Influence of Fiber Content on the Flexural Strength and Physical Properties of Abaca Fiber-Cement-Gypsum Board

Abstract

Cement-gypsum board has been used widely in construction project as a non-structural material. Commercial cement-gypsum board is mostly reinforced with synthetic fiber such as glass fiber. Environment consideration leads to the replacement of synthetic component with natural one in industrial product. In this study, a cement-gypsum board with natural fiber reinforcement—specifically, abaca fiber—was created. To examine the impact of fiber content on the flexural strength and other physical characteristics of cement-gypsum panels, cement-gypsum panels with varying amounts of abaca fiber content (0%, 1%, 2%, 3%, and 4%) were created. The experiment and its materials were created in accordance with Indonesian Standard SNI 01-4449-2006. The experiment's findings demonstrated that the amount of fiber in abaca-cement-gypsum panels had a substantial impact on their flexural strength, density, moisture content, water absorption, and thickness development. The cement-gypsum panel with a 2% fiber content achieved the highest flexural strength of 38.577 MPa. According to the experiment's findings on its flexural strength and physical characteristics, abaca fiber could serve as reinforcement for cement-gypsum board.