Rubber concrete steel fiber reinforced

Fiber-reinforced plastics are the most successful composite materials. In spite of the poor load-bearing ability of polymeric materials, excellent mechanical properties are achieved by using fiber architectures of glass and carbon hbers in a manner similar to the reinforcement of concrete with steel rods and frames. For example, toughened polymeric materials with dispersed rubber particles in a polymer matrix exhibit high fracture energy. In composite materials, introduction of secondary materials into the matrix can improve the mechanical properties considerably. 

A total of four types of recycled fiber plus two types of virgin fiber were used as the reinforcement in concrete. Three recycled fibers were obtained from disposed tires and one from carpet waste. The tire fibers included two types of tire fabrics composed of polymeric tire cords, tire-rubber strips which were the main component of tires, and tire steel fibers which were the radial steel reinforcement of tires. The fibers from carpet waste contained backing fibers (nsually polypropylene), latex adhesive particles, and a small amount of face fibers. In addition, hooked end steel fibers and FiberMesh polypropylene fibers were also used as virgin fibers for comparison. Recycled fiber volume fractions in each composite were fixed at 2% except that the tire steel fiber and the virgin fibers (steel fiber and FiberMesh) were used at a 1 vol%. 

Most metals, concrete, and other construction materials are corroded by hydrobromic acid. Suitable materials of construction include some fiber glass-reinforced plastics, some chemically resistant rubbers, PVC, Teflon, polypropylene, and ceramic-, rubber-, and glass-lined steel. Metals that are used include Hastelloy B, Hastelloy C, tantalum, and titanium. The Hastelloys can only be used at ambient temperatures. Liquid hydrogen bromide under pressure in glass at or above room temperature can attack the glass resulting in unexpected shattering. 

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