Reuse of tyre steel fibres as concrete reinforcement

Abstract

To attain economically viable and environmentally friendly tyre recycling, it is necessary to develop new applications and products, which will use tyre by-products (especially the steel cord) as raw materials. The authors demonstrate that the steel fibres recovered from used tyres can be used to reinforce concrete elements. This application has a great potential, as it is estimated that more than 500,000 tonnes of high quality steel fibres could be recovered annually from used tyres in the EU alone. This paper presents the work carried out as part of various ongoing projects on the use of steel fibres in concrete construction. The first part of the paper deals with waste management issues, the methods used to recover steel fibres from tyres, and existing applications of used tyres. The second part presents the mechanical behaviour of concrete elements reinforced with these steel fibres and discusses the relevant design and economic issues. It is concluded that the use of these steel fibres in concrete construction will not just benefit the construction industry, but will also benefit the producers and recyclers of used tyres. SYNOPSIS

Strength prediction model and methods for improving recycled aggregate concrete

“…It is reported [32,57,58] that the addition of ISF (up to a certain content e.g. 3% by mass) can increase the compressive strength of concrete in the range of 6-25%, though strength reductions were reported by others [60][61].…”

Serviceability performance of FRC columns under imposed displacements: An experimental study

“…At least four methods of tyre breaking-up are present in the market today (shredding, pyrolysis, microwave induced pyrolysis, and cryogenic processes: see Pilakoutas et al [12]). The fibres used in this study come from tyre shredding, which involves tyre trituration in squares of fixed dimension.…”

“…Previous research on this type of fibres for use in Roller Compacted Concretes points out the feasibility and advantages of their use [12][13][14][15], although their nature (heterogeneous, crooked, and hardly controllable due to current recycling technologies) makes them usable only in relatively small amounts in volume (approx. 1%) in order to guarantee concrete workability.…”

Influence of Tire‐Recycled Steel Fibers on Strength and Flexural Behavior of Reinforced Concrete

“…At present, waste tires in China are mainly used for retreading tires, processing rubber, and making rubber powder, but the metal wires are not used well. Around the world, some scholars have studied the properties of tirerecycled steel fiber reinforced concrete [1][2][3][4][5].…”