Improving the brittle behavior of high strength concrete using banana and palm leaf sheath fibers

Abstract

Many environmental problems can be ascribed to agricultural waste. Millions of tonnes of agricultural waste, such as banana and date palm trees, are produced worldwide. Such waste is converted and recycled as natural fiber. On the other hand, a major problem of high-strength concrete (HSC) is the sudden failure at the ultimate capacity of concrete. To solve these problems, this work investigated the effects of using natural fiber waste to improve the brittle behavior of HSC. The natural fiber was treated with chemical solutions before recycling in concrete. Seven HSC mixes were designed; three mixes contained banana fiber (BF), the other three incorporated palm leaf sheath fiber (PLSF), and the last one was the control mix. The respective fiber volume fractions of BF and PLSF were 1%, 2% and 3%, and the aspect ratio was 100. The fresh and hardened properties, such as slump, compressive, tensile, flexural strengths and modulus of elasticity, of HSC with natural fiber were determined. In addition, microstructure analysis of natural fibers and HSC with natural fiber was performed through scanning electron microscopy. No substantial improvement was observed in the compressive strength of the natural fiber. The tensile strength of HSC increased when up to 2% PLSF was used. Compared with BF, PLSF yielded a higher enhancement in HSC properties. Both fibers demonstrated improved efficiency in enhancing the brittle behavior of HSC. Highlights The effects of recycling an agriculture fiber in concrete are reported. Using PLSF in HSC yields higher improvement compared with using BF. BF and PLSF achieve high efficiency in arresting the crack developed in HSC.