Park et al. (2023) — Cementless Ultra-Ductile Composites Reinforced by Polyethylene-Based Short Selvedge Fibers for Sustainable and Resilient Infrastructure

Citation

Park, S.-E., Choi, J.-I., Nguyễn, H. H., Lương, Q.-H., Nguyễn, P. H., & Lee, B. Y. (2023). Cementless ultra-ductile composites reinforced by polyethylene-based short selvedge fibers for sustainable and resilient infrastructure. Journal of Building Engineering, 68, 106198.

DOI: 10.1016/j.jobe.2023.106198
Atlas layer: core
Related Victor Li book chapter: Chapter 4: Pseudo Strain-Hardening Criteria & Chapter 7: Alternative Reinforcing Fibers (Recycled / By-product Fibers) & Chapter 8: Life Cycle Assessment (MSI) & Chapter 9: Green ECC (pp. 307–342)
Source PDF: park-2023-cementless-ultra-ductile-composites-reinforced.pdf
Extracted text: full_text/park-2023-cementless-ultra-ductile-composites-reinforced_full_text.md
Source note: source_notes/park-2023-cementless-ultra-ductile-composites-reinforced_source_note.md

Why this paper matters

A breakthrough circular economy study from Chonnam National University developing 100 % cementless and virgin-fiber-free composites by upcycling discarded industrial woven fabric PE edge-trimmings (selvedge fibers) into alkali-activated slag and fly ash matrices, achieving tensile strain capacities of 8.9–10.2 % ($\sigma_u > 7.0\text{ MPa}$) while increasing tensile toughness per environmental footprint unit by up to 12 times.

Main contribution

Eliminates both Portland cement and virgin manufactured synthetic fibers by synthesizing composites from industrial by-products (GGBS/fly ash) and post-industrial PE selvedge trimmings.
Formulates alkali-activated slag (AAS) and alkali-activated fly ash (AAF) composites reinforced with 1.75–2.0 vol. % recycled short PE selvedge fibers.
Demonstrates that selvedge-reinforced slag composites (AAS-S) achieve $f_c = 53.2\text{ MPa}$, $\sigma_u = 9.2\text{ MPa}$, and $\epsilon_u = \mathbf{8.90\%}$, while fly ash composites (AAF-S) reach $\epsilon_u = \mathbf{10.20\%}$ and $\sigma_u = 7.1\text{ MPa}$.
Conducts comprehensive Material Sustainability Indicators (MSI) modeling, revealing that upcycled selvedge fibers slash total composite embodied energy by 72 % and material cost by 81 %.
Establishes a new benchmark metric: tensile toughness per MSI unit is 1.3 to 12 times higher than conventional ECC and virgin-fiber geopolymer composites.

Evidence summary

Material Matrix Systems:
AAS: 100 % GGBFS activated by solid $\text{Ca(OH)}_2$ (11.1 wt%), $w/b = 0.30, \rho = 2.00\text{ g/cm}^3$.
AAF: 100 % Class F Fly Ash activated by SMP + $\text{NaOH}$ ($w/b = 0.345, \rho = 1.68\text{ g/cm}^3$).
Fiber Types:
Virgin UHMWPE fibers: $l_f = 18\text{ mm}, d_f = 12\ \mu\text{m}, \sigma_f = 2700\text{ MPa}, E_f = 88\text{ GPa}$.
Recycled Short Selvedge PE Fibers: Discarded textile edge-waste chopped to 12–18 mm, preserving high base tensile strength ($> 2500\text{ MPa}$).
Mechanical Performance Comparison:
AAS-S (Slag + Selvedge PE 1.75 %): $f_c = \mathbf{53.2\text{ MPa}}$, $\sigma_u = \mathbf{9.2\text{ MPa}}$, $\epsilon_u = \mathbf{8.90\%}$.
AAS-P (Slag + Virgin PE 1.75 %): $f_c = 54.8\text{ MPa}$, $\sigma_u = 11.5\text{ MPa}$, $\epsilon_u = 7.80\%$.
AAF-S (Fly Ash + Selvedge PE 2.0 %): $f_c = 28.5\text{ MPa}$, $\sigma_u = \mathbf{7.1\text{ MPa}}$, $\epsilon_u = \mathbf{10.20\%}$.
AAF-P (Fly Ash + Virgin PE 2.0 %): $f_c = 31.2\text{ MPa}$, $\sigma_u = 6.8\text{ MPa}$, $\epsilon_u = 13.70\%$.
Material Sustainability Indicators (MSI):
Embodied Energy: AAS-S = $1.72\text{ GJ/m}^3$ (vs. $6.07\text{ GJ/m}^3$ for M45 ECC, -72 %).
Material Cost: AAS-S = $118\text{ USD/m}^3$ (vs. $624\text{ USD/m}^3$ for M45 ECC, -81 %).
Toughness/MSI Efficiency: 1.3x to 12.0x higher energy absorption per dollar and per kilogram of $\text{CO}_2$.

Linked Atlas nodes

02_concepts/strain_hardening_criteria.md
04_material_systems/geopolymer_ecc.md
04_material_systems/green_ecc.md
04_material_systems/pe_ecc.md
05_experiments/direct_tensile_test.md
02_concepts/circular_economy_materials.md
02_concepts/life_cycle_analysis.md

Relationship to Victor Li book

Extends Victor Li (2019) Chapter 4 (PSH Criteria), Chapter 7 (Alternative Fibers & Recycled Reinforcements), Chapter 8 (MSI & LCA), and Chapter 9 (Green ECC, pp. 307–342).
Closes the sustainability loop: proves that replacing both the binder (clinker-free alkali activation) and the fiber (post-industrial selvedge upcycling) satisfies PSH criteria, creating a zero-waste, ultra-ductile material.

Claim-evidence rows to add

Atlas node	Claim	Evidence summary	Page/Figure/Table	Status
`02_concepts/circular_economy_materials.md`	Cementless composites reinforced with upcycled PE selvedge fibers achieve $f_c > 50\text{ MPa}$, $\sigma_u > 7.0\text{ MPa}$, and $\epsilon_u > 8.9\%$	Uniaxial direct tensile tests and ASTM C109 cube compression	Section 3.1 & 3.2, Fig. 4-7, Table 3	verified_from_pdf
`02_concepts/life_cycle_analysis.md`	Selvedge fiber cementless composites achieve up to 12-times higher tensile toughness per MSI unit than standard ECC	Material Sustainability Indicators (MSI) and toughness-to-footprint ratio analysis	Section 3.3, Fig. 8-10, Table 4	verified_from_pdf

Verification status

PDF preserved: yes (park-2023-cementless-ultra-ductile-composites-reinforced.pdf)
Text extracted: yes (full_text/park-2023-cementless-ultra-ductile-composites-reinforced_full_text.md)
DOI verified: yes (10.1016/j.jobe.2023.106198)
Metadata verified: yes (J. Build. Eng., Vol. 68, 106198, 2023)
Claim-evidence matrix ready: yes

Cautions

Raw selvedge trimmings require precision mechanical chopping and de-twisting prior to batching to ensure uniform aspect ratio and prevent fiber balling.
Quality control on incoming textile waste streams must verify zero chemical sizing contamination that could alter matrix hydration.