Analysis of physical and mechanical characteristics of tropical natural fibers for their use in civil engineering applications

ABSTRACT
Natural fibers investigated in this study are mainly waste from agro industry.
The importance of natural fibers in building composites is increasing, as they
partially replace nonrenewable natural resources acting as reinforcement in
composite materials such as concrete, mortar and earth bricks. Their recycling
requires a detailed analysis of the physical, chemical, and mechanical
characteristics of the fibers. In this study, tropical natural fibers i.e., palm oil
flower fibers (POFL), palm oil fruit fibers (POFR), sugarcane bagasse (Sc),
coconut coir (Cn), and banana spine (Bs) were investigated, and their characteristics
such as cross-section, density, water absorption, thermogravimetry,
chemical composition, and tensile strength of fibers were determined.
The area of these fibers ranges from 0.03 mm2 to 0.07 mm2. POFL fibers have
highest density (1.36 g/cm3), while Cn fibers have lowest density (0.79 g/
cm3). Chemical composition of fibers shows that cellulose content of tropical
fibers ranges from 37–54%, followed by hemicellulose 5–27%, and lignin and
cutins content 5–25%. Mechanical characteristics of tropical fibers show that
tensile strength of these fibers fluctuates between 119–347 MPa. Tensile
load-deflection behavior of Cn, Bs, POFL, and POFR fibers is elastoplastic
with hardening, while the behavior of Sc fibers is pseudo elastic.