ABSTRACT
The most important properties of materials used in construction are their strength and durability. Natural fibers appear to be prospective reinforcing materials in the matrix. This experimental investigation looks into the possibility of using organic natural fibers as reinforcement in thin concrete sheets because natural fibers are inexpensive and easily available in developing countries. The constituent materials are sisal fibers, sand, rice husk ash and cement. The main parameters are the fiber-cement ratio, unit weight and fiber length. The water-cement ratio and aggregate-cement ratio by weight are kept constant. The cementitious material contains 70% of Ordinary Portland Cement and 30% of rice husk ash by weight. Test results indicated that the optimum mix of the composite was a mix having 1 cm fiber length with fiber-cement ratio of 0.160 by weight and unit weight of 2150 kg/m3. This optimum mix resulted in highest strength both in compression and flexure. The sisal fiber-mortar composites using rice husk ash as pozzolana showed a higher modulus of resilience as well as modulus of toughness as compared to mortar boards. It indicated that the combination of using sisal fiber reinforcement and rice husk ash can improve the ductility of the composites.
