Thermal resistance of raffia palm reinforced concrete

Abstract

There are increasing interests in the usage of natural fibres as reinforcing component for concrete production due to their enormous properties such as low cost, its abundance and availability. This research examined the thermal resistance of Raffia palm fibre reinforced concrete. In this study, 0% to 1% fibre content by weight of cement were incorporated in concrete and their compressive strength were tested after heating. A total number of 36 cubes were prepared, cured and tested at 28 days. Concrete cubes with 0% fibre was used as control specimen. The cubes’ compressive strengths were determined at 0 0C, 556 0C and 659 0C at 0 minutes, 5 minutes and 10 minutes respectively. The result revealed that workability of the concrete declined with a rise in the percentage of raffia palm. There is also a substantial surge in the compressive strength of raffia palm fibre reinforced concrete cubes (RPFRC) compared to the control concrete samples. The compressive strength of the concrete cubes decreased with the rise in temperature for the entire samples tested. It was concluded that a rise in the proportion of fibre in the concrete enhanced their compressive strengths when subjected to heat.