Among natural fiber composites, sisal fiber is one of the promising reinforcement which provides enhanced mechanical strength to the composites. The sisal fibers are low cost, available at abundant...

Thermal Properties of Natural Fiber Sisal Based Hybrid Composites – A Brief Review

The mechanical characterization of plain foamed concrete (PFC) and fiber-reinforced foamed concrete (FRFC) with a density of 700 kg/m3 was performed with compression and tension tests. FRFC was reinforced with the natural fiber henequen (untreated or alkaline-treated) at volume fractions of 0.5%, 1% and 1.5%. Polypropylene fiber reinforcement was also used as a reference. For all FRFCs, the inclusion of the fibers enhanced the compressive and tensile strengths and plastic behavior, which was attributed to the increase of specimen integrity. Under compressive loading, after the peak strength, there was no considerable loss in strength and a plateau-like regime was observed. Under tensile loading, the fibers significantly increased the tensile strength of the FRFCs and prevented a sudden failure of the specimens, which was in contrast to the brittle behavior of the PFC. The tensile behavior enhancement was higher when treated henequen fibers were used, which was attributed to the increase in the fiber-matrix bond produced by the alkaline treatment. The microscopic characterization showed that the inclusion of fibers did not modify the air-void size and its distribution. Higher energy absorption was observed for FRFCs when compared to the PFC, which was attributed to the enhanced toughness and ductility by the fibers. The results presented herein warrant further research of FRFC with natural henequen fibers for engineering applications.

https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/13/14/3060/pdf

Mechanical Properties of Natural Fiber Reinforced Foamed Concrete.

Natural fibers derived from plant wastes possess a negligible carbon footprint and a high tensile strength. Therefore, researchers are focusing on the technical evaluation of cementitious materials with bio-based fibers. The stems of the banana plant consist of high-quality textile-grade fiber bundles possessing high tensile strength and toughness. Owing to these characteristics banana stem fiber (BSF) can be used as a reinforcement for plain concrete. Therefore, this study is devoted to the evaluation of the properties of concrete with various concentrations of BSF. The performance of BSF in concrete was also compared with artificial polypropylene fiber (PPF) at the same volumes of fibers (i.e., 0.25, 0.5, and 1%). The results revealed that 0.25% and 0.5% volumes of BSF were highly useful to the tensile and flexural strength of concrete. However, residual compressive and tensile strength improved with the increasing volume of BSF. At 0.5% BSF, compressive strength, splitting tensile strength, and flexural strength of concrete experienced net improvements of 6%, 40%, and 10%, respectively. The mechanical performance of BSF was comparable to that of the artificial PPF. Electrical resistivity increased with the rising fiber volume. Whereas, ultrasonic pulse velocity gradually decreased with rising fiber content and reduced by 7% at 1% BSF. Scanning electron microscopic (SEM) analysis revealed a negligible shrinkage of BSF filaments in the cementitious matrix. This behavior was contrary to that observed with other natural fibers. • Waste stems of banana plants were processed into fiber reinforcement for concrete. • Performance banana fibers in concrete were compared with polypropylene fibers. • Life cycle analysis was conducted to evaluate emissions of concrete mixes. • Non-destructive properties of studied mixes were evaluated. • Banana fiber reinforced concrete is eco-friendlier than conventional concrete. 

Investigation of physical, strength, and ductility characteristics of concrete reinforced with banana (Musaceae) stem fiber

The use of synthetic fiber and natural fiber for concrete production has been continuously inves-tigated. Most of the materials have become popular for their higher flexibility, durability, and strength. However, the current study explores the engineering properties of cement concrete re-inforced with nylon and jute fibers together. Varying proportions and lengths of nylon and jute fibers were utilized in the concrete mixture. Hence, the combined effects of nylon and jute fibers on workability, density, water absorption, compressive, tensile, flexural strength, and drying shrinkage of concrete were investigated. Results showed that concrete with 1% of nylon and jute fibers together by the volume fraction showed a maximum enhancement of the compressive strength, split tensile strength, and flexural strength by 11.71%, 14.10%, and 11.04%, respectively, compared to the control mix of concrete at 90 days. However, the water absorption of concrete increased with increasing nylon and jute fiber contents. The drying shrinkage of concrete decreased with the addition of nylon and jute fibers together after 90 days. Thus, the sparing application of both nylon and jute fiber as discussed in this study can be adopted for concrete production.

Experimental Study on Engineering Properties of Cement Concrete Reinforced with Nylon and Jute Fibers

Recycling of ceramic tiles waste and marble waste in sustainable production of concrete: a review

Concrete is a very popular material in the construction industry—it is, however, susceptible to quasi-brittle failure and restricted energy absorption after yielding. The incorporation of short discrete fibers has shown great promise in addressing these shortfalls. A natural fiber such as sisal is renewable, cheap, and easily available. It has also exhibited good tensile strength and can significantly improve the performance of concrete. In this study, the physical and mechanical properties of sisal fiber-reinforced concrete were reported. Sisal fibers were added in the mix at percentages of 0.5%, 1.0%, 1.5%, and 2.0% by weight of cement. Physical properties measured are workability, water absorption, and density while mechanical properties reported are compression strength, split tensile strength, and static modulus of elasticity. The computed modulus of elasticity of sisal fiber-reinforced concrete was compared with predicted values in some common design codes. From the study, it was concluded that sisal fiber can enhance the split tensile strength and Young’s modulus of concrete but cannot improve its workability, water absorption, and compressive strength.

https://www.mdpi.com/2079-6439/6/3/53/pdf

Experimental Investigation of the Physical and Mechanical Properties of Sisal Fiber-Reinforced Concrete

\n \n Fiber reinforced concrete is becoming popular in improving the quasi-brittle failure of concrete. Natural fibers such as sisal holds great promise in this regard. It has amazing tensile strength and is renewable. This paper presents the result of an investigation carried out on the effect of sisal fiber on the compressive strength, Split tensile strength, failure mode and Poisson ratio of Sisal Fiber-Reinforced Concrete (SFRC).\n \n \n \n A mix proportion of 1:1.92:3.68 and w/c ratio of 0.47 for a target compressive strength of 35 MPa was used. Sisal fiber was added at percentages of 0.5%, 1.0%, 1.5%, and 2.0% by weight of cement. The effect of specimen shape on the compressive strength of sisal fiber-reinforced concrete (SFRC) was reported. The compressive strength of cube (150mm X 150mm) and cylinder (150mm diameter and 300mm height) specimen was determined at 7 and 28 days, while Split tensile strength and Poisson ratio were obtained using cylindrical specimen (150mm diameter and 300mm height).\n \n \n \n The result shows that the addition of sisal fiber slightly reduces the compressive strength of concrete, increases its split tensile strength up to 47.167% of the control specimen, arrests crack propagation and reduces its Poisson ratio. The correlation between the compressive strength of cylindrical and cube specimen was established with a ratio ranging between 0.82 - 0.73. The difference in the compressive strength was found to increase with rise in the percentages of sisal fiber. Based on the ratio and mechanical properties, 1.0% sisal fiber content was recommended as the optimum for reinforcing concrete.\n

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Abass Abayomi Okeola

Papers

Experimental Investigation of the Physical and Mechanical Properties of Sisal Fiber-Reinforced Concrete

The Effect of Specimen Shape on the Mechanical Properties of Sisal Fiber-Reinforced Concrete