Coir fibre-reinforced concrete for enhanced compressive strength and sustainability in construction applications

Abstract

This research explores the potential of coir fibre as a sustainable and effective reinforcement material to enhance the compressive strength (CS) of concrete. The influence of the fibre volume fraction (FVF) and fibre length (FL) on the CS of the coir fibre reinforced concrete was studied using the response surface method (RSM). The selected range for the FVF was from 4 % to 12 %, and the FL varied from 0.4 cm to 1.2 cm, as per the experimental design. The research determined that the coir fibre with an FVF of 4 % and an FL of 10 mm yielded the maximum CS for the reinforced concrete cubes, measuring 34 N/mm2. Furthermore, an increase in fibre content was observed to lead to a decrease in the workability of coir fibre-reinforced concrete. Furthermore, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses of the control and coir fibres extracted from the concrete cubes after a period of 1 year indicated no significant changes in the functional properties, thermal properties and crystallinity of the fibres.

Keywords

• Coir fibre
• Fibre volume fraction
• Fibre length
• Response surface methodology
• Reinforced concrete