Effect of palm fibers addition on absorption characteristics and mechanical properties of concrete

Abstract

The effect of palm fibers on the absorption and mechanical properties of hardened concrete is presented in this paper. To achieve this aim, four concrete mixes were prepared with varying amount of fibers. The volume of fiber in the mix is 0%, 0.5%, 1% and 1.5%. The water to cement ratio for all mixes is kept constant. Five tests were performed for each concrete mixtures: ultrasonic pulse velocity, compressive strength, density, sorptivity and total water absorption. Concrete were cured for 3, 7, 28 and 90 days. Results indicated that acceptable concrete quality can be achieved with the addition of palm fibers. On the other side, the inclusion of palm fibers reduces the compressive strength up to 30% on average and the density by 4% as the percentage of fibers increases from 0% to 1.5%. In addition, the capillary water absorption coefficient and total absorption increase with the increase of palm fibers but decreases significantly with curing durations.