Strength characteristics of wasted soft drinks can as fiber reinforcement in lightweight concrete

Nowadays the problems of lightweight concrete flexural strength have been approached by adding fiber to the mixture. Meanwhile, waste materials are continuously produced as a result of the modern industry. This paper aims to increase the strength characteristic of both compressive and flexural lightweight concrete by introducing wasted soft-drink cans as fiber reinforced. A comprehensive study has been conducted to investigate the optimal amount of fiber fractions and the effect of fiber shape to the concrete mechanical strength. This study cleared the effect of various fractions (10%, 15% and 20% by volume of concrete), followed by two types of fiber shape (hooked and clipped) to the lightweight concrete compressive and split tensile strength. The experimental results of cylindrical lightweight concrete were compared to the normal lightweight concrete. The result showed that the introduction of 10% of fiber performed in higher tensile strength with an increase of 23%, while the hooked shape of fiber increased the compressive strength by more than 40%. It can be concluded that the introduction of waste recycle tin increased the mechanical properties of normal lightweight concrete, however further study can be performed to effectively increase the strength characteristics.