Research progresses of fibers in asphalt and cement materials: A review

Asphalt mixtures and cement concrete are an important material in the construction of roads, highways and buildings, and there has been a lot of research about the improvement of their performance. Among them, fibers are commonly used in the construction industry because of their superior properties as reinforcing materials that can provide a proper interfacial action between the fibers and the substrate. This review classifies fibers into natural fibers, inorganic fibers and polymer fibers according to their sources and properties. It summarizes and compares the characteristics, modification methods, usage requirements and research status of each type of fiber in asphalt and cement construction materials, and analyzes the problems and challenges faced by fibers in their applications. The evaluation results show that various types of fibers can enhance the fracture resistance, tensile strength and rutting resistance of asphalt to a certain extent, improve the high temperature performance and viscoelasticity of asphalt, and have a certain effect on the fatigue resistance and road water resistance of asphalt mixes. The fibers also provide better tensile, compressive and abrasion resistance to cement concrete and improve the brittleness and crack resistance of ordinary cement. Besides, for some defects of various types of fibers in construction materials, such as biodegradability, dispersibility and surface inertness of fibers, the targeted modification of fibers is introduced based on physical and chemical modification methods to improve the performance impact of modified fibers in various conditions of application.