Recycled Plastic Fibers for Minimizing Plastic Shrinkage Cracking of Cement Based Mortar

The development of new construction materials using 
recycled plastic is important to both the construction and the plastic 
recycling industries. Manufacturing of fibers from industrial or 
postconsumer plastic waste is an attractive approach with such 
benefits as concrete performance enhancement, and reduced needs 
for land filling. The main objective of this study is to investigate the 
effect of Plastic fibers obtained locally from recycled waste on plastic 
shrinkage cracking of ordinary cement based mortar. Parameters 
investigated include: fiber length ranging from 20 to 50mm, and fiber 
volume fraction ranging from 0% to 1.5% by volume. The test results 
showed significant improvement in crack arresting mechanism and 
substantial reduction in the surface area of cracks for the mortar 
reinforced with recycled plastic fibers compared to plain mortar. 
Furthermore, test results indicated that there was a slight decrease in 
compressive strength of mortar reinforced with different lengths and 
contents of recycled fibers compared to plain mortar. This study 
suggests that adding more than 1% of RP fibers to mortar, can be 
used effectively for controlling plastic shrinkage cracking of cement 
based mortar, and thus results in waste reduction and resources 
conservation.