Construction and Building Materials 30 (2012) 814825

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Construction and Building Materials

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Mechanical and dynamic properties of coconut bre reinforced concrete

Majid Ali , Anthony Liu, Hou Sou, Nawawi Chouw
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland 1142, New Zealand

a r t i c l e

i n f o

a b s t r a c t
Coconut bres have the highest toughness amongst natural bres. They have potential to be used as reinforcement in low-cost concrete structures, especially in tropical earthquake regions. For this purpose, the mechanical and dynamic properties of coconut bre reinforced concrete (CFRC) members need to be well understood. In this work, in addition to mechanical properties, damping ratio and fundamental frequency of simply supported CFRC beams are determined experimentally. A comparison between the static and dynamic moduli is conducted. The inuence of 1%, 2%, 3% and 5% bre contents by mass of cement and bre lengths of 2.5, 5 and 7.5 cm is investigated. To evaluate the effect of coconut bres in improving the properties of concrete, the properties of plain concrete are used as a reference. Damping of CFRC beams increases while their fundamental frequency decreases with structural damage. CFRC with higher bre content has a higher damping but lower dynamic and static modulus of elasticity. It is found that CFRC with a bre length of 5 cm and a bre content of 5% has the best properties. 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Article history: Received 21 July 2011 Received in revised form 12 December 2011 Accepted 23 December 2011 Available online 21 January 2012 Keywords: Coconut bres Concrete composites Mechanical and dynamic properties Beam

1. Introduction Researchers have used plant bres as an alternative of steel or synthetic bres in composites such as cement paste, mortar and concrete [126]. These natural bres include coconut, sisal, jute, hibiscus cannabinus, eucalyptus grandis pulp, malva, ramie bast, pineapple leaf, kenaf bast, sansevieria leaf, abaca leaf, vakka, date, bamboo, palm, banana, hemp, ax, cotton and sugarcane bres. Natural bres are cheap and locally available in many countries. Their use, as a construction material, for improving the properties of the composites costs a very little when compared to the total cost of the composites. Compared to steel bres, they are also easy to use or handle because of their exibility, especially when high percentage of bres is involved. However, in such a case, a methodology for casting needs to be developed. For expressing the quantities of bres, volume fraction and bre content are often used [1116]. Volume fraction can either be part of total volume of composite or part of volume of any ingredient to be replaced. Fibre content can be part of total weight/mass of composite or any ingredient to be replaced. Researchers often investigated the optimum quantity and length of bres [1115] to achieve maximum strength of the composite; any further increase or decrease in volume fraction and/or bre length may reduce the composite strength. Coconut bre is extracted from the outer shell of a coconut. The common name, scientic name and plant family of coconut bre are coir, cocos nucifera and arecaceae (Palm), respectively. There are two types of coconut bres, brown bre extracted from
Corresponding author.
E-mail address: mali078@aucklanduni.ac.nz (M. Ali). 0950-0618/$ - see front matter 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2011.12.068

matured coconuts and white bres extracted from immature coconuts. Brown bres are thick, strong and have high abrasion resistance, while white bres are smoother and ner, but also weaker. Coconut bres are commercially available in three forms, namely bristle (long bres), mattress (relatively short) and decorticated (mixed bres). These different types of bres have different uses depending upon the requirement. In engineering, brown bres are mostly used. According to ofcial website of International Year for Natural Fibres 2009 [27], approximately, 500,000 tonnes of coconut bres are produced annually worldwide, mainly in India and Sri Lanka. Its total value is estimated at $100 million. India and Sri Lanka are also the main exporters, followed by Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines and Indonesia. Around half of the coconut bres produced is exported in the form of raw bre. The general advantages of coconut bres include moth-proof; resistant to fungi and rot, provide excellent insulation against temperature and sound, ame-retardant, unaffected by moisture and dampness, tough and durable, resilient, spring back to shape even after constant use. Coconut bre is the toughest bre (21.5 MPa) amongst natural bres (Munawar et al. [28]). They are also capable of taking strain 46 times more than that of other bres (Munawar et al. [28] and Satyanarayana et al. [29]). Abiola [30] evaluated the mechanical properties (load-extension and stressstrain curves, Youngs modulus, yield stress, stress and strain at break) of inner and outer coconut bres experimentally, and the results were veried by nite element method using a commercial software ABAQUS. The author found that the inner coconut bre had a higher mechanical strength as compared to that of outer bre, but the outer coconut bre had a higher elongation property which enables it to absorb or withstand higher stretching energy.

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Ramakrishna and Sundararajan [31] investigated the variation in chemical composition and tensile strength of four natural bres, i.e. coconut, sisal, jute and hibiscus cannabinus bres, when subjected to alternate wetting and drying and continuous immersion for 60 days in water, saturated lime and sodium hydroxide. Chemical composition of all bres changed because of immersion in the considered solutions. Continuous immersion was found to be critical due to the loss of their tensile strength. However, coconut bres were reported best for retaining a good percentage of its original tensile strength in all tested conditions. 2. Previous works on coconut bre reinforced composites Slate [11] investigated compressive and exural strength of coconut bre reinforced mortar. Two cement-sand ratios by weight, 1:2.75 with water cement ratio of 0.54 and 1:4 with water cement ratio of 0.82 were considered. Fibre content was 0.08%, 0.16% and 0.32% by total weight of cement, sand and water. The mortars for both design mixes without any bres were also tested as reference. Cylinders of 50 mm diameter and 100 mm height and beams of 50 mm width, 50 mm depth and 200 mm length were tested. The curing was done for 8 days only. It was found that, compared to that of plain mortar of both mix designs, all strengths were increased in the case of bre reinforced mortar with all considered bre contents. However, a decrease in strength of mortar with an increase of bre content was also observed. Cook et al. [12] reported the use of coconut bre reinforced cement composites as low cost roong materials. The parameters studied were bre lengths (2.5, 3.75 and 6.35 cm), bre volumes (2.5%, 5%, 7.5%, 10% and 15%) and casting pressure (from 1 to 2 MPa with an increment of 0.33 MPa). They concluded that the optimum composite consisted of bres with a length of 3.75 cm, a bre volume fraction of 7.5% and is casted under the pressure of 1.67 MPa. A comparison revealed that this composite was much cheaper than locally available roong materials. Aziz et al. [13] cited the work of Das Gupta et al. [14,15] who studied the mechanical properties of cement paste composites for different lengths and volume fractions of coconut bres. Aziz et al. concluded that the tensile strength and modulus of rupture of cement paste increased when bres up to 38 mm bre length and 4% volume fraction were used. A further increase in length or volume fraction could reduce the strength of composite. The tensile strength of cement paste composite was 1.9, 2.5, 2.8, 2.2 and 1.5 MPa when it was reinforced with 38 mm long coconut bre and the volume fractions of 2%, 3%, 4%, 5% and 6%, respectively. The corresponding modulus of rupture was 3.6, 4.9, 5.45, 5.4 and 4.6 MPa, respectively. 4% volume fraction of coconut bres gave the highest mechanical properties amongst all tested cases. With 4% volume fraction, they also studied the tensile strength of cement paste reinforced with different lengths of coconut bres. With the bre lengths of 25, 38 and 50 mm, the reported tensile strength was 2.3, 2.8 and 2.7 MPa, respectively. The results indicated that coconut bres with a length of 38 mm and a volume fraction of 4% gave the maximum strength. Paramasivam et al. [16] conducted a feasibility study of coconut bre reinforced corrugated slabs of 915 mm 460 mm 10 mm for low-cost housing. A cementsand ratio of 1:0.5 and watercement ratio of 0.35 were used. Test for exural strength using third point loading was performed. For producing required slabs having a exural strength of 22 MPa, a bre length of 2.5 cm, a volume fraction of 3%, and a casting pressure of 0.15 MPa were recommended. The thermal conductivity and absorption coefcient for low frequency sound were comparable with those of asbestos boards. Agopyan et al. [17] studied coir and sisal bres as replacement of asbestos in roong tiles. The dimensions of the tiles were 487 mm 263 mm 6 mm. Three-point bend test specimen with

2% total bre volume fraction, support span of 350 mm, deection rate of 5 mm/min was employed for determination of the maximum load. After the ageing periods of 16 and 60 months, the corresponding maximum load taken by coir tile were 235 and 248 N, respectively while that by sisal tiles were 237 and 159 N, respectively. The major benet of reinforced tiles was their at least 22% higher energy absorption than that of the unreinforced tiles which could help to avoid fragile rupture of tiles during transportation or installation. John et al. [18] studied the coir bre reinforced low alkaline cement mortar taken from the internal and external walls of a 12 year old house. The panel of the house was produced using 1:1.5:0.504 (cement:sand:water, by mass) mortar reinforced with 2% of coconut bres by volume. Fibres removed from the old samples were reported to be undamaged. No signicant difference was found in the lignin content of bres removed from external and internal walls, conrming the durability of coconut bres in cement composites. Luisito et al. [19] of PCA-Zamboanga Research Center in Philippines invented coconut bre boards (CFB) for applications such as tiles, bricks, plywood and hollow blocks. It is used for internal and exterior walls, partitions and ceiling. CFB consisted of 70% cement and 30% bre by weight. It has water absorption of 32%, water swelling of 4.2% and bending strength of 0.81 MPa, respectively. Mohammad [20] tested wall panels made of gypsum and cement as binder and coconut bre as reinforcement. Bending and compressive strength, moisture content, density and water absorption were investigated. As expected, coconut bres did not contribute to bending strength of the tested wall panels. Compressive strength increased with the addition of coconut bres. There was no considerable change of moisture content with coconut bres. However, moisture content increased with time. Water absorption of panels was not signicantly affected with an increase in bre content. Ramakrishna and Sundararajan [21] carried out the experiments on impact resistance of slabs using a falling weight of 0.475 kg from a height of 200 mm. The slabs consisted of 1:3 cementsand mortar with the dimension of 300 mm 300 mm 20 mm. They were reinforced with coconut, sisal, jute and hibiscus cannabinus bres having four different bre contents of 0.5%, 1.0%, 1.5% and 2.5% by weight of cement and three bre lengths of 20, 30 and 40 mm. A bre content of 2% and a bre length of 40 mm of coconut bres showed the best performance by absorbing 253.5 J impact energy. At ultimate failure all bres, except coconut bres, showed bre fracture while coconut bre showed bre pull-out. The ultimate failure was determined based on the number of blows required to open a crack in the specimen sufciently and for the propagation of the crack through the entire depth of the specimen. Li et al. [22] studied untreated and alkalized coconut bres with the lengths of 20 mm and 40 mm as reinforcement in cementitious composites. Mortar was mixed in a laboratory mixer at a constant speed of 30 rpm, with cement: sand: water: super plasticizer ratio of 1:3:0.43:0.01 by weight, and bres were slowly put into the running mixer. The resulting mortar had a better exural strength (increased up to 12%), higher energy absorption ability (up to 1680%) and a higher ductility (up to 1740%), and is lighter than the conventional mortar. Reis [23] performed third-point loading tests to investigate the exural strength, fracture toughness and fracture energy of epoxy polymer concrete reinforced with coconut, sugarcane bagasse and banana bres. The investigation revealed that fracture toughness and energy of coconut bre reinforced polymer concrete were the highest, and an increase of exural strength up to 25% was observed with coconut bres. Asasutjarit et al. [24] determined the physical (density, moisture content, water absorption and thickness swelling), mechanical

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Table 1 Properties of plain concrete (PC) and coconut bre reinforced concrete (CFRC) according to Baruah and Talukdar [25]. Fibre volume fraction (%) 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 Compressive strength (MPa) 21.42 21.70 22.74 25.10 24.35 Split tensile strength (MPa) 2.88 3.02 3.18 3.37 3.54 Modulus of rupture (MPa) 3.25 3.38 3.68 4.07 4.16 Shear strength (MPa) 6.18 6.47 6.81 8.18 8.21 Toughness index (I5) 1.934 2.165 2.109 2.706 2.345 Toughness index (I10) 1.934 2.270 2.773 4.274 3.452

(modulus of elasticity, modulus of rupture and internal bond) and thermal properties of coir-based light weight cement board after 28 days of hydration. The physical and mechanical properties were measured by Japanese Industrial Standard JIS A 5908-1994 and the thermal properties according to JIS R 2618. The parameters studied were bre length, coir pre-treatment and mixture ratio. 6 cm long boiled and washed bres with the optimum cement:bre:water weight ratio of 2:1:2 gave the highest modulus of rupture and internal bond amongst the tested specimens. The board also had a thermal conductivity lower than other commercial ake board composite. Baruah and Talukdar [25] investigated the mechanical properties of plain concrete (PC) and bre reinforced concrete (FRC) with different bre volume fractions ranging from 0.5% to 2%. Steel, synthetic and jute and coconut bres were used. Here, the discussion is limited to the coconut bres reinforced concrete (CFRC) only. The cement:sand:aggregate ratio for plain concrete was 1:1.67:3.64, and the water cement ratio was 0.535. Coconut bres having length of 4 cm and an average diameter of 0.4 mm with volume fraction of 0.5%, 1%, 1.5% and 2% were added to prepare CFRC. The sizes of specimens were (1) 150 mm diameter and 300 mm height for cylinders (2) 150 mm width, 150 mm depth and 700 mm length for beams, and (3) 150 mm cubes having a cut of 90 mm 60 mm in cross-section and 150 mm high for L-shaped shear test specimens. All specimens were cured for 28 days. The compressive strength r, splitting tensile strength (STS), modulus of rupture (MOR) using four point load test and shear strength s, are shown in Table 1 for PC and CFRC. It can be seen that CFRC with 2% bres showed the best overall performance amongst all volume fractions. The compressive strength, splitting tensile strength, modulus of rupture and shear strength of coir bre reinforced concrete with 2% bres by volume fraction were increased up to 13.7%, 22.9%, 28.0% and 32.7%, respectively as compared to those of plain concrete. Their research indicated that all these properties were improved as well for CFRC with other bre volume fractions of 0.5%, 1% and 1.5%. Even for CFRC with small bre volume fraction of 0.5% the corresponding properties were increased up to 1.3%, 4.9%, 4.0% and 4.7%, respectively. Li et al. [26] studied bre volume fraction and bre surface treatment with a wetting agent for coir mesh reinforced mortar using nonwoven coir mesh matting. They performed a four-point bending test and concluded that cementitious composites, reinforced by three layers of coir mesh with a low bre content of 1.8%, resulted in a 40% improvement in the maximum exural strength. The composites were 25 times stronger in exural toughness and about 20 times higher in exural ductility. To the best knowledge of the authors the only research [25] on the static CFRC properties is done with only one coir bre length of 4 cm. With regard to dynamic properties of CFRC, no study has been reported. Dynamic tests had been performed only for concrete reinforced by other bres, e.g. polyolen bres [32] or rubber scrap [33]. To reveal the consequence of bre length for CFRC properties, thorough investigations involving more bre lengths and other parameters are required in order to have reliable insights. To be able to apply CFRC in cheap housing in tropical earthquake

regions, the knowledge of static and dynamic properties of CFRC is necessary. This study is the rst step in lling this knowledge gap. CFRC can be used in blocks, parking pavements to avoid shrinkage cracks. Even it can also be used in normal reinforced concrete to improve its behaviour during earthquake. But it needs to be properly investigated before implementation.
3. Experimental work In this study, bre lengths of 2.5, 5 and 7.5 cm and bre contents of 1%, 2%, 3% and 5% by cements mass are considered to investigate the mechanical and dynamic properties of CFRC. 3.1. Preparation of coconut bres and CFRC Ordinary Portland cement, sand, aggregates, water and imported brown coconut bres were used for preparation of CFRC. The maximum size of aggregates was 12 mm (passing through 12 mm sieve and retained at 10 mm sieve). The mean diameter of coconut bres is 0.25 mm. Since bres were in hydraulic compressed form, preparation of bres into the required length was a time consuming and laborious task. Different approaches were tried to get bres into the required length quickly without much success. Finally, coconut bres were loosed and soaked in tap water for 30 min to soften the bres and to remove coir dust. Fibres were washed and soaked again for 30 min. Washing and soaking were repeated three times. Fibres were then straightened manually and combed with a steel comb. To accelerate drying process, wet long bres were put in an oven at 30 C for 1012 h where for the most part moisture was removed. The bres were then completely dried in the open air, combed again and nally cut into the required length with a guillotine. It may be noted that the precut bres are also commercially available at relatively high cost, as these are prepared for special purposes like brushes, mats etc. This cost can be reduced if bres are mechanically prepared at large scales. 3.2. Mix design For plain concrete, the mix design ratio for cement, sand and aggregates was 1, 2 and 2, respectively with water cement (W/C) ratio of 0.48. The mix design for CFRC was the same as that of plain concrete, except that (1) more water was added (stepwise to avoid bleeding) because of bre addition to make CFRC workable and (2) different lengths and contents of bres were added and the same amount of aggregates was deducted from the total mass of aggregates. All materials were taken by mass of cement. It is well known that the W/C ratio has an inuence on properties of concrete, but compaction is also an important factor. The increased W/C ratios for CFRC were to ensure its proper compaction with workable mix so that the good strength could be achieved. The obtained properties of CFRC with respective W/C ratio can be taken as optimum one, because any addition of water will cause bleeding, ultimately reducing its strength in hardened state. Whereas, reduced W/C ratio can lead to improper compaction, again resulting in less strength. 3.3. Casting procedure A pan type concrete mixer was used in preparing plain concrete. All materials were put in the mixer pan along with the water, and the mixer was rotated for three minutes. The slump test was 50 mm. For preparing CFRC, a layer of coconut bres was spread in the pan, followed by spreading of aggregates, sand and cement. The rst layer of bres was hidden under the dry concrete materials with the help of a spade. Then, another layer of coconut bres followed by layers of aggregates, sand and cement was spread. This process is repeated until the rest materials were put into the mixer pan. Approximately, three quarters of the water (according to a water cement ratio of 0.48 which was the same as that of plain concrete) was added, and the mixer was rotated for 2 min. Then the remaining water was added and the mixer was again rotated for 2 min. All CFRCs were not workable at this stage, so more water was added in small

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(a)
W/C ratio

0.7 0.65 0.6 0.55 0.5 0.45 1%

2.5 cm 7.5 cm

5.0 cm PC

(b)
W/C ratio

0.7 0.65 0.6 0.55 0.5 0.45

1% 5%

2% PC

3%

2%

3%

5%

2.5 cm

5 cm

7.5 cm

Fig. 1. Effect of bre (a) content and (b) length on water cement ratio.

(a) 100
Slump (mm) 70

2.5 cm 7.5 cm

5.0 cm PC

(b) 100
Slump (mm) 70

1% 5%

2% PC

3%

40

40

10 1% 2% 3% 5%

10 2.5 cm 5 cm 7.5 cm
Fig. 2. Inuence of bre (a) content and (b) length on slump. A, B and C (also D, E and F for cylinders splitting tensile strength testing) along with labels depicted the mark of each specimen. All specimens were white washed before testing to enable a clear identication of cracks.

Table 2 Specimens labelling scheme. Fibres (%)a 0 1 2 3 5

a

Fibres length Symbol O A B C D

0 cm O OO

2.5 cm 1 A1 B1 C1 D1

5 cm 2 A2 B2 C2 D2

7.5 cm 3 A3 B3 C3

3.5. Testing procedure 3.5.1. Cylinder and beamlet tests All cylinders were tested in a compression testing machine to determine static modulus of elasticity Estatic, compressive strength r, corresponding strain e, compressive toughness Tc and splitting tensile strength STS. Each cylinder was capped with plaster of Paris for uniform distribution of load before testing of the Estatic, r and Tc. All beamlets were tested in a universal testing machine of capacity 100 kN using 4-point loads to obtain modulus of rupture MOR, corresponding deection D, exural toughness Tf and cracking load PCrack. Cracking load is the load taken by bres and part of concrete after the rst visible crack is produced. 3.5.2. Beam tests The experimental set up for testing beams is shown in Fig. 3. A small impact load PMax-impact was applied three times at mid-span of the beam with the help of a calibrated hammer. The response was recorded by accelerometers, located near to mid-span (Fig. 3a). Then the same beam was put under a static load PMax-static of 1 kN in the universal testing machine. Deection was noted using a linear variable differential transformer (LVDT), and Fig. 4 shows a typical loaddisplacement curves. Again, a small impact load was applied three times and the response was recorded. The static load was increased by 1 kN, followed by the impact load for recording response. This procedure was repeated until the rst crack of beam. The static load before producing the rst crack was taken as the reference for the just before crack stage. Note that the impact load was applied three times to take the average of resulting three values of a particular dynamic property. The magnitude of impact load was kept small so that no additional damage was produced since the goal was to identify the fundamental frequency and damping at different damage stages. Four stages were considered: (i) Uncracked beam [S1], (ii) just before cracking [S2], (iii) cracked beam [S3] and (iv) after cracks occurred following 23 cycles of static load [S4a, S4b and S4c]. Crack development is shown in Fig. 5. Each cycle of loading consists of applying a static load on the cracked beam up to a certain deection and then releasing the load for measuring its dynamic properties.

By mass of cement.

increments to make the CFRC workable. The mixer was rotated for one minute after each increment of water. The water cement (W/C) ratio of CFRC varied from 0.49 to 0.62. It was to make sure that there should not be any bleeding. Finally, the mixer was rotated for three minutes to get CFRC well mix. The effect of bre content and length on W/C ratio of CFRC is shown in Fig. 1. It can be observed that increasing bre content or length results in an increased W/C ratio. The W/C ratio of all CFRCs was more than that of PC. A slump test for PC and CFRC was always performed before pouring it into moulds. The slumps for CFRCs were 1040 mm, but CFRC was workable inspite of this low slump. The slump is usually decreased with increased bre content. The slump of CFRC with 5 cm long bres increased as compared to that with 2.5 cm long bres for all considered bre contents. The slump decreased when the bre length increased from 5 to 7.5 cm. In Fig. 2, the effect of bre content and length on slump is shown. The slump of all CFRCs was less than that of PC. CFRC was poured into the moulds and the moulds were lifted up to a height of approximately 200300 mm and then dropped to the oor for self compaction of the bre concrete and to remove air voids from CFRC. All specimens were cured for 28 days before testing. 3.4. Specimens Cylinders 100 mm in diameter and 200 mm in height and beamlets 100 mm wide, 100 mm deep and 500 mm long were prepared for PC and CFRC. Beams with the dimensions of 100 mm width, 100 mm depth and 915 mm length, were prepared only for CFRC, because PC beams broke during demoulding. Cylinders and beamlets were used for material properties while beams were used to determine the fundamental frequency, damping ratio and dynamic modulus of elasticity. A set of three samples for each particular test was produced. A total of 6 cylinders, 3 beamlets and 3 beams were prepared for one combination of a particular length and bre content. Table 2 shows the specimens labelling scheme. In total 72 cylinders, 36 beamlets and 11 beams were tested.

4. Mechanical properties 4.1. Static modulus of elasticity Estatic Estatic is calculated as the ratio of stress change to strain change in the elastic range. Stressstrain curves of PC and CFRC with 5% and 5 cm long bres are shown in Fig. 6a. Stressstrain relationship

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Fig. 3. Experimental set up for dynamic tests (a) applying hit with calibrated hammer at mid-span and (b) introducing damage by four-point static loading.

5 4 Load (kN) 3 2 1 0 0.0 Just before crack [S2]

At cracking [S3] Load (kN)

1.0

Cycle 1 [S4a]

After cracks

0.5

Cycle 2 [S4b] Cycle 3 [S4c]

0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 Displacement (mm)

1.0

0.0 0 2 4 6 8 Displacement (mm) 10

Fig. 4. Typical load displacement curves at different damage stages of CFRC beams.

At cracking [S3]

After crack - cycle 1 [S4a]

Fig. 5. Crack development.

After crack - cycle 2 [S4b]

for each sample shows the average of strain readings taken by two LVDTs attached to the specimens. Crushed PC and CFRC cylinder specimens with bre content 5% and 5 cm long bres for determining Estatic and r are shown in Fig. 6b. It can be noted that the spalling of concrete is observed in case of PC cylinders, whereas only crack are produced for CFRC cylinders. Fig. 7 shows the inuence of bre content and length on Estatic. The solid straight line is Estatic of PC. Estatic of CFRCs decreased with increasing bre content and length. However, Estatic of CFRC having 2.5 cm long bres with increasing bre contents showed a different trend, i.e. it rst increased and then decreased (Fig. 7a), and these values were higher than that of PC. Compared to PC value, an addition of bres caused about 15% increase or decrease of Estatic of CFRC. The following simple equation is developed for estimating static modulus of elasticity in GPa:

values can be taken from Table 3. The percentage error in Estatic with Eq. (1) is less than one percent (Table 5). 4.2. Compressive strength r The maximum stress value of stressstrain curves is taken as compressive strength r. Fig. 8 shows the inuence of bre content and length on r. The straight line is r of PC. r decreased with higher bre content, however it rst increased and then decreased with longer bres. Because of bres, r can increase up to 24%. Compared to that of PC, in most cases, r increases. Only with 7.5 cm long bres having 2% or 3% bre content, r is less than that of PC. This may be caused by creation of air voids because of long bres with relatively high bre content. 4.3. Compressive toughness Tc Tc is calculated as the total area under the stressstrain curve. Other researchers have taken it as area after the maximum stress up to 1% strain [34]. Fig. 9 shows the effect of bre content and

Estatic X s Y s c Z s c2

where c is bre content parameter of the values of 0, 1, 2, 3 or 5 and Xs, Ys and Zs are constants corresponding to bre length Lf. The

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40 Stress (MPa) 30 20 10 0 0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 Strain (%) 2.0

(b) Tested cylinders for Estatic and

CFRC PC

(a) Stress-strain curves for Estatic

Fig. 6. Compressive test.

(a)
E static (GPa)

45 40 35 30 25 1%

2.5 cm 7.5 cm

5.0 cm PC

(b)
E static (GPa)

45 40 35 30 25

1% 5%

2% PC

3%

2%

3%

5%

2.5 cm

5 cm

7.5 cm

Fig. 7. Inuence of bre (a) content and (b) length on static modulus of elasticity Estatic.

Table 3 Constants for static modulus of elasticity Estatic. Fibre length Lf 2.5 5 7.5 Constants Xs 33 32.6 34 33 Ys 0 2.2 1 3.6 Zs 0 0.37 0 0.66

Fig. 11 shows the inuence of bre content and length on STS of CFRC. The solid straight line is STS of PC. STS decreases with higher bre content, however it rst increases and then slightly reduces with increasing bre length. In the case of 1% long bres, STS is kept on increasing with the length of bre (Fig. 11b). Compared to the STS of PC, an addition of bres can increase or decrease the splitting tensile strength up to 11%. 4.5. Modulus of rupture MOR Fig. 12a displays the loaddisplacement curves of PC and CFRC with 5% and 5 cm long bres. The maximum load from these curves is taken for the calculation of MOR. PC beams were broken into two pieces at maximum load (Fig. 12b). However, CFRC beams were held together even after maximum load (Fig. 12c). Fig. 12d shows the cross-section of a CFRC beam. CFRC beams were intentionally broken into two halves to observe bre failure. Two types of bre failure were observed: (i) bre breaking and (ii) bre pull-out. More pull-out bres were observed with higher bre content, whereas this pull-out was decreased as expected with increasing bre length. Fig. 13 displays the inuence of bre content and length on MOR. The solid line is MOR of PC. With higher bre content and longer bre MOR increases. However, MOR of PC beams is mostly higher than that of CFRC beams. Compared to PC value MOR of CFRC with 5% bre content and 5 cm long bres increased slightly up to 4%. 4.6. Flexural toughness Flexural toughness is measured as the total toughness index (TTI). It is the ratio of area under loaddisplacement curve up to maximum deection to the area under curve up to rst-crack load. In Fig. 12a it is the ratio of area under curve up to 18 mm deection to area under curve up to 1.5 mm deection. Usually, toughness index is taken as the area under the curve up to 3, 5.5 or 10.5 times

Table 4 Constants for dynamic modulus of elasticity Edynamic. Fibre length Lf 2.5 5 7.5 Constants Xd 39.2 37 29.7 Yd 0 2.6 2.4 Zd 0.28 0.14 0.86

length on Tc. The solid straight line indicates Tc of PC. Compressive toughness increased with higher bre content. CFRC with 5% bre content and 5 cm long bres has the highest toughness of 0.32 MPa. 4.4. Splitting tensile strength STS Load-time histories, obtained during STS tests of PC and CFRC with 5% and 5 cm long bres, are shown in Fig. 10a. The maximum load from these curves is taken for the calculation of STS. PC cylinders were broken into two halves at maximum load, while CFRC cylinders were held together after cracks and even when the test was continued up to more than 800 s for all CFRC cylinders in order to observe the post peak load behaviour. The two pieces were held together up to the end of the test. One of the tested PC and CFRC cylinder specimens are shown in Fig. 10b.

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(a) 50
45 (MPa) 40 35 30 1%

2.5 cm 7.5 cm

5.0 cm PC

(b) 50
45 (MPa) 40 35 30

1% 5%

2% PC

3%

2%

3%

5%

2.5 cm

5 cm

7.5 cm

Fig. 8. Inuence of bre (a) content and (b) length on compressive strength r.

(a)
Tc (MPa)

0.4 0.35 0.3 0.25 0.2 1%

2.5 cm 7.5 cm

5.0 cm PC

(b)
Tc (MPa)

0.4 0.35 0.3 0.25 0.2

1% 5%

2% PC

3%

2%

3%

5%

2.5 cm

5 cm

7.5 cm

Fig. 9. Inuence of bre (a) content and (b) length on compressive toughness Tc.

Fig. 10. Splitting test.

(a)
STS (MPa)

5 4.5 4 3.5 3 1%

2.5 cm 7.5 cm

5.0 cm PC

(b)
STS (MPa)

5 4.5 4 3.5 3

1% 5%

2% PC

3%

2%

3%

5%

2.5 cm

5 cm

7.5 cm

Fig. 11. Inuence of bre (a) content and (b) length on splitting tensile strength STS.

the rst-crack deection to area under curve at rst-crack deection, and they are donated as I5, I10 and I15, respectively [35]. Fig. 14 shows the effect of bre content and length on TTI. The solid straight line is TTI of PC. TTI increases with higher bre content (Fig. 14a). As far as bre length is concerned for bre content of 1%, 2% and 3%, TTI increases a little when bre length changes from 2.5 to 5 cm and then it decreases slightly when bre length

increases to 7.5 cm (Fig. 14b). The possible reason can be explained as follows: (i) when bre length is 2.5 cm, more bres are available for bridging the crack, however a shorter bre embedment results in pull-out of bres; (ii) when bre length is 5 cm, relatively less number of bres is available but sufcient embedment length is there to hold the cracks. This results in a higher TTI as compared to that with 2.5 cm long bres; (iii) when bre length is 7.5 cm,

M. Ali et al. / Construction and Building Materials 30 (2012) 814825 Table 5 Comparison of modulus of elasticity. Concrete Fibre content (%) Modulus of elasticity (GPa) Edynamic Experimental A PC CFRC (2.5 cm) 1 2 3 5 1 2 3 5 1 2 3 38.56 38.80 35.96 32.12 34.46 32.38 30.31 27.37 31.25 31.11 29.24 Eq. (1) B 38.92 38.08 36.68 32.2 34.54 32.36 30.46 27.5 31.24 31.06 29.16 % Difference (A and B) C 0.94 1.86 1.99 0.25 0.24 0.05 0.50 0.47 0.05 0.15 0.26 Estatic Experimental D 33.10 35.85 37.85 37.55 34.32 32.94 32.15 31.02 29.28 30.80 29.69 29.31 Eq. (2) E 33.00 35.94 37.56 37.86 34.50 33.00 32.00 31.00 29.00 30.77 29.68 29.33 % Difference (D and E) F 0.30 0.25 0.77 0.83 0.52 0.18 0.47 0.06 0.96 0.10 0.03 0.07 7.0 2.5 4.4 6.8 4.4 0.7 2.3 7.0 1.5 4.6 0.3

821

% Difference (A and D)

CFRC (5 cm)

CFRC (7.5 cm)

12

Load (kN)

8 4 0 0

PC
5

CFRC
10 15 20

Displacement (mm)
(a) Load-displacement curves for MOR (b) Tested PC beam

(c) Tested CFRC beam

(d) Cross-section of a tested CFRC beam

Fig. 12. Beamlet test.

(a)
MOR (MPa)

5 4.5 4 3.5 3 1%

2.5 cm 7.5 cm

5.0 cm PC

(b)
MOR (MPa)

5 4.5 4 3.5 3

1% 5%

2% PC

3%

2%

3%

5%

2.5 cm

5 cm

7.5 cm

Fig. 13. Inuence of bre (a) content and (b) length on modulus of rupture MOR.

number of bres are further reduced resulting in a lower TTI as compared to that with 5 cm long bres. CFRC with 5% bre content and 5 cm long bres has the highest toughness index of 10.1.

4.7. Density Fig. 15 shows the effect of bre content and length on the density of CFRC. The solid straight line indicates the PC density.

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M. Ali et al. / Construction and Building Materials 30 (2012) 814825

(a) 12
9 TTI (-) 6 3 0 1%

2.5 cm 7.5 cm

5.0 cm PC

(b) 12
9 TTI (-) 6 3 0

1% 5%

2% PC

3%

2%

3%

5%

2.5 cm

5 cm

7.5 cm

Fig. 14. Inuence of bre (a) content and (b) length on total toughness index TTI.

(a)
Density (kg/m3)

2400 2350 2300 2250 2200 1%

2.5 cm 7.5 cm

5.0 cm PC

(b)
Density (kg/m3)

2400 2350 2300 2250 2200

1% 5%

2% PC

3%

2%

3%

5%

2.5 cm

5 cm

7.5 cm

Fig. 15. Inuence of bre (a) content and (b) length on density.

As expected, the density of CFRC decreased with higher bre content and increased with shorter bre length. In general, the density of CFRC decreased up to 4% as compared to that of PC. A smaller density is signicant since less inertia forces will be activated in earthquakes and thus smaller structural dimension is required to withstand the reduced earthquake impact. 5. Dynamic properties 5.1. Damping ratio n and fundamental frequency f Four damage stages were considered: (i) uncracked beam [S1], (ii) just before cracking [S2], (iii) cracked beam [S3] and (iv) after cracks occurred following some cycles of static load [S4a, S4b and S4c]. Typical recorded acceleration time-histories at stages S1, S3 and S4b are shown in Fig. 16. A logarithmic decrement is used for calculating the damping ratio of simply supported CFRC beams. f is calculated from the period of the recorded acceleration time histories. n of CFRC beams increased and f decreased with the formation of cracks. The effect of bre content on n and f is displayed in Fig. 17 for CFRC beams having a bre length of 7.5 cm at different damage stages. CFRC beam with 3% bre content has the highest damping and the lowest fundamental frequency in an uncracked

and cracked stage as compared to that of CFRC beams with bre contents of 1% and 2%. The effect of bre content and length on the dynamic properties of CFRC beams before and after cracks is shown in Fig. 18. As expected, compared to the properties at a damaged stage, the bre effect on the dynamic properties before damage is not so pronounced. However, after cracking n increases and f decreases considerably. 5.2. Dynamic modulus of elasticity Edynamic Fundamental frequency is used to dene the actual beam dynamic Youngs modulus Edynamic (Zheng et al. [33]). Fig. 19 shows a comparison of Edynamic of CFRC for considered parameters. It decreases with increasing bre content and length. The following empirical equation is developed to predict dynamic modulus of elasticity in GPa:

Edynamic X d Y d c Z d c2

where c is bre content (0, 1, 2, 3 or 5) and Xd, Yd and Zd are constants corresponding to bre length Lf. The values are given in Table 4. The percentage error in Edynamic with Eq. (2) is less than 2% (Table 5).

Vertical acceleration (g)

Vertical acceleration (g)

1 0 -1

Vertical acceleration (g)

0.1 Time (sec)

0.2

-1

0.1 Time (sec)

0.2

-1

0.1 Time (sec)

0.2

(a) Uncracked beam [S1]

(b) Cracked beam [S3]

(c) After crack - cycle 2 [S4b]

Fig. 16. Typical recorded acceleration time histories of CFRC beam.

M. Ali et al. / Construction and Building Materials 30 (2012) 814825

823

1%

2%

3%

15 10 5 0 S1 S2 S3 S4a S4b S4c S4d

Fundamental frequency (Hz)

20

150

1%

2%

3%

Damping ratio (%)

100

50

0 S1 S2 S3 S4a S4b S4c S4d

(a) Damping ratio

(b) Fundamental frequency

Fig. 17. Effect of bre content on dynamic properties of CFRC beam with 7.5 cm long bres at different damage stages.

(a)
Damping ratio (uncracked beam)

18 15

2.5 cm 7.5 cm

5.0 cm

(b)

18 15

1% 3%

2% 5%

(%)

(%) 1% 2%
2.5 cm 7.5 cm

12 9 6 3 3% 5%
5.0 cm

12 9 6 3 2.5 cm
18 15 1% 3%

5 cm

7.5 cm
2% 5%

18

Damping ratio (cracked beam)

15 (%) 12 9 6 3 1%

(%) 2% 2.5 cm 7.5 cm 3% 5% 5.0 cm

12 9 6 3 2.5 cm 175 150 1% 3% 5 cm 7.5 cm 2% 5%

Fundamental frequency (uncracked beam)

175 150 f (Hz)

f (Hz) 1% 2% 2.5 cm 7.5 cm 3% 5% 5.0 cm

125 100 75

125 100 75 2.5 cm 175 150 1% 3% 5 cm 7.5 cm 2% 5%

Fundamental frequency (cracked beam)

175 150 f (Hz)

f (Hz) 1% 2% 3% 5%

125 100 75

125 100 75 2.5 cm 5 cm 7.5 cm

Fibre content

Fibre length

Fig. 18. Inuence of bre (a) content and (b) length on dynamic properties of CFRC beams.

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M. Ali et al. / Construction and Building Materials 30 (2012) 814825

(a)
E dynamic (GPa)

45 40 35 30 25 1%

2.5 cm 7.5 cm

5.0 cm

(b)
E dynamic (GPa)

45 40 35 30 25

1% 3%

2% 5%

2%

3%

5%

2.5 cm

5 cm

7.5 cm

Fig. 19. Inuence of bre (a) content and (b) length on dynamic modulus of elasticity Edynamic.

Table 6 Consequence of CFRC for mechanical properties. Concrete type PC CFRCs with minimum values CFRCs With maximum values Recommended CFRC Estatic (GPa)

r (MPa)

STS (MPa) 3.82 3.42 (5%, 2.5 cm) 4.27 (1%, 7.5 cm) 3.74

MOR (MPa) 4.34 3.41 (1%, 2.5 cm) 4.51 (3%, 7.5 cm) 4.43

Density (kg/m3) 2338 2242 (5%, 5 cm) 2298 (1%, 2.5 cm) 2242

Tc (MPa) 0.265 0.23 (1%, 5 cm) 0.32 (5%, 5 cm) 0.32

TTI () 1 3.21 (1%, 2.5 cm) 10.1 (5%, 5 cm) 10.1

33.1 34.7 29.38 (5%, 5 cm) 31.3 (3%, 7.5 cm) 37.8 (2%, 2.5 cm) 43.2 (1%, 5 cm) 29.38 36.1 (5% bre content, 5 cm long bres)

Table 7 Consequence of CFRC for dynamic properties. Concrete type Uncracked CFRC beams n (%) PC CFRCs with minimum values CFRCs with maximum values Recommended CFRC f (Hz) Cracked CFRC beams n (%) 5.8 (1%, 2.5 cm) 14.1 (5%, 5 cm) 14.1 f (Hz) 84.3 (5%, 5 cm) 120.4 (1%, 2.5 cm) 84 27.4 (5%, 5.0 cm) 38.8 (2%, 2.5 cm) 27.4 33.1 29.3 (5%, 5 cm) 37.9 (2%, 2.5 cm) 29.3 Edynamic (GPa) Estatic (GPa)

2.5 (1%, 2.5 cm) 109.3 (5%, 5 cm) 6.9 (5%, 5 cm) 145.2 (1%, 2.5 cm) 6.9 109.3 (5% bre content and 5 cm long bres)

6. CFRC with best overall properties Tables 6 and 7 summarise all static and dynamic results, respectively. The maximum values of different properties are generated with different combinations of bre lengths and contents as can be observed from the tables. Since the CFRC is prepared with a particular bre length and content, therefore that combination for CFRC should be selected, for which most properties are better than the plain concrete and the CFRC with other bre lengths and contents. From the obtained results, CFRC with bres length of 5 cm and 5% bre content has the best overall properties. By using bres in concrete the compressive strength, compressive toughness, modulus of rupture and total toughness index can be increased from 34.7 MPa, 0.265 MPa, 4.34 MPa and 1 to 36.1 MPa, 0.32 MPa, 4.43 MPa and 10.1, respectively. It also has the highest damping. At damaged stage the damping is approximately more than twice than that in uncracked stage. 7. Conclusions Experiments have been performed to investigate the mechanical and dynamic properties of coconut bre reinforced concrete (CFRC). The mechanical properties are static modulus of elasticity Estatic, compressive strength r, compressive toughness Tc, splitting tensile strength STS, modulus of rupture MOR, total toughness index TTI and density. These properties are also compared with those of plain concrete. The dynamic properties are damping ratio n, fundamental frequency f and dynamic modulus of elasticity Edynamic of CFRC beams. The considered bre lengths are 2.5, 5 and 7.5 cm and the bre contents are 1%, 2% and 3% for all bre lengths, and 5% for

2.5 and 5 cm long bres. Three specimens of CFRC are tested for each combination of bres to get reliable average results. The static investigation reveals:  The properties can increase or decrease depending on bre length and content, and CFRC strengths can be greater or smaller than that of plain concrete.  The testing conrmed that coconut bres in concrete can improve its exural toughness considerably for all considered cases.  The CFRC with 5 cm long bres having 5% bre content has an increased r, Tc, MOR and TTI up to 4%, 21%, 2% and 910%, respectively, and decreased Estatic, STS and density up to 6%, 2% and 3%, respectively, as compared to that of plain concrete. The dynamic tests show that:  Damping of CFRC beams has, as expected, growing and the fundamental frequency has declining trend with increasing damage.  The increase of bre content has resulted in a higher damping ratio and a lower fundamental frequency. The change is more pronounced after cracking.  CFRC beams with 5 cm long bres have higher damping as compared to those with other bre lengths. It can be clearly observed in cracked beams.  The static and dynamic modulus of elasticity decreases with an increase in bre content or bre length.  From the considered cases, CFRC with 5 cm long bres and 5% bre content has the best overall mechanical and dynamic properties.

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 Only 7% difference is observed in static and dynamic modulus of elasticity. This small difference indicates that non-destructive modal testing may be used to determine modulus of elasticity of built members. It is important to note that the free vibration testing of the uncracked CFRC beams gives some idea of changes in material damping due to the introduction in bres, but these measurements are for low amplitude excitations and behaviours would likely be different during a seismic event. Therefore, further research on conguration and behaviour of CFRC structures under earthquake loading is necessary. Acknowledgements The authors would like to thank all persons who helped them throughout the research, particularly Mark Byrami, Noel Perinpanayagam, Claudio Oyarzo-Vera and Golden Bay Cement and Winstone Aggregates for support of this research. The careful review and constructive suggestions by the anonymous reviewers are gratefully acknowledged. The rst and last authors also wish to thank Pakistan Higher Education Commission for supporting the PhD study of the rst author at the University of Auckland. References
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