The use of cellulose fibres in concrete with special reference to wastepaper fibres

Abstract

The concept of using fibres to improve the behaviour of building materials is old and intuitive. Examples include adding straw fibres to sun-dried mud bricks (adobe) and asbestos fibres to pottery, thus creating a composite with a better performance. It is known that when fibres are added to cement products, flexural strength, impact resistance and toughness are improved, reducing the risk of brittle failure. Synthetic fibres used in cement-based composites include steel, polypropylene, glass and more recently Kevlar, carbon and high modulus polyethylene as well as a host of new synthetic fibres which are currently being developed.