Analysis of physical and mechanical characteristics of tropical natural fibers for their use in civil engineering applications

Natural fibers investigated in this study are mainly waste from agro industry. The importance of natural fibers in building composites is increasing, as they partially replace nonrenewable natural resources acting as reinforcement in composite materials such as concrete, mortar and earth bricks. Their recycling requires a detailed analysis of the physical, chemical, and mechanical characteristics of the fibers. In this study, tropical natural fibers i.e., palm oil flower fibers (POFL), palm oil fruit fibers (POFR), sugarcane bagasse (Sc), coconut coir (Cn), and banana spine (Bs) were investigated, and their characteristics such as cross-section, density, water absorption, thermogravimetry, chemical composition, and tensile strength of fibers were determined. The area of these fibers ranges from 0.03 mm(2) to 0.07 mm(2). POFL fibers have highest density (1.36 g/cm(3)), while Cn fibers have lowest density (0.79 g/cm(3)). Chemical composition of fibers shows that cellulose content of tropical fibers ranges from 37-54%, followed by hemicellulose 5-27%, and lignin and cutins content 5-25%. Mechanical characteristics of tropical fibers show that tensile strength of these fibers fluctuates between 119-347 MPa. Tensile load-deflection behavior of Cn, Bs, POFL, and POFR fibers is elastoplastic with hardening, while the behavior of Sc fibers is pseudo elastic.