Effect of waste cement bag fibers on the mechanical strength of concrete

Polypropylene (PP) fibers for making fabric which is used for packing cement have a high strength and high tear resistance. Due to these excellent properties the present study investigates the effect of PP fibers on the mechanical strength of concrete. Mechanical strength parameters such as compressive strength, splitting tensile strength and flexural strength are evaluated. Structural integrity of concrete using Ultrasonic Pulse Velocity (UPV) was also studied. Concrete containing PP fibers in percentage of 0%, 0.15%, 0.25%, 0.5% and 0.75% was developed with a characteristic compressive strength of 25 MPa. Concrete cubes, cylinder and prismatic specimens were cast and tested. It was found that the UPV values recorded for all specimens were of the similar order. Test results indicated the used of PP fibers can significantly improve the flexural and splitting tensile strengths of concrete materials whereas it resulted a decreased in compressive strength. The relative increase in split tensile and flexural strength was optimum at a fiber dosage of 0.5% and a mild decreased were observed in 28 days compressive strength. The findings in this paper suggested that PP fibers deriving from these waste cement bags are a feasible fiber option for fiber-reinforced concrete productions.