Civil Insight: A Technical Magazine Volume 2 | Page 48

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STUDENTS’ SECTION
CIVIL INSIGHT 2018
bamboo, cane, henequen and sisal fi bers. The main reasons for the use of natural fi bers is its abundant
availability, lower pollutant emissions, lower greenhouse gas emission, enhance energy recovery and energy
end of life biodegradability of components.
METHODOLOGY
This information for this article was acquired by the following methods:
a) Literature review
b) Lab tests result analysis
DISCUSSION
Coconut fi bers can be used to restrain early age cracking. These fi bers tend to get wet, and once they are wet
form fi ber balls which counteracts strengthening of the concrete especially around the corners. Despite being
the lighter weight, coconut fi bers bear the compressive strength, tensile strength and fl exural strength. Also,
with the coconut fi bers, coconut shells can be used to replace the aggregates in the concrete mixture. Some
other conclusions include:
1. There will not be signifi cant infl uence on workability and unit weight due to low volume fraction fi ber
addition to concrete.
2. Addition of fi bers to concrete can increase the early age compressive strength up to 48%. Furthermore,
the age at cracking can be more than doubled by just adding 0.3% volume of polypropylene fi bers.
3. Coconut fi bers is found to provide residual strength, but they are prone to corrosion if water seeps through
it. But no corrosion was observed during the 28 days’ test. Hence, the corrosion takes place over a long
period of time.
4. It is also seen that at this percentage of fi ber (0.33%) the micro-structure cracking or shrinkage cracks are
rare.
5. The use of fi ber reinforced concrete has the benefi ts of controlling early age cracking and increasing early
age strength. However, the fi ber should be selected carefully as different types of fi ber perform differently.
The choice of fi ber type and volume fraction would depend on the desired effect.
6. The actual density of concrete is 2400-2450 kg per cubic meter and the coconut fi bers is 1900-2000 kg
per cubic meter.
FEASIBILITY STUDY IN CONTEXT OF NEPAL
In a developing country like Nepal with a lot of opportunities for development and prosperity, but insuffi cient
economic funding, fi ber reinforcement is one of the best alternatives to produce concrete of enhanced strength
at comparatively lower cost of production. As the fi ber reinforced concrete is able to withstand higher loads
than its non-fi ber reinforced counterparts with the same design grade of concrete, it can be economically and
structurally feasible in the context of Nepal.
CONCLUSION
This article attempts to highlight the use of coconut fi ber with steel and concrete mixture to reduce cost of
building and provide extra compressive strength. Concrete absorbs compressive force but not tensile force.
In order to make concrete able to absorb both forces, we use reinforced concrete. Experimentally, coconut
fi ber can be used both with concrete mixture and for reinforcement. These types of fi bers can be used in
construction of street road, small and medium market road and in PCC blocks.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Jadhav N., Gundgal O., Ghojage C., Jare B. &Kolte, A. (2017). To check the feasibility of Coconut Fiber and Polypropylene
Fiber in Concrete , International Research Journal of Engineering and Technology (IRJET), Vol -4, Issue- 5
Nadgouda, K.(2015). Coconut Fiber Reinforced Concrete , International Journal of Mechanical and Production Engineering,
Vol- 3, Issue-1
Uday S., Ajitha B. (2017). Concrete Reinforced with Coconut Fibres , International Journal of Engineering Science and
Computing, Vol.7, Issue 4