to determine the effect of CMF crystallinity. It was also discovered that the combined addition of CMF and MRP achieved similar PI values at lower total weight content compared to using MRP alone. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fiber Reinforced Composites (FRCs) for Construction Applications)
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15 pages, 7057 KiB  
Article
Mechanical Performance of Fiber Reinforced Cement Composites Including Fully-Recycled Plastic Fibers
by Cesare Signorini and Valentina Volpini
Fibers 2021, 9(3), 16; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/fib9030016 - 01 Mar 2021
Cited by 33 | Viewed by 4145
Abstract
The use of virgin and recycled plastic macro fibers as reinforcing elements in construction materials has recently gained increasing attention from researchers. Specifically, recycled fibers have become more attractive owing to their large-scale availability, negligible cost, and low environmental footprint. In this work, [...] Read more.
The use of virgin and recycled plastic macro fibers as reinforcing elements in construction materials has recently gained increasing attention from researchers. Specifically, recycled fibers have become more attractive owing to their large-scale availability, negligible cost, and low environmental footprint. In this work, we investigate the benefits related to the use of fully-recycled synthetic fibers as dispersed reinforcement in Fiber Reinforced Cement Composites (FRCCs). In light of the reference performance of FRCCs including virgin polypropylene (PP) fibers only, the mechanical response of composites reinforced with polyolefin filaments treated with a sol-gel silica coating and polyethylene terephthalate (PET)/polyethylene (PE) cylindrical draw-wire fibers is here assessed through three-point bending tests. Remarkably, recycled polyolefins lead to a notable enhancement in terms of peak strength and post-crack energy dissipation capability. This improvement is ascribed to both the flattened shape of fibers and the surface coating, which turns out to be very effective at strengthening the fiber-to-matrix bond. On the other hand, PET/PE fibrous reinforcement generally leads to a lower toughness, if compared to the virgin fibers. However, no reduction in terms of peak stress is evidenced. Balancing the significance of mechanical performance and environmental sustainability in the framework of a circular economy approach, both fully-recycled fibers at hand can be regarded as promising candidates for innovative structural applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fiber Reinforced Composites (FRCs) for Construction Applications)
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13 pages, 1191 KiB  
Article
Investigation of the Potential Use of Curauá Fiber for Reinforcing Mortars
by Afonso R. G. de Azevedo, Sergey Klyuev, Markssuel T. Marvila, Nikolai Vatin, Nataliya Alfimova, Thuany E.S. de Lima, Roman Fediuk and Andrej Olisov
Fibers 2020, 8(11), 69; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/fib8110069 - 11 Nov 2020
Cited by 70 | Viewed by 3411
Abstract
Curauá is a bromeliad of Amazonian origin, present in some states in the northern region of Brazil and in other countries in South America. Its natural fibers have several technological advantages for application in composite materials. The objective of this research was to [...] Read more.
Curauá is a bromeliad of Amazonian origin, present in some states in the northern region of Brazil and in other countries in South America. Its natural fibers have several technological advantages for application in composite materials. The objective of this research was to investigate the potential of using the fiber of Curauá as a reinforcement element in mortars for wall covering. Mortars were made with a 1:1:6 ratio (cement:lime:sand) in relation to their mass, evaluating the effect of adding 1%, 2% and 3% of Curauá fiber natural and fiber treated in NaOH solution in relation to the mass of cement, compared to the reference mixture (0%). Technological properties such as consistency, water retention and incorporated air content, compressive strength, water absorption and durability in wetting and drying cycles were evaluated. The results showed that the addition of the Curauá fiber causes an improvement in the mechanical properties of mortars, and at levels of addition 3% or more, it causes problems of workability and incorporation of air into the dough, thus, the fiber addition in 2% presented better results for application in coating mortars, in relation a Brazilian norm, even improving the durability of external coatings. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fiber Reinforced Composites (FRCs) for Construction Applications)
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16 pages, 1383 KiB  
Article
Heat Treatment of Basalt Fiber Reinforced Expanded Clay Concrete with Increased Strength for Cast-In-Situ Construction
by Makhmud Kharun, Sergey Klyuev, Dmitry Koroteev, Paschal C. Chiadighikaobi, Roman Fediuk, Andrej Olisov, Nikolai Vatin and Nataliya Alfimova
Fibers 2020, 8(11), 67; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/fib8110067 - 02 Nov 2020
Cited by 43 | Viewed by 3169
Abstract
Expanded clay concrete (ECC) is a promising structural material for buildings due to its light weight and heat- and sound-insulating properties. Adding basalt fibers (BFs) in ECC reduces its brittleness and enhances its mechanical properties. The heat treatment (HT) of BF-reinforced ECC can [...] Read more.
Expanded clay concrete (ECC) is a promising structural material for buildings due to its light weight and heat- and sound-insulating properties. Adding basalt fibers (BFs) in ECC reduces its brittleness and enhances its mechanical properties. The heat treatment (HT) of BF-reinforced ECC can significantly accelerate the strength growth during cast-in-situ construction, which allows the reduction of the turnover of the formwork and the construction period, as well as leading to lower construction costs. This paper presents an HT technology for load-bearing structures, containing a BF-reinforced ECC mix and using infrared rays for cast-in-situ construction. The issue of the strength growth of BF-reinforced ECC during HT has been studied. Microsilica and fly ash were added to the ECC mix to obtain a compressive strength of more than 20 MPa. Four different mixes of ECC with chopped BFs in the ratios of 1:0, 1:0.0045, 1:0.009 and 1:0.012 by weight of cement were studied. Test specimens were heated by infrared rays for 7, 9, 11, 13, 16 and 24 h. Then, the heat-treated specimens were tested for compressive strength after 0.5, 4, 12 and 24 h cooling periods. The analysis and evaluation of the experimental data were carried out based on probability theory and mathematical statistics. Mathematical models are proposed for forecasting the strength growth of BF-reinforced ECC during cast-in-situ construction. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fiber Reinforced Composites (FRCs) for Construction Applications)
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