Studies on usage of natural fibers and eco sand for sustainable concreting

Abstract Modern construction materials need to have high strength and durability due to the loads that it may experience during its life cycle, also rigorous norms set by standardising agencies make it mandatory. Concrete is a brittle material that is having less tensile strength but its used in many tensile members including beams which demands some amount of tensile strength to be incorporated into it. Also demand for concrete production is steadily raising and its becoming numero uno due to its versatility, yet it needs modification to suit the need and demand. Incorporating fibers into the concrete is being practiced in field and also studied in research by bountiful researchers, in this work a combination of a natural fiber (Sisal) and a manmade fiber (polypropylene) is used in various compositions to increase the tensile strength and to reduce brittleness of concrete. Studies were conducted to identify the variation of strength with and without fiber is done in terms of compressive, flexure and split tensile strength. Promising results were obtained by using the combination of fibers and around 150–200% strength increase is obtained in tensile strength and 50% increase in compressive strength. Multiple ratios such as 0.5:1.5,1:1,1.5:0.5 is added in concrete and fine aggregate is replaced with eco sand which is a silica based sand obtained from cement industry as waste material. It is found that the compressive strength of the concrete with sisal fiber increases with increasing fiber content and flexural strength is found to be higher at higher fiber mix. The whole combination of this composite is eco-friendly and uses waste materials to increase the strength and durability of concrete.