Effects of Low Volume Fraction of Polyvinyl Alcohol Fibers on the Mechanical Properties of Oil Palm Shell Lightweight Concrete
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1-1-2015
Abstract
This paper presents the effects of low volume fraction (Vf) of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) fibers on the mechanical properties of oil palm shell (OPS) high strength lightweight concrete mixtures. The slump, density, compressive strength, splitting tensile strength, flexural strength, and modulus of elasticity under various curing conditions have been measured and evaluated. The results indicate that an increase in PVA fibers decreases the workability of the concrete and decreases the density slightly. The 28-day compressive strength of oil palm shell fiber-reinforced concrete (OPSFRC) high strength lightweight concrete (HSLWC) subject to continuous moist curing was within the range of 43-49 MPa. The average modulus of elasticity (E) value is found to be 16.1 GPa for all mixes, which is higher than that reported in previous studies and is within the range of normal weight concrete. Hence, the findings of this study revealed that the PVA fibers can be used as an alternative material to enhance the properties of OPS HSLWC for building and construction applications.
Keywords
Composite beams and girders, Compressive strength, Concrete mixtures, Concretes, Curing, Elastic moduli, Fiber reinforced materials, Fibers, Light weight concrete, Mechanical properties, Palm oil, Polyvinyl alcohols, Tensile strength, Volume fraction
Divisions
fac_eng
Funders
University of Malaya Research Grant (UMRG), Grant no. RP018/2012C
Publication Title
Advances in Materials Science and Engineering
Volume
2015
Publisher
Hindawi Publishing Corporation