Studies on the Performance of Self Healing of Plastic Cracks Using Natural Fibers in Concrete

Abstract

Addition of fibers in cement or cement concrete may be of current interest, but this is not a new idea or concept. Fibers of any material and shape play an important role in improving the strength and deformation characteristics of the cement matrix in which they are incorporated. The new concept and technology reveal that the engineering advantages of adding fibers in concrete may improve the fracture toughness, fatigue resistance, impact resistance, flexural strength, compressive strength, thermal crack resistance, rebound loss, and so on. The magnitude of the improvement depends upon both the amount and the type of fibers used. In this paper, locally available waste fibers such as coir fibers, sisal fibers and polypropylene fibers have incorporated in concrete with varying percentages and l/d ratio and their effect on compressive, split, flexural, bond and impact resistance have been reported.