Experimental investigation on the tensile strength behaviour of coconut fibre-reinforced cement concrete in Fiji and pacific region

Abstract

Cement concrete is relatively brittle and its tensile strength is typically only about one-tenths of its compressive strength. It is becoming increasingly popular in various applications to reinforce the concrete with small, randomly distributed fibres. The main purpose is not only to increase the energy absorption capacity, called the toughness of the material, but also to increase the tensile and flexural strength of concrete. This experimental analysis is being carried out to investigate the effects of fibre quantity on tensile strength on coconut fibre-reinforced concrete. Coconut (coir) fibre-reinforced cement concrete with different fibre contents was reviewed together with plain cement concrete and a comparative analysis was made. Tensile strength was investigated for plain concrete mix and coconut fibre-reinforced concrete. The results obtained have been analysed critically and discussed for the practical applications. The results conclude that the addition of 1–4% of coconut fibres increases the tensile strength of plain cement concrete significantly. The fibres also formed a good bonding in the concrete. It can be deduced that the optimum fibre content for enhanced concrete strength is 3% by weight of cement.