On the use of natural curauá reinforced cement based composites for structural applications

Abstract The construction industry demand for environmentally friendly and energy-efficient solutions has driven researchers to matching non-traditional materials, as natural resources, with modern building technologies. The present work investigated the mechanical behavior and cracking mechanisms of a cementitious composite reinforced with natural curaua unidirectional fabric towards its use as reinforcement for a structural concrete element. The experimental program included direct tension, bending and cyclic tests in cement-based composites reinforced with curaua natural fabrics. Different specimen scales were tested under direct tensile loading in order to study the cracking mechanisms and strain sensitivity to size effect. A structural beam externally reinforced with this newly developed composite was tested under bending and an analytical model was proposed to corroborate the experimental tests. The proposed model gave very accurate prediction of the moment-curvature. The composite used as a structural reinforcement behaved efficiently, resulting in a rebar yielding delay, providing to the beam a higher ductility and a flexural strength gain of about 16%.