New ground has been broken in the concrete world after RMIT University in Australia discovered the use of scrap carpet fibres to make stronger concrete.
The latest results were published in the Construction and Building Materials journal. The research team has engaged with partners, including Textile Recyclers Australia, Godfrey Hirst Australia, and councils in Victoria, to conduct field studies.
According to RMIT’s latest release, the annual cost of repair for cracks in reinforced concrete structures in Australia is about A$8 billion. In the US, the cost is estimated at US$76 billion per year.
However, if the field studies go well, the latest research could roll out the carpet over those cracks with a stronger material.
Dr Chamila Gunasekara, lead researcher from RMIT University, said the team had developed a technique using waste carpet fibres to reduce early-age shrinkage cracking in concrete by up to 30 per cent, improving the concrete’s durability.
“Cracking in early-age concrete slabs is a long-standing challenge in construction projects that can cause premature corrosion, not only making a building look bad but also risking its structural integrity and safety,” said Gunasekara, an ARC DECRA fellow from the School of Engineering.
“Scrap carpet fibres can be used to increase concrete’s strength by 40 per cent in tension and prevent early cracking, by reducing shrinkage substantially.”
The study was conducted at RMIT University’s state-of-the-art textile research facilities. The team of civil engineers and textile researchers has also been able to use other discarded textiles, including clothing fabrics, to make concrete stronger.
The team is collaborating with Professor Andrzej Cwirzen Luleå University of Technology in Sweden on computational modelling.
The ARC Industrial Transformation Research Hub for Transformation of Reclaimed Waste Resources to Engineered Materials and Solutions for a Circular Economy (TREMS) and an early-career research grant will fund the field trials as well as computational modelling. TREMS is led by Professor Sujeeva Setunge from RMIT.
Laboratory concrete samples have been created using various textile materials and have been shown to meet Australian Standards for engineering performance and environmental requirements.
Gunasekara said the discarded material was shown to have a detrimental impact on the environment when disposed into landfill.
“Australia is the second largest consumer of textiles per person in the world, after the US. The average Australian purchases 27kg of new clothing and textiles every year, and discards 23kg into landfill,” he said.
“Burning carpet waste releases various toxic gases, creating environmental concerns.”
Dr Shadi Houshyar, a textile and material scientist at RMIT, said certain materials, like firefighting clothes, would be difficult to recycle in this fashion.
But, the studies so far have show many materials could be suitable to the new practice.
“Up to 70 per cent of textile waste would be suitable for conversion into usable fibres, presenting an opportunity in the materials supply chain,” said Houshyar, from the School of Engineering.
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