Construction materials reinforced with natural products

Abstract

Increasing environmental awareness leads to further research and investigation for new eco-friendly materials. The need for green and renewable materials has never been as prevalent as it currently is and undoubtedly there is increasing interest in materials demonstrating efficient use of renewable resources. Due to the challenges of petroleum-based products and the need to find renewable solutions, more and more companies are looking at natural fiber composite materials. The primary driving forces for new natural-composite materials are the decreased cost of natural fibers, weight reduction, recycling, and the desire for green products. Natural fibers are getting attention from researchers and academicians to utilize in composites mostly due to their eco-friendly nature and sustainability, since they can be sourced from plants or animals. A major goal of natural fiber composites is to alleviate the need to use expensive fibers, which has a relatively high density and is dependent on nonrenewable sources. Another benefit may also include the easy usage/handling of fibers due to their flexibility, because the problem arises when high percentage of fibers is to be used as in case of steel fibers. However, the main disadvantages of natural fibers in composites are the poor compatibility between fiber and matrix and the relative high moisture sorption. Therefore, chemical treatments are considered in modifying the fiber surface properties. The use of natural fibers in the construction sector, as reinforcement of composites (such as cement paste, mortar, and/or concrete), are economical for increasing their certain properties, such as tensile strength, shear strength, toughness, and energy absorption capacity. For all these, natural fibers need to be properly tested and results should be published in a systematic manner with further investigation for using the specific natural fibers as composite construction materials.