Experimental studies on R.C. columns with natural fibers

Abstract

Adding natural fibers to concrete is a modern technique in construction industry. The aim of conducting the research is to compare the load carrying capacity of Reinforced Cement Concrete (RCC) columns by adding natural fibers in it. Total 30 columns were casted for observing the compressive strength of the column. Natural fibers like Rice husk, wheat husk, coconut fiber and wood fiber were added in 1 % and 3 % by weight of cement. On varying the percentage of replacement from 1% to 3%, rice husk was having the most positive impact on loading capacity as its load carrying capacity raises 1.67 times of normal column. On considering the all tests performed, rice husk fiber was found to be the best in replacement in concrete. The strength of the Fiber Reinforced columns (FRC) varies from 0.76 to 1.67 times in comparison to plain column. Adding fibers to the concrete raised the strength of column in the range of 1.5 to 3 times of design load. Coconut fiber columns showed poor ductility as compared to the other natural fibers i.e. wheat husk, rice husk and wood fiber. The coconut fiber column showed debonding between fibers and concrete at the time of ultimate loading. Failure of FRC column was nearly same as plain column. Hence natural fiber concrete is one of the environment friendly and economic option, which is used to construct low rise building