Engineering Properties and Impact Resistance of Kenaf and Rice Straw Fibres Reinforced Concrete
Engineering Properties and Impact Resistance of Kenaf and Rice Straw Fibres Reinforced Concrete
https://dx.doi.org/10.17576/jkukm-2018-si1(5)-10
Engineering Properties and Impact Resistance of Kenaf and Rice Straw Fibres
Reinforced Concrete
(Sifat-Sifat Kejuruteraan dan Rintangan Hentaman Konkrit Bertetulang Gentian Kenaf dan Jerami Padi)
Muhammad Zulhamdi Abdul Muloka,, Amirul Anwar Mohd Solonga, Wan Nur Ain Nabila Wan Mat Alia, Roszilah Hamida,b*
a
Civil Engineering Programme,
b
Smart and Sustainable Township Research Centre (SUTRA),
Faculty of Engineering & Built Environment, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi, Malaysia
Mudiono Kasmuric
Program Sarjana Teknik Sipil, Universitas Bina Darma,
c
Jalan Jendral Ahmad Yani No. 3, 9/10 Ulu, Seberang, Kota Palembang, Sumatera Selatan 30264, Indonesia
ABSTRACT
Natural fibre reinforced concrete (NFRC) has been a subject of interest for research in the past few decades due to the many
advantages of natural fibres such as abundantly available, lightweight, cheap, diverse and as reinforcement in composite,
provide great energy absorption and good impact resistance to the composite. The purpose of this paper is to study the
engineering properties (workability, compressive, flexural and split tensile strengths, and impact resistance of NFRC,
particularly kenaf (K) and rice straw (RS) fibres. Both fibres are investigated to determine feasibility of using abundant
waste (RS) instead of kenaf (planted) as natural fibre reinforcement in concrete for impact resistance application such as roof
tiles. Samples consist of untreated kenaf and rice straw fibres, with different percentages by volume of cement (0, 1, 1.5, 2,
3, 4 and 5%), as concrete reinforcement. The slump, compressive, flexural, split tensile strengths, and impact resistance are
determined in accordance to BS, ASTM and ACI codes of practice. Results show that, due to high rate of water absorption of
rice straw fibre, reduction in workability and compressive strength of RSFRC can be observed compared to KFRC. Increasing
the volume of RS fibre leads to high volumes of entrapped air after curing process, resulting in decrease of concrete strength.
However, addition of both fibres as reinforcement, enhanced the flexural, split tensile and impact resistance of concrete at
up to a certain volume fraction of fibres. The energy absorption of RAFRC at 2% is superior compared to other fibres, except
only coir and exhibit better performance in resisting impact even though kenaf has superior properties compared to RA due
to its higher ductility compared to kenaf.
Keywords: Natural fibre reinforced concrete; kenaf; rice straw; mechanical properties; impact resistance
ABSTRAK
Konkrit bertetulang gentian semula jadi (NFRC) telah menjadi subjek penyelidikan yang paling menarik minat penyelidik
sejak beberapa dekad yang lalu kerana gentian semula jadi boleh diperolehi dari sumber yang tidak terhad, ringan,
murah, berkepelbagaian, bertindak sebagai penyerapan tenaga yang hebat dan mempunyai rintangan hentaman yang
baik berbanding konkrit biasa. Tujuan kajian ini adalah untuk membandingkan sifat-sifat kejuruteraan NFRC seperti
kebolehkerjaan, kekuatan mampatan, lenturan dan tegangan belah, dan ketahanan hentaman NFRC, iaitu yang mengandungi
gentian kenaf (KFRC) dan jerami padi (RSFRC). Sampel konkrit bergentian terdiri daripada kenaf dan jerami padi yang tidak
dirawat sebagai tetulang gentian konkrit, dengan peratusan isi padu berbeza berdasarkan berat simen (0, 1, 1.5, 2, 3, 4
dan 5%). Ujian kebolehkerjaan, kekuatan mampatan, kekuatan lenturan, kekuatan tegangan belah, dan ujian ketahanan
hentaman dijalankan mengikut amalan kod BS dan ASTM. Keputusan menunjukkan bahawa disebabkan gentian jerami padi
mempunyai kadar penyerapan air yang tinggi, dengan peningkatan isi padu gentian jerami padi, lebih banyak lompang
terhasil selepas proses pengawetan. Oleh itu, penurunan kebolehkerjaan dan kekuatan konkrit dapat dilihat bagi sampel
konkrit bergentian jerami padi berbanding kenaf. Penambahan kandungan gentian jerami padi telah menyebabkan kandungan
udara terperangkap yang tinggi yang telah merendahkan kekuatan konkrit. Walau bagaimanapun, penambahan tetulang
gentian semula jadi telah meningkatkan kekuatan lenturan, tegangan belah dan rintangan hentaman konkrit bergentian
semula jadi ini sehingga satu peratus isi padu gentian tertentu. Tenaga penyerapan RAFRC pada kandungan gentian 2%
adalah tertinggi berbanding lain lain gentian, kecuali gentian sabut kelapa. RSFRC juga menunjukkan prestasi tinggi dalam
rintangan hentaman walaupun gentian kenaf mempunyai sifat sifat mekanik yang jauh lebih baik dari jerami padi disebabkan
kemuluran gentian jerami padi yang tinggi.
Kata kunci: Konkrit bertetulang gentian semula jadi; kenaf; jerami; sifat-sifat mekanikal; ketahanan hentaman
72
INTRODUCTION fibre, low in tensile strength but high in ductility. The high
percentage of elongation (ductile property) of RS fibre at
The most noticeable setback characteristics of plain concrete breaking may contribute to the impact resistance compared
(PC) are brittle and weak in tension. The use of fibres to to kenaf.
improve the tensile and flexural characteristics of construction
materials can be traced back to earlier civilization. This TABLE 1. Physical properties of rice straw and kenaf fibre
includes early applications such as straw-reinforced into mud
bricks, asbestos used in pottery and horse hair reinforced into Properties Rice straw Kenaf
plaster. The use of steel reinforcement in concrete contributes
to strength and ductility, but it requires skilled labour, and Density (kg/m3) 30-40 1040
the materials are expensive. Alternatively, introduction of Elastic Modulus (GPa) 26 136 ± 25
Tensile Strength (MPa) 450 1000 ± 0.25
fibre reinforcement in discrete form has provided a better
Ductility (%) 2.2 0.93-1.18
solution. Modern development of fibre reinforced concrete
Water Absorption (%) 310-400 307
(FRC) started in the early 1960s. More lightweight synthetic Reference Reddy & Yang Millogo et al.
and ductile fibre such as glass fibre were developed. However, (2006) (2015)
production of synthetic fibres are costly and consume high
energy in their productions. In substitution for synthetic fibre,
natural fibres were introduced. With almost similar properties In this paper, the workability, mechanical properties,
as synthetic fibre, but cheap, and nature-friendly. Vast impact resistance, and energy absorption of KF and rice straw
researches were conducted to utilize natural fibre as concrete fibres (RSF) reinforced concrete are investigated, and are
reinforcement. Concrete added with fibres, makes it an compared with other natural fibres RC (NFRC) from previous
isotropic and homogeneous material. When concrete cracks, researches.
the randomly oriented fibres arrest the crack formation and
propagation, thus improve ductility and strength. Generally, METHODOLOGY
FRC failure modes consist of both bond failure between fibres
and matrix or material failure.
Raw Materials
Al-Oraimi and Seibi (1995) investigated palm leaves
fibres reinforced concrete and compared with glass fibres KF of grade V36 was supplied by Kenaf and Tobacco Industrial
RC to study both impact resistance properties. They observed Board (LKTN) and planted in Pahang, Malaysia. After 1-3 days
that palm leaves fibres enhanced the mechanical properties from harvest, kenaf plants undergo a water retting process for
and impact resistance of concrete and exhibit comparable approximately 14 days to separate the skin from their stalks
response to the glass fibres. Ramakrishna and Sundararajan and later, cleaned with tap water and dried under the hot sun.
(2005) studied the concrete impact resistance with some After harvesting, rice straw are accumulated, left sun-dried
natural fibres such as coir, sisal, jute and hibiscus cannebinus in the field and later compacted and tied to be transported
(kenaf). The study found that the coir fibre reinforced concrete to RSF products. Both raw fibres were untreated and in dry
has the highest absorbed energy compared to the sisal, jute condition. Kenaf and rice straw were cut into 20 to 40 mm
and kenaf. Udoeyo and Adetifa (2012) had studied the impact and 15 to 40 mm length, respectively.
resistance of concrete kenaf cores with different fibre lengths.
The results show that by increasing the percentage of kenaf Mix Detail and Sample Preparations
fibre (KF) in the concrete, the absorbed energy decreased. In
addition, the optimum fibre length for high energy absorption Sieve analysis was carried out before hands to obtain the
is 40 mm. particle size distribution of granular materials. Preparations
Cement-based composites reinforced by cellulosic fibres of all mixing batches are carried out carefully to achieve
isolated from rice straw and bamboo showed a remarkable the required quality of final matrix, both PC and FRC. The
improvement in the mechanical properties, the flexural FRC is normal strength concrete between 20 to 30 MPa while
strength and the fracture toughness with increment of 24.3% kenaf and rice straw act as fibrous reinforcement materials.
and 45 times, respectively in the optimal sample. The bulk Water per cement ratio for both FRCs were varies from 0.5
density of the composites decreased by 12.4–37.3% as a result to 0.6 based on design and calculation of water addition
of the introduction of cellulosic fibres (Xie et al. 2015). The during mixing. The concrete mixes for kenaf and rice straw
large enhancement of impact resistance of FRC compared to were of 1: 2.6: 2.8 for mixes with kenaf, and 1: 2.3: 3.5 for
PC has been reported either by incorporating synthetic fibre: mixes with RS, cement: fine aggregate: coarse aggregate,
polypropylene (PP) (Al-Rousan 2018); steel and PP or natural correspondingly. Mix design is based on DoE UK. Detailed
fibre (coir) (Al-Masoodi et al. 2016) and sisal (Pereira et al. mix design proportion is as shown in Table 2.
2015). They had shown that, natural fibre effect on impact For all mixes, ordinary Portland cement Type 1, fine sand
resistance is at par with synthetic and steel fibres. with maximum size of 4.75 mm, and coarse aggregate with
Based on Table 1, kenaf fibre has higher tensile strength 20 mm maximum size were used (ASTM C136 / C136M - 14
and modulus of elasticity but low in ductility while RS Standard Test Method for Sieve Analysis of Fine and Coarse
73
Aggregates). The strands of kenaf and straw with length of Mechanical Properties
20 to 40 mm and 15 to 40 mm, respectively were added by
percentage of volume in multiples of 0.5%, from 1% up to Compressive Strength Test
2% for kenaf and for rice straw, ranging from 1% up to 5%.
Both fibres were randomly distributed. The compressive strength of concrete was determined using
compression machine in accordance with BS 1881: 116
TABLE 2. Detail concrete mix design (Testing concrete: Method for determination of compressive
strength of concrete cubes) codes of practice. Each value
Coarse Fine represented the average of three samples.
Sample Water Cement Fibre aggregate aggregate
(kg/m3) (kg/m3) (kg/m3) (kg/m3) (kg/m3)
Flexural Strength Test
K0% 190 352 Kenaf - 992 916 The flexural strength was determined using third-point
K1% 193 352 6.37 992 916
flexural test in accordance with BS 1881:118 (Testing
K1.5% 196 352 9.37 992 916
K2% 199 352 12.74 992 916
concrete: Method for determination of flexural strength)
codes of practice. Each value represented the average of
RS0% 190 317 RS - 1118 745 three samples.
RS2% 192 317 6.6 1118 745
RS3% 193 317 9.9 1118 745
Split Tensile Strength Test
RS4% 194 317 13.2 1118 745
RS5% 195 317 16.5 1118 745 The split tensile strength was determined using compression
machine in accordance to BS 1881: 117 (Testing concrete:
The mixing of concrete was standardised as follows: Method for determination of tensile splitting strength) codes
First, all the dry ingredients were mixed into the concrete of practice. Each value represented the average of three
mixer for one minute without the fibres. Then, water was samples.
added during the next two minutes to achieve consistency
of wet concrete. Finally, the fibres were then added in small Impact Resistance and Energy Absorption Test
increments, by sprinkling them onto the surface of the mix
until all the fibres had been mixed well into the matrix. This The impact resistance and energy absorption are determined
technique was performed to prevent ‘balling’ phenomenon from drop-weight impact test in accordance with ACI 544.2R-
or fibres interlocking. 89 codes of practice technique. Each value represented single
Generally, for each mixing batch of concrete, it contained sample. The concrete samples were Ø100 mm × H200 mm
specimens of cube, beam and cylinder. For each specimen, it cylinders. Prior to testing, the samples were taken out of the
consisted of 3 samples for 7 days and 28 days testing. Every water tank and were dried first. The weight of the steel ball
mixing batches consisted of 6 beams (100 ×100 × 500 mm3), was 2.175 kg and was set at 240 cm high from the floor before
6 cylinders (150 mm in diameter (Ø) × 300 mm in length), being released to fall freely by gravity. Concrete sample was
6 cylinders (100 mm in Ø × 200 mm in length) and 6 cubes placed on the floor in the baseplate. The readings were taken
(150 × 150 × 150 mm3). for the number of impacts required to crack the sample. The
A total of 180 concrete specimens consisted of beams, hammer was dropped repeatedly, and the number of blows
cubes and cylinders were produced for this study. All required to cause the first visible crack on the top and to
specimens were compacted by vibrating table, cured under cause ultimate failure were both recorded. Ultimate failure is
water for 7 and 28 days, and tested at room temperature at defined as the opening of cracks in the specimen sufficiently
7 and 28 days. so that the pieces of concrete are touching three of the four
positioning lugs on the baseplate. The energy absorption is
calculated using Equation 1, given as:
Experimental Procedure
E = mg(H1– H2)n (1)
Workability
where:
The workability of fresh concrete mixes for each mix batch m = weight of steel ball
was determined using slump cone apparatus in accordance to g = force of gravity
BS 1881:102 (Testing concrete: Method for determination of H1 = height of steel ball
slump) codes of practice. Each value represented the slump H2 = sample height
of each mix batch. n = the number of impacts
74
CONCLUSION
Acknowledgement
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