Sustainable Potential of Textile-Reinforced Concrete

Abstract

The building construction industry is in need of sustainable materials and solutions. A novel building material, such as textile-reinforced concrete (TRC), could be used to meet this demand. Textile-reinforced concrete is a combination of fine-grained concrete and multiaxial textile fabrics that has been fundamentally researched over the past decade. TRC-based research has explored various facets of this composite material, such as its structural functionality, production, applicability, and design. One key aspect that is still missing, however, is a comprehensive review of the sustainable potential of this material in terms of its input–output and durability that suitably answers to requirement No. 7 of EU’s Construction Products Regulation. This article provides qualitative and quantitative evaluation of the sustainable potential and prospective development of TRC particularly reinforced by alkali-resistant (AR) glass, carbon, or basalt fibers. Based on the outcome of this evaluation, carbon textile fibers were observed to hold the optimal potential mechanical behavior; additionally, it was revealed through the conducted life-cycle assessment (LCA) that basalt had the least cumulative energy demand, whereas carbon had the least environmental impact.