Effect of industrial carpet waste fibers on the mechanical and toughness properties of self-compacting concrete

This research was aimed to evaluate the effect of the recycled waste carpet fiber on the mechanical properties of self-compacting concrete (SCC). Waste carpet fibers in 0, 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5% of volumes fraction of SCC were added. SCC samples have two different curing procedure; normal curing and curing at relative humidity of 30 %. For fresh stage, slump flow test, j-ring, V funnel and L box were done and for hardened stage, compressive and flexural tests were performed at the age of 28 days. The load–deflection curves were extracted from flexural test data to calculate the flexural toughness. Results show that by increasing fiber from 0 to 1.5%, the workability of SCC and compressive strength significantly decreases. However, reduction in workability for fibers up to 1% is still in the acceptable limits of EFNARC. From 0 to 1.5% waste fiber in flexural test, significant increases in energy absorption and toughness index were observed. The major increase in toughness index were observed from 0 to 0.5 % and after that does not change considerably.