Materials and Structures (2017) 50:157

DOI 10.1617/s11527-017-1026-6

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Performance of scrap tire steel fibers in OPC

and alkali-activated mortars
Obinna Onuaguluchi . Paulo H. R. Borges . Aamer Bhutta .
Nemkumar Banthia

Received: 25 November 2016 / Accepted: 15 March 2017 / Published online: 22 March 2017
 RILEM 2017

Abstract In this study, the mechanical strength, total
porosity and corrosion performance of ordinary Port-
land cement (OPC), class F fly ash (PFA) and
metakaolin (MK) alkali-activated mortars (AAM)
reinforced with 1 and 2% mass fraction of scrap tire
steel fibers (SSF) were investigated. The accelerated
corrosion test comprised of immersion of specimens in
a 5% NaCl solution and specimen electrical resistivity
measurements over a three-month period. Thereafter,
surface and internal corrosion of SSF in these matrices
were also characterized using image analyses. Com-
pressive and the four-point flexural strength were
assessed before (28-day cured specimens) and after
accelerated corrosion testing. The results indicate that
SSF may be employed as discrete fiber reinforcement
for OPC and AAM mixtures, as the former improves
deformation and toughness of the mortars even after
the accelerated corrosion testing. Nonetheless AAM
presented higher porosity and reduced electrical
resistivity than OPC mortars, probably due to alkali
O. Onuaguluchi (&)
P. H. R. Borges

A. Bhutta
N. Banthia
Department of Civil Engineering, University of British
Columbia, 6250 Applied Science Lane, Vancouver,
BC V6T 1Z4, Canada
e-mail: luchiobinna@yahoo.com
P. H. R. Borges
Department of Civil Engineering, Federal Center for
Technological Education of Minas Gerais,
Belo Horizonte, Brazil
leaching. While the surface and internal corrosion
performance of the SSF-reinforced MK-based AAM
was poor, PFA-based AAM presented internal corro-
sion comparable to that of the OPC mortar, as well as
the lowest surface corrosion among the mortars
studied.
Keywords Mortar
Alkali-activated materials

Mechanical strength
Porosity
Fiber corrosion
1 Introduction
It is estimated that approximately one billion scrap
tires are generated annually across the world [1].
Hence, to guard against the environmental menace
associated with the indiscriminate dumping of scrap
tires, the reuse of scrap tires for energy generation and
the recycling of its processing by-products such as
crumb rubber, polymeric and steel fibers are presently
being promoted in many developed countries. Signif-
icant reuse success has been attained for crumb rubber
particles, which are being utilized in the production of
a wide variety of products such as paving blocks for
sidewalk and recreational turfs, insulation material,
dampers and etc. [2–4]; however, the reuse of scrap
tire steel fibers (SSF) has been largely restricted to its
utilization as feedstock in steel manufacturing plants.
It seems that the huge dimensional variability of SSF,
discoloration due to atmospheric oxidation and