Effect of Nylon Fiber Addition on the Performance of Recycled Aggregate Concrete

The adhered mortars in recycled aggregates (RA) may lower the performance of the concrete, by for instance reducing its strength and durability, and by cracking. In the present study, the effect of nylon fiber (NF) on the permeability as well as on the mechanical properties of concrete incorporating 100% RA was experimentally investigated. Concrete was produced by adding 0, 0.6 and 1.2 kg/m3 of NF and then cured in water for a predetermined period. Measurements of compressive and split tensile strengths, ultrasonic pulse velocity and total charge passed through concrete were carried out, and the corresponding test results were compared to those of concrete incorporating crushed stone aggregate (CA). In addition, the microstructures of 28-day concretes were examined by using the FE-SEM technique. The test results indicated that recycled coarse aggregate concrete (RAC) showed a lower performance than crushed stone aggregate concrete (CAC) because of the adhered mortars in RA. However, it was obvious that the addition of NF in RAC mixes was much more effective in enhancing the performance of the concretes due to the crack bridging effect from NF. In particular, a high content of NF (1.2 kg/m3) led to a beneficial effect on concrete properties compared to a low content of NF (0.6 kg/m3) with respect to mechanical properties and permeability, especially for RAC mixes.