CHAPTER 1: PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND 2009-2010

CHAPTER 1

PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND

Introduction

The usage of concrete is very wide. It is one of the most important construction materials.
We cannot deny the fact that concrete has become part of our everyday life. It is comparatively
economical, easy to make, offers continuity and solidity and indeed, it plays the role of
developing and improving our modern society.

Concrete is a composite material which is made of filler and a binder. Typical concrete is
a mixture of fine aggregates (sand), coarse aggregates (rock), cement, and water. Because of its
convenience, it is not only used in building construction but also in other areas such as road
construction, harbors, bridges and many more.

Due to its wide range of application and effectiveness, new technology arises in order to
develop and enhance the quality and properties of the concrete. There are lots of researches done
in order to enhance the concrete’s workability. One of the technological advances done is by
using admixtures. Admixtures were added to fresh concrete in small qualities, typically so as to
improve its properties.

Here in Philippines, there are also lots of researchers who are continuously studying and
researching in order to develop the technology of concrete. Philippine is abundant of natural
resources, natural resources coming from water and land. It has become the livelihood of many
Filipinos. There are millions of hectares of plantations of different woods, plants and vegetables,
like sugarcane, pineapple, abaca, cotton, coconut and many more. Unfortunately these
livelihoods also contribute to the increasing volume of wastes generated every year. After
harvesting the fruits and other essential parts of the plant, there are residues. Their remainders are
huge amount of stalks, branches, leaves, and empty fruit branches.

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 CHAPTER 1: PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND 2009-2010

Since Philippines are one of the countries who widely used concrete in construction,
these residues may turn into something useful. Concrete is a brittle material, it is high in
compression strength but less in tensile strength and the tendency of the concrete is to crack. The
residues generated from woods and plants are composed of natural fibers. These fibers can be
added to enhance the concrete’s workability.

Background of the Study

Concrete has relatively high compressive strength, but significantly lower tensile
strength, and such is usually reinforced with materials that are strong in tension. The elasticity of
concrete is relatively constant at low stress levels but starts decreasing at higher stress levels as
matrix cracking develop. Concrete has a very low coefficient of thermal expansion, as it matures
concrete shrinkage and tension. Concrete which is subjected to long duration forces is prone to
creep.

Since concrete is relatively brittle material, steel reinforcement has been used to
overcome this problem. Steel reinforcement is assumed to carry all tensile loads. But the problem
with employing the steel in concrete is that over time steel corrodes due to the ingress of chloride
ions and/or carbonation. Although some measures are available to reduce corrosion of steel in
concrete such as corrosion inhibitive admixtures and coatings, a better and permanent solution
may be to replace the steel with a reinforcement that is less environmentally sensitive.

Several different types of fibers, both manmade and natural (wood and vegetables), have
been incorporated into the concrete mixture. The choice of fibers varies from synthetic organic
materials such as polypropylene or carbon, synthetic inorganic such as steel or glass, natural
organic such as cellulose or sisal to natural inorganic asbestos. Currently, the commercial
products available in the market are reinforced with steel, glass, polyester, and polypropylene
fibers. The selection of the type of fibers is guided by the properties of the fibers such as
diameter, specific gravity, modulus of elasticity, tensile strength and many more and the extent
of these fibers affect the properties of the cement matrix.

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 CHAPTER 1: PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND 2009-2010

In different countries, they were studying of the different natural fibers available in their
country to incorporate in the concrete mixture. However, naturally occurring fibers may not
replace the steel and other fibers as reinforcement, but it can be added into the concrete mixture
to increase the toughness, or ability to resist crack growth.

Theoretical Framework

Plain concrete is basically strong in compression but weak in tension and shear, has
limited ductility and little resistance to cracking unless modifications are introduced to improve
its ductility. Micro cracks are inherently present in concrete and because of its tensile strength,
the cracks magnify with the application of the load, leading to brittle fracture of concrete, thus,
making the presence of tensile reinforcement in concrete a necessary condition (Siddique, 1997).
The tensile strength of plain concrete is approximately 10 percent of the compressive strength of
concrete (Cook, 1980).

Basically, the incorporation of random dispersion of small steel fibers to concrete

increase the local tensile strength of concrete at a large number of points in different direction,
depending on the amount of added fibers and on the random direction of these fibers. (Balaguru,
1992). The fibers also evenly distributed drying shrinkage. Under compressive and split tensile
strength tests, shear stress develops along the surface of the fiber. This shear stress helps to
transfer load to the fiber. Fibers trap cracks and reduce or delay their spread. The absence of the
transverse cracks in the tensile zone of the fiber- reinforced concrete will increase its rupture
strength. In other words, the incorporation of fibers converts the sudden brittle failure of plain
concrete in tension into a gradual and ductile failure.

It is assumed that the tensile or compressive strength of composite are affected by the
variation of the length of fibers, the amount of fibers in the mix and the method of fiber
preparation. By evaluating the compressive or tensile strength data, it is possible to establish a
relationship between strength and fiber percentage or fiber length.

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 CHAPTER 1: PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND 2009-2010

Conceptual framework
The figure below will guide the research to attain the objectives of this study

PROCESS

PHYSICAL AND
MECHANICAL TEST OF
AGGREGATES
NORMAL CONCRETE +
(0.10%,0.15%,0.25%,0.75%
MATERIALS ) COCONUT COIR
COCONUT COIR NORMAL CONCRETE +
(0.10%,0.15%,0.25%,0.75%
SUGARCANE BAGASSE ) SUGARCANE BAGASSE
PINEAPPLE NORMAL CONCRETE +
RECOMMENDED
ABACA (0.10%,0.15%,0.25%,0.75% DESIGN FOR
) PINEAPPLE
SPECIFICATION
NORMAL CONCRETE +
NATURAL FIBERS
ACI MIX DESIGN (0.10%,0.15%,0.25%,0.75% IN CONCRETE MIX
METHOD ) ABACA DESIGN
ASTM PROCEDURES ASTM C143-78 (SLUMP
FOR CONCRETE TEST)
AGGREGATES ASTM C31-84 (CURING OF
TEST SPECIMEN)
ASTM C39-86
(COMPRESSIVE STRENGHT
TEST)
EVALUATION

INPUT OUTPUT

Figure1.1: Research Paradigm

Statement of the Problems
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 CHAPTER 1: PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND 2009-2010

This research is intended to answer the following questions:

1. What will be the effect in workability and consistency in the concrete mixture if different
natural fibers are mixed?
2. What are the differences in terms of strength in plain concrete and concrete containing
different natural fibers?
3. Does the concrete containing natural fiber san reduce or prevent cracking?
4. What percentage of fiber (0.10%, 0.15%, 0.25%, and 0.75%) that will be added to the concrete
mixture that will increase the compressive strength of the concrete?
5. What fiber (coconut coir, sugarcane baggase, pineapple, and abaca) can be best mix with
concrete to enhance and increase the strength of concrete?

Scope and Limitations

This research is intended to study the possibility of using the natural occurring fibers as
admixture and study the behavior of the concrete, its durability and resistance to cracks. It limits
its scope to physical research of compressive strength of concrete. Specifically, it aims to
determine the compressive strength of the concrete containing natural fibers and evaluate if there
is a significant effect in the concrete mixture.
The study is limited up to four kinds of natural occurring fibers which is abundant in our
country
 Coconut coir
 Pineapple
 Sugarcane baggase
 Abaca

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 CHAPTER 1: PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND 2009-2010

Approximate length of natural fibers of 1cm and fiber percentages of 0.10%, 0.15%,
0.25% and 75.0% (by weight of cement) are prepared for a total of 18 test batches; 9 batches for
first trial mix and 9 batches for second trial. There are three samples for every fiber type and
fiber content per batch mix. Concrete cylinder is 150mm in diameter and 300mm high.
Impervious molds of this shape are field with fresh concrete and set aside from 18 to 24 hours,
demolded, and cured for 3 days in the curing tank, and then tested in the laboratory using the
Universal Testing Machine at a specified loading rate of 5KN/s.

In this study, a cement-aggregate ratio of 1:3 is adopted with the maximum size of
aggregate of 19mm in diameter. Water-cement ratio of 0.68 is adopted for all concrete mixes.
The experiment was conducted at the Material Testing Laboratory of the Bureau of Research and
Standards.
This study will not evaluate flexural and split tensile strength of the concrete. It will not
also evaluate the cost and estimate of the output.

Significance of the Study

 This study will provide knowledge or records that can be useful in the development and
innovation of new technology in the future field of Civil Engineering.
 This will provide necessary information that students of Civil Engineering can be used in
their future research. This will also encourage others to study other alternative materials
that can be used in construction.
 To the government agencies that they may utilize different source of admixtures in their
infrastructures mainly in their concrete buildings, highways and bridges.
 To the businessmen and entrepreneurs that they may use this research to the construction
industry
 To the local government units that may generate livelihood and more jobs since this
research needs to extract the natural fibers manually

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 CHAPTER 1: PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND 2009-2010

DEFINITION OF TERMS

ACI METHOD American Concrete Institute Standard practice for selecting

proportions for normal, heavyweight, and mass concrete

ADMIXTURE a thing or ingredient added in mixing.

CONCRETE is a construction material composed of cement (commonly

Portland cement) as well as other cementitious
materials such as fly ash and slag cement, aggregate
(generally a coarse aggregate such as gravel, limestone, or
granite, plus a fine aggregate such as sand), water, and
chemical admixtures.

CORROSION it is the disintegration of an engineered material into its

constituent atoms due to chemical reactions with its
surroundings. In the most common use of the word, this
means electrochemical oxidation of metals in reaction with
an oxidant such as oxygen.

COARSE AGGREGATES is the material combined with cement and water to make
concrete is called coarse aggregate. Coarse Aggregate
makes up 60 to 80 percent of concrete volume.

COMPRESSION STRENGTH a compression test which determines the behavior of the

materials under rushing loads.

CELLULOSE FIBERS it is the structural component of the primary cell wall of

green plants, many forms of algae and the oomycetes.

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 CHAPTER 1: PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND 2009-2010

COMPACTION TEST it is a tests to determine the maximum practically-

achievable density of soils and aggregates, and are
frequently used in Geotechnical Engineering.

CEMENT a building material made by grinding calcined limestone

and clay to a fine powder, which can be mixed with water
and poured to set as a solid mass or used as an ingredient in
making mortar or concrete.

DENSITY it is the mass per unit volume of a substance under

specified conditions of pressure and temperature. The
symbol of density is ρ.

FLEXURAL STRENGTH flexural strength, also known as modulus of rupture,

bending strength, or fracture strength.

FINE AGGREGATES it is defined as material that will pass a No. 4 sieve and
will, for the most part, be retained on a No. 200 sieve.

HYDRATION it is the formation of a solution involves the interaction of

solute with solvent molecules.

MODULUS OF ELASTICITY it is the ratio of the increment of some specified form of

stress to the increment of some specified form of strain.

MODULUS OF RUPTURE it reflects the maximum load-carrying capacity of a

member in bending, and is proportional to maximum
moment borne by the specimen.

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MOISTURE CONTENT it is the quantity of water in a mass of soil, sewage, sludge,

or screenings; expressed in percentage by weight of water
in the mass.

NATURAL FIBERS a fiber obtained from a plant, animal, or mineral. The

commercially important natural fibers are those cellulosic
fibers obtained from the seed hairs, stems, and leaves of
plants.

SAND- a naturally occurring granular material composed of finely

divided rock and mineral particles.

SLUMP TEST a test or a laboratory test used to determine and measure

how hard and consistent a given sample of concrete is
before curing.

SPECIFIC GRAVITY it is the ratio of the weight of a given volume of a substance

to the weight of an equal volume of some reference
substance, or, equivalently, the ratio of the masses of equal
volumes of the two substances.

WORKABILITY capable of being put into effective operation; practicable or

feasible.

WATER ABSORPTION the amount of water absorbed by a composite material

when immersed in water for a stipulated period of time.