Fracture and Structural Integrity e-ISSN 1971-8993 Open access
Integrity of materials and structures Vol. 19, No. 71 (2025)

Reuse of sheep wool fibers in the production of ultralightweight foamed concrete: effect of fiber treatment, length, and content on the mechanical properties

Author and affiliation details
DOI
10.3221/IGF-ESIS.71.23
Pages
317-329
Published
Licence
CC BY 4.0
Published inVol. 19, No. 71 (2025)Go to the issue

Abstract

Concrete is one of the most widely used materials in the world. Still, its production processes, energy consumption, and high use of raw materials make it one of the most environmentally harmful materials. This study aims to enhance the sustainability of concrete by reducing the amount of binder and incorporating secondary materials into the cementitious matrix. The binder reduction is achieved by using a foaming agent that creates a microporous matrix, significantly decreasing the volume of cement in the material. Additionally, reinforcing the material with sheep wool fiber not only improves its mechanical properties but also gives a new purpose to a commonly discarded secondary material. The research specifically seeks to identify the most effective treatments for sheep wool fiber (including non-treated, salt-treated, lime-treated, NaOH-treated, and surfactant-treated fibers), as well as the optimal fiber length (6, 12, and 20 mm) and content (4.5, 9, and 15 kg/m³) for ultralightweight foamed concrete in terms of mechanical strength. The findings demonstrate excellent compatibility between wool fibers and ultralightweight foamed concrete, with fiber-reinforced samples showing up to a 60% increase in flexural strength and up to a 50% increase in compressive strength. Among the various fiber treatments evaluated, surfactant-treated fibers yielded the best results.

Keywords

Article history

  1. ReceivedUntil the next stage: 0 days
  2. Revision requestedUntil the next stage: 66 days
  3. RevisedUntil the next stage: 11 days
  4. AcceptedUntil the next stage: 19 days
  5. Published

About the authors

Adriana Bravo Celi

Department of Structural, Geotechnical and Building Engineering, Politecnico di Torino, Corso Duca degli Abruzzi, 24, Turin, 10129, Italy

Silvia Parmigiani

Department of Structural, Geotechnical and Building Engineering, Politecnico di Torino, Corso Duca degli Abruzzi, 24, Turin, 10129, Italy

Daniel Suarez-Riera

Department of Structural, Geotechnical and Building Engineering, Politecnico di Torino, Corso Duca degli Abruzzi, 24, Turin, 10129, Italy

Giuseppe Andrea Ferro

Department of Structural, Geotechnical and Building Engineering, Politecnico di Torino, Corso Duca degli Abruzzi, 24, Turin, 10129, Italy

Luciana Restuccia

Department of Structural, Geotechnical and Building Engineering, Politecnico di Torino, Corso Duca degli Abruzzi, 24, Turin, 10129, Italy

How to cite

APA

Bravo Celi, A., Falliano, D., Parmigiani, S., Suarez-Riera, D., Ferro, G. A., & Restuccia, L. (2024). Reuse of sheep wool fibers in the production of ultralightweight foamed concrete: effect of fiber treatment, length, and content on the mechanical properties. Fracture and Structural Integrity, 19(71), 317–329. https://doi.org/10.3221/IGF-ESIS.71.23

IEEE

A. Bravo Celi, D. Falliano, S. Parmigiani, D. Suarez-Riera, G. A. Ferro, and L. Restuccia, “Reuse of sheep wool fibers in the production of ultralightweight foamed concrete: effect of fiber treatment, length, and content on the mechanical properties,” Fracture and Structural Integrity, vol. 19, no. 71, pp. 317–329, 2024, doi: 10.3221/IGF-ESIS.71.23.

MLA

Bravo Celi, Adriana, et al. “Reuse of sheep wool fibers in the production of ultralightweight foamed concrete: effect of fiber treatment, length, and content on the mechanical properties.” Fracture and Structural Integrity, vol. 19, no. 71, 2024, pp. 317–329. https://doi.org/10.3221/IGF-ESIS.71.23.

Chicago

Bravo Celi, Adriana, Devid Falliano, Silvia Parmigiani, Daniel Suarez-Riera, Giuseppe Andrea Ferro, and Luciana Restuccia. 2024. “Reuse of sheep wool fibers in the production of ultralightweight foamed concrete: effect of fiber treatment, length, and content on the mechanical properties.” Fracture and Structural Integrity 19 (71): 317–329. https://doi.org/10.3221/IGF-ESIS.71.23.

Harvard

Bravo Celi, A., Falliano, D., Parmigiani, S., Suarez-Riera, D., Ferro, G.A. and Restuccia, L. (2024) ‘Reuse of sheep wool fibers in the production of ultralightweight foamed concrete: effect of fiber treatment, length, and content on the mechanical properties’, Fracture and Structural Integrity, 19(71), pp. 317–329. doi: 10.3221/IGF-ESIS.71.23.

Vancouver

Bravo Celi A, Falliano D, Parmigiani S, Suarez-Riera D, Ferro GA, Restuccia L. Reuse of sheep wool fibers in the production of ultralightweight foamed concrete: effect of fiber treatment, length, and content on the mechanical properties. Fracture and Structural Integrity. 2024;19(71):317-329. doi:10.3221/IGF-ESIS.71.23

BibTeX

@article{bravoceli2024, author = {Bravo Celi, Adriana and Falliano, Devid and Parmigiani, Silvia and Suarez-Riera, Daniel and Ferro, Giuseppe Andrea and Restuccia, Luciana}, title = {Reuse of sheep wool fibers in the production of ultralightweight foamed concrete: effect of fiber treatment, length, and content on the mechanical properties}, journal = {Fracture and Structural Integrity}, year = {2024}, volume = {19}, number = {71}, pages = {317--329}, doi = {10.3221/IGF-ESIS.71.23}, url = {https://doi.org/10.3221/IGF-ESIS.71.23}, issn = {1971-8993} }

RIS

TY - JOUR AU - Bravo Celi, Adriana AU - Falliano, Devid AU - Parmigiani, Silvia AU - Suarez-Riera, Daniel AU - Ferro, Giuseppe Andrea AU - Restuccia, Luciana TI - Reuse of sheep wool fibers in the production of ultralightweight foamed concrete: effect of fiber treatment, length, and content on the mechanical properties JO - Fracture and Structural Integrity T2 - Fracture and Structural Integrity PY - 2024 DA - 2024/12/08 VL - 19 IS - 71 SP - 317 EP - 329 DO - 10.3221/IGF-ESIS.71.23 UR - https://doi.org/10.3221/IGF-ESIS.71.23 SN - 1971-8993 ER -

Licence

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International

May be shared and adapted, provided appropriate credit is given. Copyright © 2024 Adriana Bravo Celi, Devid Falliano, Silvia Parmigiani, Daniel Suarez-Riera, Giuseppe Andrea Ferro, Luciana Restuccia.

Copyright 
Authors are allowed to retain both the copyright and the publishing rights of their articles without restrictions.  

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