Increasing the flexural strength capacity of cement composite with natural fibres

Abstract

Cement board without fibres has low flexural strength and fails in small strain. To solve this problem and enhance other characteristics, the fibres are applied. Asbestos fibres which have individual properties have been used for reinforcing cement composites since the early 20th century. However in this decade, most countries have been banned the use of asbestos fibres in construction industries, because of its effect on human healthy. Natural fibres are one of the suitable alternatives for cement board production that have a good compatibility with cement matrix. In this research, to recognize the flexural behaviour which is the one of the most important characteristics for cement board, many laboratory samples have been made by three kinds of fibres and tested. These fibres obtained from agricultural wastes such as bagasse, wheat and eucalyptus. The scanning Electronic Microscopic studies were carried out to clarify the microstructures of composites. The results show that among the all types of fibres, bagasse has the most effect on increasing the flexural strength capacity for cement composite boards.

Keywords

• Cement composites
• Natural fibers
• Flexural strength