Feasibility study on use of waste fishing nets as continuous reinforcements in cement-based matrix

This study investigated the feasibility of using waste fishing nets (WFNs) as continuous reinforcements in cement-based matrix. The tensile and flexural behaviors of WFN-reinforced cementitious composites (WFNRCs) were compared with those of two types of commercial textile-reinforced cementitious composites (TRCCs). Two types of polyethylene (PE) waste fishing nets (W1 and W2) were investigated, and two types of commercial textiles, one including carbon and the other alkali-resistant glass, were used. Although the commercial TRCCs produced better mechanical resistance than the WFNRCs, the addition of four layers of W2 to cement-based matrix also produced pseudo tensile-hardening behavior. WFNRCs containing W2 produced higher tensile and flexural resistance than those containing W1.