Design and test of recycled plastic fibers for mortar reinforcement

The generation increase of solid waste represents a challenge for the development of new forms of recycling and reuse of materials. Plastics make up 10 % of solid waste worldwide and can be used to manufacture fibers for concrete and mortars. The aim of this paper was to design, and test recycled plastic fibers incorporated in cement mortars and compare their behavior with that of commercial fibers. For this, three dosages were elaborated: one standard mix, another mix with the designed fibers and a third one with commercial fibers. Test specimens were constructed and mechanical tests of compressive and flexural strength were carried out. The mixture with the developed fibers achieved more than one and a half times the flexural strength of the standard mixture at 28 days, while only a 25 % increase in the case of commercial fibers mixtures was achieved. The compressive resistance also improved. It was concluded that the performance of the designed fibers was better than that of the commercial fibers, and that the use of fibers improved the properties studied with respect to mortars without fibers.