Use of water hyacinth waste to produce fibre-reinforced polymer composites for concrete confinement: Mechanical performance and environmental assessment

Abstract

Abstract Use of eco-friendly building materials and/or recycling technologies becomes a trend in construction industry. In many countries, fast spreading of water hyacinth in natural rivers and canals results in a drainage problem. Consequently, the municipal offices have to spend substantial annual budgets to get rid of the water hyacinth wastes. This research explores for the first time the development and use of water hyacinth wastes for producing fibre-reinforced polymer composite as a strengthening material to confine concrete. The water hyacinth fibre-reinforced polymer composite coupons were tested to obtain their tensile strength, ultimate strain, and elastic modulus. A series of compression tests were conducted on water hyacinth fibre-reinforced polymer composite confined concrete to investigate the improved strength and ductility performance. Both environmental and economic impact assessments were conducted to illustrate the potential of using water hyacinth fibre-reinforced polymer composite as a strengthening material, through comparing the water hyacinth fibre-reinforced polymer composite and other natural fibre-reinforced polymer composites and conventional fibre-reinforced polymer composites. It is concluded that the mechanical properties of water hyacinth fibre-reinforced polymer composite are acceptable for concrete strengthening purpose. More importantly, as compared to conventional fibre-reinforced polymer composites, use of water hyacinth fibre-reinforced polymer composite is rewarded by its environmental friendliness, which is the less water consumption during the production and the reduction of natural wastes.