Impact of recycled tire steel fibers on the mechanical performance of conventional and rubberized concrete: A comprehensive review

<p dir="ltr">Integrating steel fibers has shown significant potential in overcoming the inherent limitations of rubberized concrete. However, the high production costs and environmental impacts associated with industrial steel fibers lessen their effectiveness in concrete. Hence, this review paper explores the potential of employing recycled tire steel fibers in ordinary and rubberized concrete as a promising alternative to industrial steel fibers. The limited studies on recycled tire steel fiber-reinforced rubberized concrete emphasize the necessity of drawing insights from industrial steel fiber-reinforced rubberized concrete. Hence, this study comprehensively assesses the use of both fibers in rubberized concrete, highlighting the beneficial influence of crack-bridging mechanisms. Furthermore, this review also examines the effectiveness and viability of employing steel fiber-reinforced rubberized concrete in real-world applications. However, this practice still demands the recovery of compressive strength compared to ordinary concrete, limiting its recommendation for structural applications. Notably, inferior rubber/cement bonds within the cement matrix compromise the robustness of the crack-bridging effect, lowering the overall mechanical performance of concrete. Hence, the necessity of integrating treated rubber particles to maximize the benefit of the synergistic influence of steel fibers and rubber particles is highlighted but remains underexplored. The substantial environmental and economic benefits of integrating recycled tire steel fiber in concrete further emphasize the necessity of enhancing their performance to encourage sustainable material utilization in concrete. By providing a critical evaluation of existing research, this paper offers a foundation to identify the limits of the mixed ratios between recycled tire steel fibers and rubber particles to optimize the mechanical performance of concrete.</p>