Development of low-carbon and low-cost textile reinforced concrete

Textile Reinforced Concrete (TRC) is a cementitious composite material where textile materials (e.g., carbon or glass fabric) are embedded as reinforcement. The use of TRC allows the construction of thin and light-weight structures, with reduced concrete covers and enhanced durability due to the absence of corrosion problems of conventional steel reinforcements. Over the past decades, a significant number of studies have been undertaken to investigate the properties of TRC for different applications. There are 2 main obstacles that prevent the extensive application of TRC in the construction industry. Firstly, the material cost of TRC is very high compared to normal strength concrete (NSC) and high-performance concrete (HPC). Secondly, a high amount of cement is used in the mixture design of TRC which results in high shrinkage, heat of hydration, and cost of the material and can compromise the material sustainability performance of TRC. To tackle these issues, this project aims to develop a TRC that is low-cost and low-carbon by using low-carbon binders (as a complete replacement of cement) and recycled materials and textiles (as partial/complete replacement of virgin materials and textiles).