This paper focuses on fiber reinforcement of concrete-foam material (CFM) for floating platform. Oil-palm empty fruit bunch fiber (EFB-F) was selected to mix with CFM. Initially, three composition ratios of CFM were produced and tested to optimize the curing time. Then, the EFB-F was mixed with the optimized CFM. Several ratios of EFB-F and optimized CFM were used to study the effect of fiber reinforcement. Mechanical properties namely, compressive strength and tensile strength from flexural test were investigated. Several designs and compositions of the floating platform were studied to optimize strength and floatability (as composite material density). The research and testing results, it can be concluded that the cement-foam-EFB-F composite material has a higher density, resulting in higher compressive strength and tensile strength. Therefore, Oil-palm empty fruit bunch fiber, a waste material from manufacturing processes, can be utilized as an ingredient to improve the mechanical properties of foam cement for floating platforms.
Erosion of canal and river-shore causes problems on agriculture activities and soil environment. This paper devotes to develop a floating platform to protect the shores. A concrete-reinforced floating platform was designed and fabricated in this study. Mechanical simulation was performed to ensure the design viability. The concrete-reinforced floating platform consists of three main parts: (1) steel structure, (2) foam-cement material, and (3) connecting joints. The dimension of the cement foam floating platform is 1.2 m in width, 3 m in length and 0.4 m in thickness. The cement used in this research is resistant to corrosion of sulfate and chloride from saltwater. Foam with density of 12 kg/m3 is mixed with concrete matrix so that the floating platform can float 60% or 0.16 m above the water surface. The foam cement material has the maximum compression stress of 1,951 kg ± 266.59 kg for the material density of 427.30 kg/m3 ± 19.30 kg/m3. The connecting joint part has the ultimate tensile load of 1,564 kg. The assemble floating platform has the compressive stress of 543.33 kg/m2 with the maximum vertical deformation of samples of 1 mm under the distribution load of 1,571 over the samples. Finally, from simulation with data from the material testing, the designed floating platform had a safety factor 3.46 which was higher than the design criteria of 3.
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