Abstract
At the request of the Journal Editor and Sage, the following article has been retracted:
Ahmad J, Aslam F, Martínez-García R, de Prado-Gil J, Abbas N, Hechmi EI Ouni M. Mechanical performance of concrete reinforced with polypropylene fibers (PPFs). Journal of Engineered Fibers and Fabrics. 2021;16. doi:10.1177/15589250211060399
A reader contacted the Journal Editor with concerns about unreferenced overlap with another publication co-authored by the first author:
Ahmad J, Aslam F, Zaid O, Alyousef R, Alabduljabbar H. Mechanical and durability characteristics of sustainable concrete modified with partial substitution of waste foundry sand. Structural Concrete. 2021; 22: 2775–2790. https://doi.org/10.1002/suco.202000830
On investigating the article, Sage noticed multiple changes in authorship during the review process that raised concerns about author contribution and the validity of the research. Sage also noticed further overlap with other works that had not been properly attributed, which put into question the novelty of the research. The articles which had not been properly attributed included:
Ahmad J, Al-Dala’ien R N S, Manan A, Zaid O, Ahmad M. Evaluating the Effects of Flexure Cracking Behaviour of Beam Reinforced with Steel Fibres from Environment Affect. Journal of Green Engineering. 2020; 10:9: 4998-5016.
Mohseni E, Yazdi M A, Miyandehi B M, Zadshir M, Ranjbar M M. Combined Effects of Metakaolin, Rice Husk Ash, and Polypropylene Fiber on the Engineering Properties and Microstructure of Mortar. Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering. 2017; 29:7. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)MT.1943-5533.0001867
Ahmad J, Zaid O, Siddique M S, Aslam F, Alabduljabbar H, Khedher K M. 2021. Material Research Express. 8 075505. doi: 10.1088/2053-1591/ac10d3
Sage requested comments on the concerns raised and requested that the authors provide the raw data underlying figures and tables. The authors explained that the articles are not similar and do not contain any overlap. The authors were unable to provide satisfactory explanations for the authorship changes.
The Journal Editor evaluated both articles and deemed that they contained some overlap and that the methodology used was similar, but the conclusions were distinct. The raw data provided by the authors did not meet the journal’s expectations for raw data.
Due to the concerns raised about authorship contribution and the authenticity of the research, the Journal Editor and Sage retracts this article.
The authors did not respond to the decision to retract.