Mechanical performance of waste fishing net fibre-reinforced gypsum composites
M.I. Romero-Gómez, Rui V. Silva, I. Flores-Colen, P. Rubio-de-Hita
Abstract
In the present research, nylon fibres, sourced from end-of-life fishing nets, are used as substitute of commercially available counterparts to produce eco-friendly reinforced-gypsum composites. The influence of two nylon fibre lengths, PA6/I and PA6/II, on physico-mechanical performance (i.e. density, surface hardness-Shore C, flexural and compressive strength, deformability) of gypsum composites in comparison with those reinforced with commercial E/AR-glass fibres, was evaluated. Improvements on flexural and compressive strength (up to ∼ 7.5% and ∼ 17%, respectively, when using 2 wt% of PA6/I fibres related to the control material) were observed. Also, the pre-failure deformability was considerably enhanced after adding PA6/I fibres to the gypsum-mixes.