Mechanical Strength Characterization of Plastic Fiber Reinforced Cement Concrete Composites

The reinforcing efficiency of plastic fibers obtained from shredded plastic waste was tested in plain concrete mixes and experimentally verified in this study. Plastic fibers up to 0.15% Vf were added to the design concrete mix to assess the fiber effectiveness in terms of improved load carrying capability of various plastic fiber incorporated concrete composites. The effects of plastic fibers distributed homogenously in the entire depth of concrete and confined in the tension zone were evaluated in flexural bending properties. Mechanical strength properties were evaluated for two different types of concrete containing (i) plastic fibers added homogenously throughout the entire depth of concrete and (ii) the plastic fibers confined in the tension zone only. Flexural bending parameters such as toughness, residual strength, crack width, post-peak drop load resistance, and fiber performance index of various plastic fiber substituted concrete mixes were tested in compressive and flexural bending to assess the fiber reinforcing efficiency. Test results indicated that the plastic fibers added in tension zone confinement exhibited higher flexural strength (5.26 N/mm2) improvements compared to homogeneously distributed concrete systems. Flexural bending characteristics in terms of absolute toughness and post peak strain softening were found to be appreciably higher (132%) in tension zone confined plastic fiber concretes compared to homogeneous fiber concrete systems.