On the mechanical response of Hybrid Fiber Reinforced Concrete with Recycled and Industrial Steel Fibers

This paper summarizes the results of an experimental research on “sustainable” cementitious composites internally reinforced with industrial and recycled steel fibers, the latter being recovered from waste tires and employed in substitution and/or addition of the industrial steel ones. Specifically, six concrete mixtures including different amount of industrial/recycled steel fibers were produced and tested both in compression and bending. The obtained results confirm the promising prospects already observed by the authors in a previous study on concrete reinforced with recycled steel fibers obtained from waste tires. Furthermore, they clearly demonstrate that industrial fibers can be replaced by an equal amount of recycled ones without a significant decay in the relevant mechanical properties, provided that the recycled fibers present adequate geometrical characteristics.