COMSA, through its technical area, is participating in the European R&D project Anagennisi, whose objective is the reuse of end-of-life tyres to improve the strength of concrete in the construction of tunnels, buildings and other structures in civil works.
Through extensive experimental work, the project has successfully demonstrated that certain tyre components such as the rubber, textile and metallic fibres, can be reused and incorporated into concrete, thereby increasing its durability and strength and improving its behaviour in response to vibration. The textile and metallic fibres have a high degree of resistance to cracking and prevent the explosive spalling of the concrete in the event of fire.
Meanwhile, the incorporation of recycled rubber allows buildings to flex up to 10%, i.e. 50 times more than conventional concrete structures. These applications would be extremely useful in areas with a high concentration of earthquakes or other natural phenomena.
Also, the use of these components in civil engineering projects would allow the building of efficient and sustainable structures, reducing both energy consumption and the use of virgin materials. COMSA is leading the pilot testing. So far, demonstrations have been carried out in Croatia and Spain. In the case of Spain, this consisted in projecting concrete reinforced with metallic fibres in the Aduna tunnel (Basque Country).
The consortium of the Anagennisi European R&D project is made up of universities, companies and associations in the UK, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Romania, Cyprus, Italy, France and Spain. It is envisaged that commercialisation of the project results will commence in the middle of 2017.
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