Construction and Building Materials 412 (2024) 134879

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Construction and Building Materials

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Review

Thermal and acoustic performance in textile fibre-reinforced concrete: An

analytical review
K.A.P. Wijesinghe a, b, Chamila Gunasekara b, *, David W. Law b, H.D. Hidallana-Gamage c,
Nandula Wanasekara a, Lijing Wang d
a
Department of Textile and Apparel Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka
b
Civil and Infrastructure Engineering, School of Engineering, RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia
c
Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka
d
School of Fashion and Textiles, RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: Textile fibre-reinforced concrete based reviews have explored various engineering properties, such as
Textile waste strengthening of concrete, enhancing strain capacity, crack control, durability, and energy absorption. An
Fibre reinforced concrete essential missing component is a comprehensive analysis of the thermal and acoustic insulation performance of
Thermal insulation of concrete
textile fibre-reinforced concrete. The paper provides a large-scale analytical database by analysing prior litera­
Sound absorption of concrete
Sustainable construction materials
ture on the thermal and acoustic performance of textile fibre-reinforced concrete. It further reviews the micro­
structural and pore-structural aspects of concrete to provide an overview of the underlying mechanisms driving
these properties. This review explores the impact of textile fibre inclusion from 0–20 as a mass percentage (wt%)
and 0–40 as a volume percentage (v%). The key findings of the review are that jute fibre-reinforced mortar
demonstrated superior thermal conductivity, achieving 0.068 W/mK at 20 wt% inclusion, followed by 0.08 W/
mK of basalt fibres at 20 v% inclusion, demonstrating that fibres possess commendable insulation qualities.
Notably, inclusion of 30 v% of 2–4 mm miscanthus fibre in concrete showed outstanding dual performance,
achieving optimal thermal conductivity of 0.09 W/mK and 90% acoustic absorption at 841 Hz. Finally, the study
suggests directions to address identified gaps that can be utilised in the design of future research focusing end-
user applications.

1. Introduction
The textile industry encompasses various components from raw
materials to finished products [1] and is experiencing rapid growth due
to population expansion and improved living standards [2]. The global
textile market value was USD 993.6 billion in 2021 and has been pro­
jected to raise at a compound growth of 5.5% annually from 2023 to
2027 [3]. In the USA, around 16.89 million tonnes of post-consumer
textile waste were generated in 2019, accounting for nearly 6.3%
municipal solid waste. Despite 95% of this being recyclable, 85% ended
up in combustion or landfill [4]. Over a ten-year span from 1999 to
2009, post-consumer textile waste in the USA rose by 40% and was
predicted to increase by another 43% from 2009 to 2019 [5]. According
to Chowdhury et al., [4] the USA generated 16.89 million tonnes of
post-consumer waste in real terms in 2019, which was 6% higher than
the predicted value. In Canada, 359,666 tonnes were landfilled in 2018,
with 92% being pre-consumer waste [6]. In the EU, only a quarter of
post-consumer textile waste is recycled, amounting to approximately
4.35 million tonnes in landfills, with the EU’s total textile waste
reaching 16 million tonnes annually [7]. The UK alone generates 206,
456 tonnes of textile waste annually, with 55% ending up in landfills
[8]. In Australia, 800,000 tonnes annually are landfilled, which is nearly
38% of total textile waste per person [9,10]. China recycles less than 1%
of its 26 million tonnes of textile waste annually [11].
However, textile waste recycling accounted only for around one
fourth of total landfilled waste in the USA in 2018, emphasizing the fact
that these sustainable initiatives are not moving fast enough to offset the
negative environmental and societal impact of the textile value chain

Abbreviations: CO2, Carbon dioxide; CO2-eq, Carbon dioxide equivalent; EU, European Union; FRC, Fibre-reinforced concrete; Hz, Hertz; kWh, Kilowatt-hour;
USA, United States of America; USD, United States Dollar; v%, Volume percentage; W/mK, Watts per meter Kelvin; WoS, Web of Science; wt%, Mass percentage.
* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: chamila.gunasekara@rmit.edu.au (C. Gunasekara).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2024.134879
Received 16 August 2023; Received in revised form 27 December 2023; Accepted 1 January 2024
Available online 9 January 2024
0950-0618/© 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
K.A.P. Wijesinghe et al.
due to the landfilling of solid waste. Specifically, over the last two de­
cades, the quantity of textiles being disposed in landfills has risen by
5000 thousand tons, while the number of textiles being recycled has
only increased by 1000 thousand tons [12]. Furthermore, it has been
observed that a mere 12% of the global clothing materials are recycled,
which is significantly lower compared to the recycling rates for paper
(66%), glass (27%), and Polyethylene Terephthalate bottles (29%) [12,
13].
Echeverria et al. [1] have suggested employing recycling of waste
materials to obtain fibres as the most beneficial multi-stage approach,
increasing cost-effectiveness, long-term economic benefits and elimi­
nation of the difficult sorting and pre-treatment processes. This
approach can re-engineer waste materials into textile or non-textile
value-added applications such as bio-composites [14,15], concrete
reinforcement, lightweight construction materials, thermal and sound
insulation panels [16,17] and non-woven and filler materials [18–20].
According to Aspiras and Manalo [21], textile reinforced concrete
reduced USD 3.08 - 5.05 costs per square meter as a substitute to
traditional plywood materials. Besides, utilization of glass, carbon, and
basalt fibres instead of conventional steel reinforcements in concrete
could reduce global warming potential by 50%, 25% and 50% respec­
tively compared to conventional steel reinforced concrete [22]. Conse­
quently, utilizing textile waste in concrete as an additional aggregate,
aggregate replacement material has gained popularity [17,20,23–31]
owing to their special properties and characteristics; high-end fibres
such as Kevlar, Nomex, Glass and carbon textile have utilized in concrete
applications mainly to increase strength and mechanical properties
owing to their low elongation (less than 2%) and superior mechanical
properties [32]. Low-end fibres (i.e., ductile with low elastic modulus
and tensile strength) such as cotton, jute, silk, wool, nylon and polyester
etc., which have inherent porous structures and lightweight character­
istics have made them ideal for thermal and acoustic applications [32].
Buildings consume a large percentage of global energy (40–50%)
generating a significant quantities of greenhouse gases [33]. Expanding
the utilization of insulation materials stands as a more pertinent
approach to lowering energy consumption in buildings. Therefore,
developing textile FRC in thermal and acoustic insulation applications
[34–40] directly impacts energy conservation and human well-being.
This positions textile waste as a sustainable material for the construc­
tion industry, meeting the criteria for sustainability and enabling the
creation of energy-efficient green buildings.
1.1. Significance of the review
Researchers have undertaken studies on the compressive strength,
tensile, flexural strengths of concrete, strain capacity, crack control,
durability, energy absorption behaviour, and insulation properties of
textile FRC considering the effect of (a) amount of textile fibres/fabrics,
(b) size of textile fibres/fabrics (length/width) and (c) different treat­
ments for fibres/fabrics [41–51]. Numerous review articles have been
published in this context highlighting the strength related properties of
textile FRC and the effect of textile materials in the concrete mix.
Although in few articles, a short summary has been provided for thermal
and sound insulation performance without providing the detailed de­
scriptions [32,52,53], a comprehensive review study discussing the
thermal and acoustic insulation performance of textile FRC is yet to be
conducted. To the authors’ best knowledge, there is currently no existing
review paper in the literature that specifically examines the thermal and
acoustic insulation properties of textile FRC. This paper presents a
critique of the existing literature related thermal and acoustic insulation
performance of textile fibre-concrete, microstructural and other influ­
ential parameters. This review provides an overview of insulation po­
tential of textile FRC and aids in identifying suitable methodologies and
materials for future research. Furthermore, this study offers a large-scale
database for the understanding of their insulation performance, crucial
for designing practical end-user applications in the future.
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Construction and Building Materials 412 (2024) 134879
2. Review methodology
The Web of Science (WoS) core collection database was selected as
the primary database for this review study. First the research area was
defined for the review as thermal and acoustic insulation performance of
textile FRC. As the second step, five keywords related to the research
topic were entered into WoS: fiber reinforced concrete, textile reinforced
concrete, textile waste, thermal insulation, and sound insulation. All
synonyms associated with these keywords were connected using the OR
operator to maximize search results. The search was narrowed down to
English articles published between 2019 and 2023. This aimed to
identify the most recent research within Web of Science quartiles 1 or 2,
resulting in an initial pool of 808 articles. As the third step, evaluation of
titles and abstracts was done, narrowing the search to 74 articles. After
reading full texts, 43 articles were chosen for the in-depth review. The
review methodology, along with detailed statistics of the chosen jour­
nals, is presented in Fig. 1.
3. Textile as construction material
Ghermezgoli et al. [54] observed that woven fabrics made from
yarns spun from finer fibres with a diameter of 22.7 μm exhibit higher
thermal conductivity compared to fabrics made from yarns spun from
coarser fibres with a diameter of 34.5 μm. This difference in thermal
conductivity can be attributed to the relationship between fibre diam­
eter, yarn structure, and fabric porosity. Fabrics composed of fine fibres
have a higher fibre count per yarn, resulting in increased fabric density
and decreased porosity. Lower fabric porosity reduces the presence of
insulating air gaps, ultimately leading to higher thermal conductivity. In
the case of sound absorption, this increase in fabric density positively
affects air flow resistivity and finer fibres can rapidly convert sound
energy into heat energy causing higher sound absorption performance
[54,55]. However, the effect of fibre properties, yarn properties and
fabric properties on insulation performance of textiles depends on a few
interrelated properties. Innovative textile FRC materials are being
developed to improve the energy efficiency and comfort of buildings by
leveraging those properties [54–56]. The influence of textile charac­
teristics on thermal and acoustic performance is summarised in Table 1.
Textile wastes have been used as fibres, yarns, or fabric scraps in
concrete to enhance thermal and acoustic performance, without being
subjected to advanced chemical recycling. Major sources of these waste
textiles are fibre and yarn waste from mills, post-industrial waste fabrics,
post-consumer waste fabrics and post-consumer carpet waste. The most
common component utilized has been natural fibres owing to their
inherent low thermal conductivity, although synthetic and hybrid
(synthetic-natural blend) materials have also been used. Cotton, wool,
and hemp (Fig. 2(a) depicts hemp short fibres utilized in concrete) have
been the most utilized natural materials whereas polypropylene, nylon,
polyester, and polyurethane have also been used as synthetic materials.
Polypropylene yarns have been cut to 30 mm length as shown in Fig. 2
(b) to use in concrete. In addition, as shown in Fig. 2(c), textile tire cord
yarns consisting of rubber particles and synthetic yarns have been used
in concrete. Moreover, wool fibres produced using a cutting mill to
obtain length ranging from 19–20 mm, 5–6 mm, 500 μm –1 mm, Fig. 2
(d), (c) and (f) have also been used.
Textile waste derived as 2-dimensional scraps have been shredded
and grounded to emulate yarns and fibres using mechanical methods
[29,64]. In other cases, recycled fibre waste has been directly used in
composites [58,65,66]. Fibres should be uniformly dispersed in the
composite to ensure better interfacial bonds without uneven gaps [65,
67]. In most cases, the fibres have been mixed with other ingredients
manually or using electrical mixers [24,58,65,68]. In some cases,
different techniques have been used to uniformly distribute fibres. Ozger
et al., [69] have blown nylon fibre wisps with compressed air at an
elevated pressure prior mixing with water and fine aggregates. Table 2
gives the physical properties of textile fibres utilized in concrete in the
K.A.P. Wijesinghe et al.
Fig. 1. (a) Flowchart of the review steps (b) Distribution of the number of articles by publisher.
reviewed studies.
4. Thermal and acoustic insulation perofromce of textile fibre-
reinforced concrete
Textile FRC shows improvement in both thermal and acoustic insu­
laiton performance in reviewed studies. Several studies have aimed to
develop FRC with diverse objectives, not solely centered on improving
thermal and acoustic insulation properties. These studies also advocate
3
Construction and Building Materials 412 (2024) 134879
for the utilization of textile FRC in various practical building applica­
tions, including masonry walls, wall coverings, building partitions, as
well as in tunnel and roadway linings [65,78,83,84]. Table 3 shows a
qualitative summary of reviwed studies including research objectives,
methods, outcomes, future research directions and conclusions.
Besides, the thermal and acoustic performance of textile fibre rein­
forced concrete (FRC) are presented in Table 4 and Table 5, together
with the mix design details and compressive strength.
K.A.P. Wijesinghe et al.
Table 1
Impact of textile characteristics on thermal conductivity and sound absorption.
Characteristic Relationship with thermal conductivity
Fibre fineness - Finer fibres ranging from 1.5-6 denier per filament show better sound
Fibre length Short fibres (E.g., 6 mm wool fibres) create more fibre/matrix
interfaces thus increasing air voids when compared with long fibres (E.
g., 20 mm wool fibres) therefore, the shorter the fibres, the lower the
conductivity.
Fibre cross-section Fibres with non-circular cross sections (hollow, trilobal etc.) have
increased air trapping ability, hence reducing the thermal conductivity.
Fibre crimp Crimped fibres create a lot of loops on the fabric surface by trapping air
more than un-crimped fibres. Therefore, thermal conductivity is
reduced.
Yarn type and Yarns with textured effects, spun yarns and yarn types possessing more
configuration protruding fibres and hairiness have lower conductivity as they can trap
more air.
Yarn surface Based on the boundary air layer theory, when moving air meets a rough
solid surface, air will be trapped and vice-versa. Therefore, less
conductivity can be obtained from rough surface fabrics.
Fabric porosity A porous fabric can trap more air than a nonporous structure because
air trapped inside the fabric decreases the thermal conductivity.
Areal density When fabric has higher weight (Grams per Square Meter), bulk density
increases (0.145 g/cm3 to 0.186 g/cm3). This causes a decrease in air
volume and porosity (80.4 − 74.8%). In addition, an increase in bulk
density can increase the surface area between fibres providing more
heat conduction thus reducing insulation performance.
Moisture Fabrics made of hydrophilic fibres have a higher thermal conductivity
accumulation as they can accumulate water which has higher thermal conductivity
than air.
Fig. 2. Textile wastes used in concrete with thermal and acoustic insulation; (a) Hemp short fibres; (b) 30 mm polypropylene yarns; (c) SEM image of textile tire cord
yarns; (d) 19–20 mm wool fibres; (e) 5–6 mm wool fibres; (f) 500 μm - 1 mm wool fibres [23,58,62,63].
4.1. Thermal performance
There has been a notable improvement reported in the thermal
insulation performance of concrete, attributed to the incorporation of
4
Construction and Building Materials 412 (2024) 134879
Relationship with sound absorption References
[54,57]
absorption due to an increase in air flow resistivity by means of
friction
- [58]
Hollow cross section of fibres allows the entrapment of more air, [59,60]
increasing the sound absorption coefficient.
Crimped fibres create a lot of loops on the fabric surface by trapping [59,60]
air more than the un-crimped fibres. Therefore, a denser structure is
formed increasing air-flow resistivity. This increases sound energy
dissipation and increases sound insulation properties to a greater
degree.
- [59]
- [59]
Porosity of the fabric increases the sound absorption coefficient as [54,
sound waves encounter more material surfaces, thus damping occurs. 59–61]
Increasing material area density (0.145 g/cm3 to 0.186 g/cm3) can [60,61]
increase flow resistivity (29199 Rayl.m− 1 to 42992 Rayl.m− 1).
Therefore, sound absorption increases. At the mid to high frequency
ranges, high density materials can increase the sound absorption
coefficient. At higher frequencies, surface friction increases and with
high density there are more fibres per unit area, hence increasing the
sound absorption coefficient.
- [59]
textile fibres [40,58,70,71,73,79,88–93]. Research has shown that an
increase in the dosage of fibres in the range of 0–20 wt% and 0–40 v%
has resulted in a reduction in thermal conductivity, leading to a notable
improvement in thermal insulation performance. Fiore et al. [58]
K.A.P. Wijesinghe et al. Construction and Building Materials 412 (2024) 134879

Table 2
Reported physical properties of textile waste materials.
Textile composition Waste source Length (mm) Diameter (mm) Density (kg/m3) Width (mm) Thickness (mm) References

Wool Fibre waste 1, 6, 20 - - - - [58]

Cotton, viscose with elastane Clothing waste 10, 20, 30 5 - - - [29]
Jute fibres Bag waste 5 0.02 - - - [65]
70% wool, 25% viscose, and 5% elastane Fabric waste 30 - - - - [30]
Glass and Basalt - 24 mm - - - - [70]
Cotton Fabric waste ∼20 - 70 ∼20 -
[71]
Miscanthus - 0-2 - - - - [72]
2-4
App.Den
Juncus maritimus - 1–2.5 0.2827 987.01, - - [35]
Abs. Den
295.6
Alfa - 15-25 0.7-1 - - - [73]
Wheat straw - 4–6 1.5–2.5 - - - [74]
13–17
34–37
58–62
Palm and Hemp - 20 2-4 - - - [75]
Rock wool - 5-10 0.7-2 40 - - [76]
Jute - 5, 10, 30 - - - - [77]
Carbon - 1.5 ± 1.2 6.7 ± 0.8 1810 - - [78]
Miscanthus - - 0.2-0.5 1570 - - [79]
Rice straw - 5, 10, 15 - - 1.5 0.5 [80]
Basalt - 10 0.015 2650 - - [81]
Polypropylene - 3, 6, 9 0.018-0.048 - - - [82]
B.Den
Diss - - - 50.3 - - [39]
Absolute density - 1400
App.Den
Wheat straw - 28-32 0.8-2 800-1200 - - [40]
App.Den Abs. Den
Note: – Apparent density, – Absolute density, B.Den – Bulk density

investigated the effect of wool fibres with varying compositions (13%,
23%, and 46% by weight of cement) and fibre lengths in mortar
(19–20 mm, 5–6 mm and 500 μm − 1 mm). The best thermal insulation
performance was given by 46% of 500 μm − 1 mm FRC which display an
approximately 92% reduction in thermal conductivity compared to
non-FRC (1.2 W/mK). Additionally, 13% of 500 μm − 1 mm FRC
showed higher thermal conductivity (0.25 W/mK) than the 0.17 W/mK
and 0.1 W/mK obtained for 23% and 46% FRC. Thermal conductivities
were reported of approximately 0.17 and 0.13 W/mK corresponding to
the use of 6 mm fibre content of 13% and 23% respectively. This clearly
demonstrates that an increase of fibre dosage decreases thermal con­
ductivity. On the other hand, 13%, 6 mm (moderate length) FRC showed
approximately 32% reduction of thermal conductivity compared to the
respective thermal conductivity of 1 mm (shorter length) FRC. At 23%
fibre dosage, 1 mm FRC had approximately 0.17 W/mK thermal con­
ductivity compared to 0.15 W/mK for 6 mm FRC. This demonstrates,
shorter fibre incorporated concrete has higher thermal conductivity
than moderate length fibre counterparts. In contrast, at 13%, 20 mm
FRC showed thermal conductivity of approximately 0.19 W/mK, which
is lower than respective value of 1 mm FRC but higher than 6 mm fibre.
Moreover, non-washed wool mortar (13% with 20 mm fibres) had
nearly 24% lower thermal conductivity than an equivalent washed wool
mortar. Incorporating 2–4 mm Miscanthus fibres at 30% volume resul­
ted in a 24.5% reduction in thermal conductivity, surpassing the 15%
reduction seen with 0–2 mm fibres compared to their respective
non-FRC [72]. In contrast, wheat straw fibre reinforced perlite concrete
showed nearly 57% increase in thermal conductivity when increasing
fibre length from 5–60 mm [74]. Similar results were reported when
including rock wool fibres in 5- and 10-mm lengths and jute fibres in 5,
10 and 30 mm lengths in mortars [76,77]. Van Essa et al. [94] observed
that when increasing cotton fibres in the range 0.3–0.6% of mortar
weight, the coefficient of thermal conductivity decreased slightly
(approximately from 0.8 W/mK to 0.7 W/mK). However, compared to
the non-fibrefibre mortar, addition of 0.3% of cotton fibres improved
insulation properties nearly by 51%. Jute and Juncus maritimus fibres
have also been utilized in cement blocks as they have very low thermal
conductivity (Jute-0.036 W/mK) owing to their specific microstructure.
Jute fibres with hollow structure is comprised of longitudinal voids as
shown in Fig. 3(a) and Juncus maritimus fibres has a porous cellular
configuration, Fig. 3(b) [61,73,92]. Ferrandez-García et al. [65] devel­
oped jute fibre panels (Corchorus capsularis L.) agglomerated with
Portland cement and starch as a plasticizer. Inclusion of 5 wt% jute fibre
with respect to cement weight decreased thermal conductivity by 85%
(0.085 W/mK) and gave excellent thermal insulation properties
compared to the control concrete (0.580 W/mK). Moreover, addition of
10 wt% of fibres with respect to cement reduced thermal conductivity to
0.076 W/mK. However, the addition of more than 20% wt of fibres did
not result in any additional decrease thermal conductivity, which
remained steady after reducing to an optimum value of 0.068 W/mK at
15 wt% fibre dosage.
Mohammad Hosseini et al. [63] reported that inclusion of
0.25–0.75% of total concrete volume with polypropylene fibres caused a
delay in heat transfer of 7 h compared to its non-fibrous counterpart. As
polyproplene has very low specific gravity, making a large volume, it
can retain heat for a long time period giving very good thermal insu­
lation properties. Inclusion of 3%, 6%, 9%, 12%, and 15% polyester
fabric scraps corresponding to coarse aggregate weight decreased ther­
mal conductivity of concrete to 1.60, 1.58, 1.57, 1.55, and 1.54
compared to 1.63 W/mK reported for concrete without fabrics. How­
ever, it appears that, while the overall trend is downward, a significant
decrease is not achieved [31]. Nylon is considered as a thermal
conductive polymeric yarn (0.250 W/mK) when compared to polyester
and other natural fibres. Thermal conductivity at 25 ◦ C was higher than
its thermal conductivity at 300 ◦ C for both control and FRC.
Another study noted that stacking 6 nonwoven layers comprised of
textile fibres as internal reinforcement in a cement board caused a 40%
decrease in thermal conductivity compared to a non-fibre counterpart
[27]. Briga-Sá et al. [30] also noted a considerable drop in thermal
conductivity of cement blocks when increasing the amount of fabric
scraps with a composition 70% wool, 25% viscose, and 5% elastane. An
increase of fabric from 6.25 to 8.75 of cement weight decreased thermal
conductivity of the block from 0.294 W/mK to 0.149 W/Mk. Moreover,
concrete blocks integrated with 8.16 and 8.75 (wt%) fabric scraps
showed 35% and 40% lower thermal transmission coefficients than the
concrete blocks with 6.25, indicating good insulation properties. Test
results showed that the inner and outer temperature difference is more

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K.A.P. Wijesinghe et al. Construction and Building Materials 412 (2024) 134879

Table 3
Summary of reviewed studies, research objectives, methods, outcomes, and conclusions.
Objective of the research Materials Testing methods Key research outcomes Conclusions Future research References
related to thermal/ related to thermal/ directions
acoustic performance acoustic performance

To investigate the Cement, miscanthus Acoustic absorption - Concrete achieved low Moderate length fibres Optimize dosage and [72]
acoustic absorption fibres, expanded waste Impedance tube thermal conductivity (2-4 mm) significantly shape of Miscanthus
and thermal insulation glass, water, method (0.09 W/(m⋅K)), and enhance its sound fibres for improved
properties of ultra - superplasticizer and air Thermal conductivity high acoustic absorption absorption properties, performance.
lightweight concrete entraining agent - EN12390-7 coefficient (0.9) at low attributed to the porous Explore methods to
frequencies with 30% nature of the fibres and mitigate reduction in
2–4 mm fibres. increased porosity within compressive strength
the concrete matrix. while incorporating
fibres.
To quantify the moisture Cement, sand, water, Thermal conductivity Lowest thermal Chemically treated fibres Explore improved [35]
content effect on the Juncus maritimus – Two-box apparatus conductivity value was can be suitable for treatments to enhance
composite thermal fibres reported for 10 wt% lightweight, insulating mechanical strength
conductivity and untreated fibre concrete applications without compromising
density reinforced composite at than untreated fibre thermal properties.
dry state. composite due to both Consider ways of
Increase of fibre amount satisfactory mechanical utilizing these
decreases both thermal and thermal insulation composites in indoor
conductivity and properties. settings, focusing on
diffusivity for both wall filling or separation
treated and non-treated to prevent water
fibre-reinforced mortar saturation.
at both dry and saturated
states.
The thermal
conductivity value in the
saturated state is almost
two times higher than
that measured in a dry
state for different fibre
content.
To investigate the Cement, sand, alfa Thermal conductivity Addition of fibres The composite is suitable - [73]
improvement of fibres and water and diffusivity - The increased porosity (by to use as a promising
mortar’s thermo- EI700 device (two about 51%), improved material for buildings in
mechanical properties boxes method) thermal conductivity (up the Mediterranean
to use as a building to 57% at 5 wt% of region.
material in the fibres).
Mediterranean region. Composite suitability for
structural and thermal
insulation identified up
to 4.8% fibres content,
beyond which it’s more
suited as an insulating
material.
To establish the Cement, Palm oil fuel Sound absorption Fibre -reinforced Resultant concrete - [25]
possibility of adopting ash, river sand, granite, coefficient - ASTM concretes exhibit good produced by pumping
as a noise reduction water, polypropylene E1050-19 sound insulation method showed superior
concrete fibres Sound transmission properties with more values and hence can be
class - ASTM E413-16 than 60% acoustic used as sound absorption
absorption coefficient in concrete.
medium-to-high
frequency ranges.
To study the mechanical Cement, water, wool Thermal conductivity Thermal conductivity The optimal ratio of fibre - [58]
behaviour and thermal fibre - ASTM C518-17 decreases with increased length and content (in
conductivity of a fibre content, with this case, 6 mm/13%) is
cement mortar moderate length fibres crucial to balance
(6 mm) than longer ones thermal enhancement
(20 mm) and shorter and mechanical strength.
fibres (1 mm).
Correlation found
between experimental
thermal conductivity
measurements and the
Willy and Southwick
model.
To examine the use of Cement, water, sand, Sound absorption Achieved sound Concrete specimens with - [26]
natural wool fibres and granite, wool fibres coefficient and absorption coefficients of fibres exhibited
modified wool fibres transmission loss - 0.66 (wool fibres) and decreased sound
(treated with salt ASTM E1050-19, and 0.75 (treated fibres) at transmission loss so have
water) as sound- ASTM E413-16 2000 Hz frequency. the potential of using
absorbing materials in them for improving
concrete composites overall acoustic qualities
in concrete applications.
(continued on next page)

6
K.A.P. Wijesinghe et al. Construction and Building Materials 412 (2024) 134879

Table 3 (continued )
Objective of the research Materials Testing methods Key research outcomes Conclusions Future research References
related to thermal/ related to thermal/ directions
acoustic performance acoustic performance

To obtain eco-friendly Cement, water, perlite, Thermal conductivity Found significantly Mortars show promise - [74]
thermo-insulating wheat straw fibres and diffusivity – heightened thermal for non-structural indoor
cement composites for ISOMET 2104 insulation (86–91%) in applications like panels
indoor applications Acoustic absorption - straw-based mortars. and plasters due to their
Kundt tube Better sound absorption balanced thermo-
within the 500–1000 Hz acoustic and mechanical
range better with shorter properties.
straw lengths and
increased straw volumes.
To offer new insights into Cement, sand, alfa Thermal conductivity Incorporating 10 wt% A promising potential for - [85]
the hygrothermal fibres and water - EI702 Cell apparatus fibres result in a creating energy-efficient,
properties of advanced (DELTALAB-SMT, substantial 67%. eco-friendly building
concrete composites, France) latest version decrease in thermal materials when
aiming to identify their of the two-box method conductivity. incorporated in 5–10 wt
potential applications (EI700) % in concrete
for improving energy production.
efficiency in buildings.
To investigate the dual Mortars, jute fibres, Thermal conductivity The most substantial The samples Attention should focus [77]
positive effect of the water – heat flow meter – decrease in thermal incorporating moderate on calculating the water
jute fibre on ISO 268 8301 and EN conductivity was length fibres (5 mm in all amount in mix designs
composite. 1946-3 achieved with a fibre fibre percentage considering the
percentage of 1.5% and categories) exhibit absorption capacity of
fibre length of 5 mm of decreased thermal fibres.
structural mortars at 30 conductivity, indicating Further developments
degrees Celsius. an enhancement in the are anticipated for
insulation capacity of the applying these
composite samples. composite mortars to
real structures like
masonry walls, requiring
integrated retrofitting
procedures.
To investigate the Cement, sand, Thermal conductivity Linear decrease in Mortar M2.5 (2.28 wt% Future investigations [79]
feasibility of superplasticizer, – Hot Disk-ISO 22007- thermal conductivity fibres) meets structural will focus on hygric
introducing miscanthus fibres, 2 was obtained with application criteria with properties of these bio-
miscanthus powder Sulfo-Aluminous increasing fibre content. acceptable compressive based composites and
into a cement mortar Cement Nearly a 82% reduction strength and around 40% real-scale evaluations to
in thermal conductivity improvement in thermal accurately gauge their
was observed for 5.7 wt resistance. performance in practical
% fibre mortar. Mortars with over building scenarios.
4.15 wt% fibres show
substantial thermal
enhancement (over 70%)
while maintaining
satisfactory mechanical
properties, ideal for
insulation.
To evaluate the potential Cement, sand, water Thermal conductivity Replacing a significant Despite a decrease in Further research should [19]
of incorporating and textile fibres - TEMPOS thermal portion (40%) of sand compressive strength, the delve into the long-term
recycled industrial properties analyser with textile fibres led to textile-reinforced mortar durability of cement
textile waste into notable improvements in met requirements for use mortars reinforced with
building components the thermal properties of as a coating material, textile fibres.
to enhance their cement-based mortars. offering improved Beyond wall analysis,
thermal properties and This included a 40% thermal performance. assessing the impact of
reduce energy reduction in thermal incorporating textile
consumption in conductivity, 21% drop fibres on the thermal
buildings. in thermal diffusivity, efficiency of entire
and 23% decrease in buildings would be
volumetric heat capacity beneficial.
compared to standard
cement mortar.
To develop a new Cement, diss fibres Thermal conductivity Increasing fibre content Composite with 20 wt% - [39]
material made with - TAURUS TLP 500-X1 (up to 30%) reduced diss fibres can be
cement binder and diss machine with the thermal conductivity by classified as both
fibres as substitutes for guarded hot-plate up to 76% compared to structural and insulating
the aggregates used method, in line with the control matrix. material (Class II)
traditionally in ASTM C177 standard Higher fibre content according to the RILEM
concrete. improved thermal functional classification.
damping properties, Composites containing
reducing thermal 25 wt% and 30 wt% of
diffusivity by up to 68% diss fibres are
and thermal effusivity by categorized as insulating
up to 82%. materials (Class III),
suitable for insulation
purposes.
(continued on next page)

7
K.A.P. Wijesinghe et al. Construction and Building Materials 412 (2024) 134879

Table 3 (continued )
Objective of the research Materials Testing methods Key research outcomes Conclusions Future research References
related to thermal/ related to thermal/ directions
acoustic performance acoustic performance

To study the influence of Cement, sand, melon Thermal conductivity Increasing cotton stalk Potential applicability of - [83]
different plant fibre seed stone, haydite and - PDR-300 fibre content enhanced cotton stalk fibre-
contents on concrete pottery sand, fly ash, thermal insulation enhanced shotcrete in
materials. water-reducing agent properties, with a enhancing thermal
of the poly- condensing notable decrease in insulation in various
acid, water thermal conductivity construction contexts,
observed when the fibre particularly in tunnel and
content exceeded 2 kg/ roadway linings.
m3 .
To develop wall covering Cement, water, date - A 73.4 ± 0.1% reduction The biobased - [84]
to obtain a better palm fibres in thermal conductivity composites, especially
thermal insulation. was observed with a those formulated with a
fibre content of 5%, 5% date palm fibre
attributing this decrease addition suggested as
to the insulating nature viable materials for wall
of date palm fibres. coverings and cost-
5% fibre content effective insulation.
displayed the most
significant reduction in
thermal conductivity,
showcasing the best
insulation of 0.24
± 0.001 W/mK.
To obtain a jute-cement Cement, starch, water, Thermal conductivity Panels with 5% and 10% Jute-cement-starch - [65]
composite with starch and jute fibres - heat-flow-meter jute fibre content composite panels can be
method relative to cement manufactured with
displayed mechanical physical, mechanical,
properties thermal and thermal properties
conductivity values ideal that meet the European
for thermal insulation in standards for use in the
construction construction of buildings
applications. Higher as partitions
proportions of 15% to
20% jute could serve as
effective thermal
insulators.
To study the Cement, sand, The thermal test was The mortar sample The porosity and [29]
incorporation of fabric hydraulic lime, fabric carried out at two containing textile waste cellulose fibres
shavings from the waste temperatures, 40 exhibited better thermal contributed to this
clothing industry as a and 60 insulation properties. At thermal insulation,
reinforcement material Celsius in a Quimis 60 ◦ C, its inner surface which is essential for
in coating mortar Q317M-32 temperature was about enhancing durability by
microprocessor- 12 ◦ C lower than the protecting structures
controlled drying reference. from expansion and
oven contraction movements.

significant when the fabric quantity is increased.
4.2. Acoustic Performance
Fibres have also been reported to improve acoustic properties. Wool
fibres have microcavities inside the hollow structure making the wool
fibre itself an excellent sound absorption material (90% at the region
800 Hz–2000 Hz) [61]. Alyousef [26] used 0.5–2.5% (of total volume of
concrete) untreated wool fibres and wool fibres pre-treated with salt­
water in concrete. At 2000 Hz, both 1% wool FRC and 1% treated wool
FRC had a sound absorption coefficient of approximately double
compared to non-FRC. Bozkurt [70] investigated the acoustic absorption
properties of glass and basalt fibre reinforced mortars with recycled
glass aggregates. It was observed that, basalt fibre at 0.25% increased
the noise reduction coefficient by 14.6% compared to the control,
whereas glass fibre at the same level showed results similar to the
control, indicating no significant enhancement. With a further increase
to 0.5% fibre content, basalt mortar demonstrated a negligible change.
However, glass fibre mortar exhibited the highest noise reduction co­
efficient, showing an 18.9% increase compared to the control mortar at
the same 0.5% fibre content. Petrella et al., [74] showed that when
increasing wheat fibre straw fibre length from 5–60 mm in concrete,
sound absorption coefficient decreased approximately by 48% at
500 Hz. A similar trend was observed at 250 Hz, 1000 Hz and 1600 Hz,
decreasing sound absorption nearly by 40, 21, 30% respectively. In­
clusion of 0–2 mm shorter miscanthus fibres in concrete showed
maximum sound absorption of 50% when inclusion of 30% fibre con­
tent. However, when utilize 30% of 2–4 mm moderate length fibres,
concrete absorbed almost 90% of sound at 841 Hz. This implies that
longer fibres have more potential to increase sound absorption proper­
ties of Miscanthus FRC than shorter fibres [72].
Polypropylene fibres have been utilized to develop prepacked
aggregate concrete using gravity and pumping methods by Rayed et al.
[25]. The data illustrated that across the frequency range employed, an
increase of fibre content increased the sound absorption coefficient. The
range 1500 Hz to 2500 Hz gave the maximum sound absorption coef­
ficient values with the inclusion of 1% textile fibres from total volume of
concrete. At 2000 Hz, the sound absorption coefficient of textile rein­
forced concrete was nearly six times higher than non-textile concrete.
Sadrolodabaee et al. [27] made concrete reinforced with six layer
non-woven fabric consisting of 45% cotton, 35% flax and 20% polyester.
At 2000 Hz, similar sound absorption coefficient values were obtained
for both fabric reinforced and non-fabric concrete. At 1000 Hz, the FRC
demonstrated three times higher sound absorption coefficient compared
to non-fibre control concrete.

8
 K.A.P. Wijesinghe et al.
Table 4
Thermal properties of textile concrete.
Textile material Fibre percentage Fibre (kg) Cement (kg) Coarse Fine aggregate Water (kg) Water to Thermal Thermal Compressive Reference
aggregate (kg) (kg) Cement ratio diffusivity ( × conductivity (W/ strength at 28 days
107 m2/s) mK) (MPa)

70% wool, 25% viscose, 6.25, 8.16, 8.75 46.88, 30.61, - - 46.88, 61.22, 58.40 1, 2, 1.77 - 0.294, 0.164, 0.149 - [30]
and 5% elastane (wt%) 32.86 (wt%) (wt%)
Cotton 0, 1, 2, 5, 10% of 0, 2.62, 262 629 1336 149.34 0.57 - 0.37, 0.32 33.3, 26.7, 26.9, [71]
the weight of 5.24, 13.1, 17.5, 8.9
cement 26.2
-
Miscanthus (0-2 mm) 10, 20, 30% - 403 - 191, 171.9, 184 0.45 0.112, 0.109, 0.102 6.5, 4.95, 3.85 [72]
-
Miscanthus (2-4 mm) by volume 152.8, 133.7 0. 104, 0.0998, 7.04, 5.54, 3.99
0.0906
Jute 0, 2.5%, 5%, 0, 8.57, 342.86, 1371.43, 685.71, 187.57, 187.89, 0.55 - 0.310, 0.302, ~13.5, 14.5, 11.1, [34]
7.5% and 10% of 17.14, 341.63, 1366.53, 683.26, 187.22,186.549, 0.291, 0.280, 0.269 7.5, 5.8
Coconut cement mass 25.71, 340.40, 1361.6, 680.81, 185.87 - 0.310, 0.290, ~13.5, 14, 11.5,
34.28 339.18, 1356.72, 678.36, 675.91 0.279, 0.268, 0.256 8.6, 7.8
Sugarcane 337.95 1351.8 - 0.310, 0.298, ~13.5, 12.5, 11.1,
0.289, 0.279, 0.266 7.8, 5.4
Sisal - 0.310, 0.303, ~13.5, 10.2, 8, 5,
0.295, 0.286, 0.279 2.8
Basalt - 0.310, 0.292, ~13.5, 9.5, 8, 8,
0.281, 0.267, 0.257 7.6
Juncus maritimus (non- 0, 2, 5, 7, 10 (wt 0, 35.2, 640.14, - 1280.29, 320.07, 345.67, 0.5, 0.6, 0.6, 2.6, 2.5,3, 0.521, 0.445, ~11, 3.1, 1, 0.4, [35]
treated) %) 72.7, 576.13, 1152.26, 276.26, 270.7, 0.6, 0.6 2.01, 0.236, 0.197, 0.171 0.3
101.87, 460.49, 920.46, 901.7, 261.72 1.73,1.623
Juncus maritimus 145.40 450.84, 872.42 2.6, 2.01, 0.521, 0.479, ~11, 4, 3.5, 5.5,
(treated with 436.21 1.801, 1.233, 0.256, 0.212, 0.185 4.2
Formaldehyde-Free 1.136
9

self-catalyser resin)
Alfa 0 0.5, 1, 2, 3.5, 5 - - - - - 0.6 4.04, ~4.4, 0.809, 0.675, ~ 13,13.5, 14, 11, [35]
(wt%) 4.3, 3.3, 3.1, ~0.64, 0.635, 0.54, 10.5, 3
2.1 0.347
Alfa fibres 0, 2, 5, 7, 10 (wt - 85, 70, 69, - 15, 28, 26, 25, 42.5, 35, 34.5, 34, 0.5 - 0.59, 0.54, 0.48, 19.14, 11.9, 3.78, [85]
%) 68, 66 (wt%) 24 (wt%) 33 0.35, 0.19 1.28, 0.66
Rock wool (5 mm) 0, 2, 4, 6 (v%) 0, 0.653, 864 - 2274.6, - 0.35, - ~0.725, 0.7,0.725, ~33, 37, 35, 32 [76]
1.867, 2229.3, 2184, 0.37,0.375, 1.225
2.933 2138.66 0.385
Rock wool (10 mm) 0.35, 0.35, - ~0.72, 0.75, 0.75, ~33, 34, 39, 32
0.395, 0.4 1.3
Jute (5 mm) 0, 0.5,1, 1.5, 2% - - - - - - - ~0.793, 0.470, ~32.25,24.24, [77]

Construction and Building Materials 412 (2024) 134879

with respect to 0.550, 0.460, 0.490 14.68, 10.79, 6.03
Jute (10 mm) the mortar - ~0.793, 0.550,0.5, ~32.25, 26.75,
masses 0.550, 0.480 18.03, 13.97, 8.4
Jute (30 mm) - ~0.793, 0.660, ~32.25, 26.16,
0.510, 0.580, 0.570 21.83, 17.79,
10.15
Carbon 0, 2 (v%) 0, 36 851 - 1131, 1077 275 0.32 - 1.666, 1.502 90.7, 77 [78]
0, 36 567 - 931, 901 244, 242 0.43 0.752, 0551 61.2, 28.4
0, 36 851 - 125, 119 353, 350 0.41 0.341, 0.535 24.9, 21.7
Miscanthus 0, 0.02, 5.09, 0, 47.42, 832.97, - 1061.53, 313.48, 396.93, - ~11, 7.5, 7, 3, ~2.3, 1.25, 0.6, 72.1, 21, 7.05, [79]
6.56, 7.54 (v%) 79.91, 695.07, 885.79, 466.40, 519.44, 3 0.375, 0.25 2.41, 0.993
103.03, 585.67, 746.37, 566.91
118.42 503.44, 641.58, 553.04
433.96
(continued on next page)
 K.A.P. Wijesinghe et al.
Table 4 (continued )
Textile material Fibre percentage Fibre (kg) Cement (kg) Coarse Fine aggregate Water (kg) Water to Thermal Thermal Compressive Reference
aggregate (kg) (kg) Cement ratio diffusivity ( × conductivity (W/ strength at 28 days
107 m2/s) mK) (MPa)

Rice straw (5 mm) 0, 2, 4, 6% of the 0, 0.65, 26.24 - 75.44 18.04 0.55 - 0.324, 0.22, 0.190, 8.25, 8.45, 7.86, [80]
binder material 1.32, 1.97 0.179 7.41
Rice straw (10 mm) mass - 0.324, 0.208, 8.25, 8.54, 7.76,
0.181, 0.163 6.69
Rice straw (15 mm) - 0.324, 0.210, 8.25, 8.32, 7.44,
0.203, 0.199 6.39
Basalt 0, 5, 10, 15 and - - - - - - - ~0.28, 0.19, 0.13, ~37, 32.5, 27.5, [81]
20 (v%) of sand 0.1, 0.08 22, 17.5
volume
10

Textile waste fibres 0, 10, 20, 30, 40 0, 5.26, 215 - 1540, 1386, - ~1.2, 1.3, - ~1.45, 1.21, 1.15, ~12, 11.5, 10.5, [19]
(v%) 10.52, 1232, 1078, 1.4, 1.5, 1.5 1, 0.9 11, 110.7
15.78, 924
21.04
Diss 0, 20, 25, 30% by - - - - - - ~32, 13.75, ~1.1, 0.3, 0.2, 0.15 6.1, 3.68, 2.03, [39]
weight of cement 12.5, 11.75 0.93
Cotton stalk - 0, 0.5, 1.0, 425.7 789 747.5 212.9 0.5 - 0.3988, 0.3689, 33.7, 35.6, 37.8, [83]
1.5, 2.0, 0.3474, 0.3279, 39.1, 39.6, 38,
2.5, 3.0 0.3183, 0.3101, 36.5
0.3072
Date palm 0, 1, 3, 5 (wt%) - - - - - - - ~0.875, 0.8, 0.375, - [84]
0.24
*Glass wool - - - - - - 0.03-0.045 - [86,87]

Construction and Building Materials 412 (2024) 134879

*Rock wool - - - - - - 0.033-0.045 -
*Extruded polystyrene - - - - - - 0.025-0.035 -

Note: *Thermal conductivity of commercially available insulation materials

 K.A.P. Wijesinghe et al.
Table 5
Acoustic properties of textile concrete.
Textile material Fibre Fibre Cement Coarse Fine Water Water to Noise Sound absorption (%) Compressive Reference
percentage (kg) (kg) aggregate aggregate (kg) Cement reduction strength at 28
250 500 1000 2000 4000
(kg) (kg) ratio (%) days (MPa)
Hz Hz Hz Hz Hz
g g g g g g g
Polypropylene 0, 0.2, 0.4, - 293 1315 550 180 0.64 ~10, 18, ~3, 8, 14, ~5, 8, ~8, 12, ~11, 20, ~8, 15, ~44, 43, 40, 39, [25,63]
0.6, 0.8, 1 v 25, 32, 35, 20, 22, 25% 14, 21, 25, 30, 30, 38, 44, 19, 21, 38, 37
% 38% 22, 25% 35% 45, 55% 28, 30%
p p p p p p p
~11, 21, ~4, 9, 15, ~5, 11, ~7, 14, 11, 21, ~8, 15, ~49, 48, 47, 46,
28, 34, 37, 21, 25, 29% 18, 22, 25, 32, 43, 48, 22, 25, 45, 42
44% 28, 31% 40% 52, 62% 31, 38%
Wool (non- 0, 0.5, 1, 1.5, - 445 860 855 215 0.5 ~9, 18, 26, ~5, 11, 15, ~9, 15, ~10, 23, ~22, 38, ~15, 23, ~36, 31, 28, 27, [26]
treated) 2, 2.5 v% 32, 35, 40% 23, 25, 28% 16, 18, 25, 35, 40, 45, 55, 21, 25, 26, 25
25, 30% 35% 59, 66% 26, 35%
Wool (saltwater ~11,21, 28, ~6, 15, 20, ~9, 19, ~10, 25, ~22, 37, ~15, 21, ~36, 34, 33, 32,
11

treated) 35, 38, 42% 27, 30, 32% 22, 28, 30, 38, 45, 54, 58, 25, 31, 31, 28
31, 35% 40% 62, 75% 34, 46%
-
Miscanthus (0- 10, 20, 30% - 403 - 191, 171.9, 184 0.45 - ~7.5,8.5, ~21, 20, ~28,17, - 6.5, 4.95, 3.85 [72]
2 mm) by volume 152.8, 133.7 10% 19% 58%
Miscanthus (2- ~5,5, 6% ~18, 16, ~25,31, ~2, 0, - 7.04, 5.54, 3.99
4 mm) 22% 25% 5%
45% cotton, 35% 0, 5.4(wt%) 2, 1.5 - - 2, 1.5 1 At 1530 Hz, 26% [27]
flax and 20%
polyester
*Glass wool - - - - - - At 125 Hz, 10-79% - [86,87]
At 1000 Hz, 79%− 91%
*Rock wool - - - - - - At 125 Hz, 5-19% -
At 1000 Hz, 92%− 99%

Construction and Building Materials 412 (2024) 134879

*Extruded - - - - - - - 50% - - - -
polystyrene

Note: *Sound absorption coefficient of commercially available insulation materials, ppumping method, ggravity method
K.A.P. Wijesinghe et al.
Fig. 3. SEM images of (a) a Jute fibre; (b) Juncus maritimus fibre [35,61].
5. Discussion
The review of the literature highlights that in addition to the indi­
vidual thermal and acoustic insulation performance of textile fibres,
inclusion of textiles principally affects the porosity, pore distribution
and density of concrete which influences thermal and acoustic insu­
lation performance. Inclusion of textile fibre in concrete affects the
porosity, which plays a vital role in controlling the thermal performance
[34,85,95] because textile fibres with lower bulk density decreases the
density of the concrete increasing the apparent porosity [28,35,72,94].
In addition, the textile fibres can create a pore network in the cement
matrix which can trap air inside the pores. As shown in Fig. 4(b), the
inclusion of 3% fabric yarns (in relation to binder mass) with length of
3 cm increased the number of pores compared to the non-fibrous con­
crete, Fig. 4(a) [29]. As measured through the void index, the porosity
was increased by 35% compared to the non-FRC. Similarly, increasing
textile tire cord from 4% to 10% (with respect to the sand content)
increased the porosity, Fig. 4(c-d). As a result, pores are filled with air,
which has a very low thermal conductivity value (0.025 W/mK),
resulting high thermal insulation of the textile FRC [62]. The larger the
pore size, the easier for air to penetrate the matrix and therefore, in­
crease the thermal insulation [94]. However, the pore size is crucial to
this behaviour, as it has been observed that with up to a 5 mm pore size
with pore content below 90%, heat transfer through convection and
radiation can be neglected in concrete [96]. When a crack is induced in
textile FRC fibres act as a bridge between separated sections. This phe­
nomenon can not only be associated with an improvement of tensile
strength but also that the fibres make a tangled network, as shown in
Fig. 5, could create more void spaces which can also contribute to
improved insulation performance.
In addition to porosity enhancement, textile fibre inclusion reduces
the continuity of the heat transfer path of concrete. Moderate length
fibres (6 mm wool fibres) could create a denser random oriented fibre
network, hindering heat transfer through the concrete, compared to
longer fibres (20 mm wool fibres). Nevertheless, due to their anisotropic
property, longer fibres can improve thermal conductivity along the
dispersion direction. Moreover, the effectiveness of moderate length
12
Construction and Building Materials 412 (2024) 134879
fibres (2–4 mm) over shorter fibres (0–2 mm) in sound absorption
within the concrete matrix arises from their distinct microstructures and
resultant porosity. Shorter miscanthus fibres possess smoother surfaces,
leading to a less porous microstructure, while moderate length fibres
offer an optimal morphology, enhancing inter-particle and intra-particle
pores. This increased porosity allows for better contact with air mole­
cules, facilitating efficient dissipation of sound energy. Moreover,
moderate length fibres’ superior intra-particle porosity aids in the
propagation of acoustic waves, particularly benefiting low frequencies.
Conversely, shorter fibres rigid surface and lower porosity limit their
effectiveness in sound absorption [72]. However, the exact length,
dosage and dispersion direction is crucial to the insulation properties as
low concentrations only act as a filler and do not influence porosity [58,
98]. Ferrandez-García et al. reported plateauing of thermal conductivity
after 33.34 wt% of jute fibre dosage, attributed to no further increase in
porosity due to the non-uniform agglomeration of the fibres [32,65].
The presence of moisture can have a detrimental impact on thermal
insulation of textile FRC. Hydrophilic textile fibres can retain water
during mixing, which when concrete undergoes hardening and drying,
this water that is retained within the fibres is gradually lost. Hence, the
drying process results additional air voids within the concrete which
causes a reduction in thermal conductivity [35,73]. At elevated tem­
peratures (i.e., at 300 ◦ C), the fibres lose their structural integrity and
may deteriorate, Fig. 4(e-f), leaving voids or pores in the concrete ma­
trix. These voids act as insulating barriers, hindering the efficient
transfer of heat through the material. Consequently, the interconnected
pores formed by the fibres impede the heat diffusion, leading to a
decrease in the overall thermal conductivity of the concrete at elevated
temperatures [69]. Untreated fibre-reinforced concrete shows lower
thermal conductivity than its washed or treated counterparts due to air
bubbles generated by impurities in fibres, impeding heat transfer within
the composite [58,99]. Washing removes these impurities, leading to a
denser mortar structure that decreases thermal conductivity [35].
Porous material with interconnected pores disturbs airflow by
entrapping air in the voids as sound absorption is directly proportional
to airflow resistivity [55]. These voids are designated as sound traps
[26], where the presence of wool fibres in these sound traps, absorbs
K.A.P. Wijesinghe et al. Construction and Building Materials 412 (2024) 134879

Fig. 4. Microscopic images showing the porosities of the (a) non-fibrefibre mortar; (b) 3% textile yarn reinforced mortar; (c) with 4% textile tire cord incorporated
concrete; (d) with 10% textile tire cord incorporated concrete (e) nylon FRC without thermal treatment; (f) nylon FRC treated at 300 ◦ C [29,62,69].

Fig. 5. (a) Crack bridging of microfibres reinforced cement [97]; (b) Microscopic images showing the cracking of the mortar containing textile yarns compared to
non-textile mortar [29]; (c) Polypropylene fibre bridging action [25].

13
K.A.P. Wijesinghe et al.
sound energy, converting it to thermal energy. Because fibres provide
resistance against sound waves entered to the material by providing a
frictional interface. Amplitude of the entered sound decreased due to
that friction provided by fibres converting sound energy to thermal
energy [100]. This results in a loss of sound transmission through the
concrete. However, when employing vacuum and compression tech­
niques to manufacture concrete, a highly compacted structure is
generated reducing the number of sound traps and internal porosity thus
decreasing thermal insulation performance.
6. Sustainability
Utilization of textile solid waste addresses the three pillars of sus­
tainability (environmental, economic, and social) as the environmental
consequences of textile solid waste increase with the throwaway culture
which has become increasingly prevalent. This has resulted in a 35%
decrease in garment life span compared to fifteen years ago [30]. Syn­
thetic materials such as nylon takes 30–40 years to breakdown and a
hundred years to fully decompose compared to natural materials such as
wool, which breaks down in approximately 15 weeks and fully decom­
pose within a year [101]. Therefore, when recycling is employed instead
of landfilling, recycling has a climate change potential impact of
659.20 kg CO2-eq per tonne while for landfill the impact is 34.77 kg
CO2-eq per tonne [102]. The issue is extremely challenging as once
existing landfills reach their capacities, new landfill areas are required
which cause significant economic (high municipality cost) and societal
impacts such as odour, unattractiveness, and health concerns for the
surrounding areas [103]. Therefore, alternative solutions given for
landfilling would be sustainable not only environmentally but also
economically and socially.
Sadrolodabaee et al., [27] reported textile facade cladding panel
gave the highest satisfaction value of 72% for the economic sustain­
ability requirement compared to non-textile façade cladding. This was
because higher ductility was observed in the textile cladding attributed
to greater resistance to crack propagation compared to the brittle nature
of the non-textile cladding. Therefore, a higher amount of cement was
required in non-textile cladding to achieve the desired strength. In
addition, frequent repairs and replacement had to be conducted during
the service life compared to the textile façade cladding. This negatively
impacted the environment (higher usage of cement) and economic
sustainability (frequent repairs, replacements requires additional pay­
ments) index of the product reducing its satisfaction value. In terms of
environmental sustainability, textile integrated façade had a 47% higher
satisfaction index than non-textile counterpart as recycled fibres were
utilized in producing the nonwoven fabric reinforcement. Given their
performance and based on the literature review it is surmised that
cladding could be improved to further increase sustainability by
enhancing the outer appearance (lowest satisfaction value of 55%) of
cladding panels and by utilizing less cement (using alternative
economical pozzolanic by-products).
In addition, energy consumption in the building sector is also
becoming significant as it is estimated that 35–40% of the total energy is
consumed by the building sector worldwide. Therefore, thermal insu­
lation materials could help to maintain heat flow in and out of buildings,
minimizing energy consumption and the reduce energy use to maintain
thermal comfort [63]. Moreover, sound pollution is one of the major
challenges faced by people, especially those living in apartments or
working in factories. Health concerns, such as impaired hearing and
high stress are some of the adverse social consequences of sound
pollution, hence, the need for concrete materials that can absorb sound
waves, thus providing sound insulation is paramount, especially in the
context of socio-enviro sustainability [100].
7. Conclusion
In this review paper, a comprehensive study of previous research on
14
Construction and Building Materials 412 (2024) 134879
the development of FRC integrating reclaimed textiles on thermal and
acoustic performance has been presented. In addition to performance
characteristics, the sustainability aspect has also been reviewed. In this
review, the incorporation of textile fibres, ranging from 0–20 wt% and
0–40 v%, demonstrated notable improvements in both reducing thermal
conductivity and enhancement of sound absorption coefficients in con­
crete compositions. Jute fibres emerged as the most effective, show­
casing the highest, 85% reduction in thermal conductivity to 0.068 W/
mK compared to normal mortar at 20 wt% inclusion. It is closely fol­
lowed by basalt fibres at 20 v% inclusion, yielding 0.08 W/mK (71%
reduction compared to normal concrete). However, considering both
thermal and acoustic performance, 30 v% of 2–4 mm Miscanthus FRC
demonstrated exceptional outcomes, achieving optimal thermal con­
ductivity (0.09 W/mK, a 25% reduction compared to control concrete)
and exceptional acoustic absorption coefficient of nearly 0.9, especially
at lower frequencies.
The following conclusions are drawn from the review:
1. Inclusion of reclaimed textile gave an increase of apparent porosity
in the cementitious matrix. This is responsible for trapping air inside
the pores, thus reducing the thermal conductivity of the textile FRC.
The pore size is crucial to this behaviour, as it has been observed that
for pore sizes up to a 5 mm and a pore content below 90% heat
transfer through convection and radiation can be neglected in
concrete.
2. Fibres create frictional resistance against sound waves, leading to a
decrease in the amplitude of the transmitted sound as the sound
energy is converted into thermal energy through this friction.
3. Hydrophilic textile fibres can retain water during mixing, which
when concrete undergoes hardening and drying, this water which is
retained within the fibres, is gradually lost. Hence, the drying process
results in additional air voids within the concrete which causes a
reduction in thermal conductivity.
4. Shorter FRC (0-2 mm) consistently displayed elevated thermal con­
ductivity, contrasting with moderate lengths (2-6 mm) that notably
improved insulation via a more effective insulating layer.
Conversely, longer fibres demonstrated heightened thermal con­
ductivity, implying a distinct threshold in fibre length influencing
thermal properties in textile FRC.
5. Additionally, in terms of acoustic performance also, moderate length
FRC exhibit superior acoustic transmission due to the improved
connectivity between inter-particle pores that amplifies the conver­
sion of acoustic energy into thermal energy.
8. Future recommendations
Furthermore, limitations were identified in the current studies which
needed to be addressed through future research studies.
1. In the majority of the studies the waste materials are not completely
characterized to establish the correlation between textile waste
morphology, their physical characteristics and the resultant com­
posite performance.
2. There is very limited information on the effect of blending different
textile fibre types on the performance of thermal and acoustic
properties in FRC. Moreover, the effect of textile reinforcement (such
as non-woven, woven, knitted fabrics) on thermal and acoustic
performance in concrete has not been studied.
3. Although some studies have focused on specific applications such as
facade cladding, specific performance tests have not been discussed
and products have not been rated based on the requirements of
current standards.
4. The synthesis of various machine learning methodologies, including
Support Vector Machines (SVM), Autoregressive (AR) models,
ensemble learners, stochastic-based multi-expression programming
(MEP), and Gene Expression Programming (GEP), showcased their
K.A.P. Wijesinghe et al.
robust efficacy in accurately predicting diverse mechanical proper­
ties in concrete, notably compressive and tensile strengths
[104–110]. These machine learning methodologies could be used to
advance more efficient and precise methods for evaluating thermal
and acoustic insulation qualities of concrete materials.
This study suggests that employing textile waste in concrete for
sustainable insulation holds substantial promise. However, addressing
research gaps is crucial to create commercially viable products and
explore new markets for eco-friendly cement-based insulation. This
approach could potentially offer a long-term solution to the growing
textile waste issue by achieving a circular, zero-waste system.
CRediT authorship contribution statement
Wang Lijing: Writing – review & editing, Supervision, Methodology.
Wanasekara Nandula: Writing – review & editing, Supervision,
Conceptualization. Hidallana-Gamage H.D: Writing – review & edit­
ing, Supervision, Methodology, Investigation, Conceptualization. Law
David: Writing – review & editing, Supervision, Methodology, Investi­
gation, Conceptualization. Gunasekara Chamila: Writing – review &
editing, Supervision, Project administration, Methodology, Investiga­
tion, Funding acquisition, Conceptualization. Wijesinghe K.A.P:
Writing – original draft, Methodology, Investigation, Formal analysis,
Conceptualization.
Declaration of Competing Interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial
interests or personal relationships.that could have appeared to influence
the work reported in this paper.
Data Availability
Data will be made available on request.
Acknowledgements
This research was conducted by the Australian Research Council
Industrial Transformation Research Hub for Transformation of
Reclaimed Waste Resources to Engineered Materials and Solutions for a
Circular Economy (IH200100010) and, the Australian Research Coun­
cil’s Discovery Early Career Researcher Grant (DE230101221) which are
gratefully acknowledged.
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