Effect of the Addition of Natural Fibers on the Mechanical Properties of Concrete

¹ Department Civil Engineering, Teuku Umar University, Meulaboh, Aceh, Indonesia
² Department Civil Engineering, Syiah Kuala University, Banda Aceh, Aceh, Indonesia

^* Corresponding author: andiyusra@utu.ac.id

Abstract

The use of rattan and bamboo fibers increases the compressive strength, tensile strength and improves the ductility of concrete. Shell ash also contains pozzolanic compounds that can improve the properties of concrete. In this study, rattan and bamboo were used as concrete fibers and seashell ash was used as filler. The purpose of this study is to measure the compressive and tensile strength of concrete. In this study, rattan and bamboo fibers were added to the concrete mix with a mix design 25MPa. The additive variation is 0%, 0.5%, 1%, 1.5%, 2%. The results showed that the average compressive strength at 28 days was 0.26.29 MPa, 0.5, 19.71 MPa, 1.21.69 MPa, 1.5, 24.72 MPa and 2.18 MPa. Accordingly, the average tensile strength after 28 days was 0.736 MPa, 2,359 MPa, 2,312 MPa, 2.453 MPa and 2,595 MPa. These results show that the addition of rattan and bamboo fibers to concrete can increase the crack resistance of concrete, while the optimal increase in compressive strength with the addition of rattan fiber is achieved only with the change of 1.5%. This indicates that the addition of 1.5% natural fibers improves the tensile strength of concrete.