ABSTRACT

Keywords: Flexural strength, Coconut fibre reinforced concrete, Coconut fibre

Natural fibres are those fibres which are pollution free, environmental friendly and
does not have any bad effect on climate. If these natural fibres used as a
construction material it could save the bio-reserves. Amongst all natural fibres,
coconut fibre is the fibre which has the better physical and chemical property also
it is renewable, cheap, resistant to thermal conductivity, more durable, highest
toughness, most ductile then the other natural fibre. Hence, coconut fibre is a
best material to be used in construction.

Reinforcement of concrete is necessary to enhance its engineering properties.

For this study, coconut fibres were used as they are freely available in large
quantities. This makes it quite viable as a reinforcement material in concrete.
Further, it acts as a new source of income for the coconut producer who gets the
benefits of the new demand generated by the construction industry. In addition to
this, the use of coconut fibres will also lead to better management of these waste
fibres which will reduce the demand for the additional waste disposal. The
problem in increasing the cost of steel reinforcement could be reduced by using
partial replacement of coconut fibre.

This study aimed at analyzing the variation in strength of coconut (2%, 3% &
5%). reinforced concrete at varying fibre contents and to compare it with that of
conventional concrete. The study will find the optimum fibre content through
flexural strength testing machine. Further work is required by changing the fibre
content and aspect ratio to determine the optimum range of fibre content so that
fibre reinforced concrete can be used where high flexural strength is required.