Strength and fracture toughness of earth-based natural fiber-reinforced composites

Mustapha, Kabiru; Annan, Ebenezer; Azeko, Salifu T.; Kana, M. G. Zebaze; Soboyejo, Winston O.

doi:10.1177/0021998315589769

Cited by 27 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…The sliding resistance (in this study) is attributed to the rough surface morphology of the fibers. 22 Figure 9 shows that the fracture toughness resulting from the combined mechanisms provided a better estimation of fracture toughness (due to fiber reinforcement), when compared to experimental results obtained in prior work by Mustapha et al 34…”

Section: Composite Tougheningmentioning

confidence: 75%

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Pull-out behavior of natural fiber from earth-based matrix

Mustapha

Azeko

Annan

et al. 2016

Journal of Composite Materials

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This paper presents the results of a combined experimental and analytical study of the pull-out behavior of natural fiber (grass straw) from an earth-based matrix. A single fiber pull-out approach was used to measure interfacial properties that are significant to toughening brittle materials via fiber reinforcement. This was used to study the interfacial shear strengths of straw fiber-reinforced earth-based composites with a matrix that consists of 60 vol. % laterite, 20 vol. % clay and 20 vol. % cement. The composites that were used in the pull-out tests included composites reinforced with 0, 5, 10 and 20 vol. % of straw fibers. The toughening behavior of fiber-reinforced earth-based matrix was analyzed in terms of their interfacial shear strengths and bridging zones, immediately behind the crack tip. This approach is consistent with microscopic observations that reveal intact bridging fibers behind the crack tip, as a result of debonding of the fiber–matrix interface. Analytical models were used to study the debonding of fiber from the matrix materials, as well as the toughening due to crack-tip shielding via bridging. The results show that increasing the fiber embedment length and the fiber volume fraction (in the earth/cement matrix) increases the peak pull-out load. The debonding process was also found to be associated with a constant friction stress. The combined effects of multiple toughening mechanisms (debonding and crack bridging) are elucidated along with the implications of the results for the design of earth-based composites for potential applications in robust building materials for sustainable eco-friendly homes.

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Section: Composite Tougheningmentioning

confidence: 75%

“…Toughening due to crack bridging (via fiber reinforcement) was also considered using approaches used by Mustapha et al 34 in earlier work. This was done for small-scale bridging (SSB) and large-scale bridging (LSB).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pull-out behavior of natural fiber from earth-based matrix

Mustapha

Azeko

Annan

et al. 2016

Journal of Composite Materials

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“…Due to the number of specimens and the dispersion of results, the researchers suggest increasing the number of specimens for higher dosages of jute fibre to reduce the epistemic uncertainty of this assessment and, consequently, to statistically evaluate the significance of the fibre effect on the flexural strength. Considering the flexural strength values obtained in this work and values of fracture toughness for similar materials [33], an estimation of the length of the fracture process zone of adobe could be several orders of magnitude larger than the height of any of the samples used in this work. Therefore, changes in flexural strength related to both sizes of the samples used in this work are discarded.…”

Section: Impact Strengthmentioning

confidence: 92%

Mechanical and damage similarities of adobe blocks reinforced with natural and industrial fibres

2020

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“…This binder is not environmental friendly and therefore, there is the need to reduce the amount of this polluting cement with materials that can be recycled. Recently, a couple of works have been carried out to reduce the quantity of industrial cement with several natural and artificial waste materials [4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13] for composite processing in building applications. These recycled materials including polyethylene 5 and natural straws 9 in cement have shown to possess excellent compressive strengths, flexural strengths, fracture toughness, and erosion resistance that are comparable to cement-based structures produced from sea/river sand.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Recently, a couple of works have been carried out to reduce the quantity of industrial cement with several natural and artificial waste materials [4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13] for composite processing in building applications. These recycled materials including polyethylene 5 and natural straws 9 in cement have shown to possess excellent compressive strengths, flexural strengths, fracture toughness, and erosion resistance that are comparable to cement-based structures produced from sea/river sand. Recently, research carried out by (Ostrowski et al, 2018) 14 did some experimental investigations on the effect of the morphology of aggregate on the overall properties on self-compacting high performance fiber-reinforced concrete.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reinforcement of cement mortar with recycled polyethylene waste for construction applications

Flomo

Azeko

Arthur

et al. 2021

Journal of Composite Materials

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This current research work combines both experimental and theoretical study of the impact of cement mortar reinforced with recycled polyethylene waste for applications in the construction industry. The work explores incorporating low density polyethylene (LDPE) waste into cement mortar to improve its fracture toughness and flexural strength with balanced compressive strength. Different volume fractions (0, 5, 10, 15, 20, 30, and 40%) of the powdered LDPE were mixed with cement and the density, compressive strength, flexural strength, and the fracture toughness were observed under different testing conditions. All specimens were tested after curing of 7, 14, and 28 days. The results show that there was [Formula: see text]6% increase in the fracture toughness at 5 vol. %, [Formula: see text]7% increase at 10 vol. %, and 24% increases at 20 vol. % of LDPE. Also, it was observed that the weight and compressive strength decreased with increasing volume fraction up to 40 vol. % of LDPE waste. The results for the survival/failure probability show that the PE-mortar composites with PE volume percentages up to 20 vol. % had the highest survival probability. The composite with this volume percentage can withstand crack up to 6 mm, with a survival probability of 0.6.

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Strength and fracture toughness of earth-based natural fiber-reinforced composites

Cited by 27 publications

References 19 publications

Pull-out behavior of natural fiber from earth-based matrix

Pull-out behavior of natural fiber from earth-based matrix

Mechanical and damage similarities of adobe blocks reinforced with natural and industrial fibres

Reinforcement of cement mortar with recycled polyethylene waste for construction applications

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