PULLMAN, Wash.
The microfiber-reinforced concrete can potentially reduce the amount of cement needed for a project or make the concrete last longer, saving carbon emissions as well as money for builders and owners.
Made of a polypropylene or polyester fabric where it contacts the skin and an ultra-fine polypropylene fiber for the filtering layers, medical masks have fibers that can be useful for the concrete industry.
In their proof-of-concept work, the researchers developed a process to fabricate tiny mask fibers, ranging from five to 30 millimeters in length, and then added them to cement concrete to strengthen it and to prevent its cracking.
They mixed the mask microfibers into a solution of graphene oxide before adding the mixture to cement paste.
The researchers are conducting more studies to test their idea that the graphene oxide-treated microfibers could also improve the durability of the concrete and protect it from frost damage and from deicing chemicals that are used on roadways.
Zhipeng Li, a graduate student in WSU’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, led the work, which was funded through the U.S.