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

Abstract

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.