Coir Fiber in Reinforced Self-Compacting Concrete

Jaysoon D. Macmac
a,b
,
Stephen John C. Clemente
c
,
Jason Maximino C. Ongpeng
a
a Department of Civil Engineering, Gokongwie College of Engineering, De La Salle University, Manila, Philippines
b Department of Civil Engineering, Western Philippines University, Aborlan, Palawan, Philippines
c Department of Civil Engineering, Far Eastern University Institute of Technology, Manila, Philippines
Abstract: The application of natural fibers in reinforced composites to create sustainable materials is gaining more attention due to their appealing attributes, such as low cost, low density, and good mechanical properties. The development of Self-Compacting Concrete (SCC) in the construction industry continuously improved over the last decade due to its advantage of having self-consolidation capability. However, a lack of studies on how SCC behaves when introducing natural fiber still arises. Hence, the present work investigates the effect of Coir fiber (CF) as reinforcement to SCC. In addition, this study provides information on the extraction process, surface characterization using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), and tensile strength of the Coir fiber. Finally, the coir fiber was applied to SCC by varying the dosage ranging from 0%, 1%, 1.5%, and 2% by weight of cement to determine the fresh properties and compressive strength. The fresh properties were assessed using slump flow, T500, L-box, and GTM Screen stability tests. Furthermore, the compressive strength of the new composite was determined after 28 days. The results reveal that adding coir fiber significantly affects the fresh properties of SCC because of its hydrophilic nature. Despite the reduction in the flowability, passing ability, and segregation resistance as the fiber increases, the SCC with CF is within the acceptable ranges specified on the EFNARC standard except for the mixture with 2% coir fiber. Additionally, incorporating 1% coir fiber achieves 12.84% higher compressive strength with less cracking pattern and failure mode. Thus, it emphasizes that it can be utilized fully in the construction industry to reinforce SCC.