Construction and Building Materials 30 (2012) 814825

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Construction and Building Materials

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Mechanical and dynamic properties of coconut bre reinforced concrete

Majid Ali , Anthony Liu, Hou Sou, Nawawi Chouw
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland 1142, New Zealand

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Coconut bres have the highest toughness amongst natural bres. They have potential to be used as rein-
Received 21 July 2011 forcement in low-cost concrete structures, especially in tropical earthquake regions. For this purpose, the
Received in revised form 12 December 2011 mechanical and dynamic properties of coconut bre reinforced concrete (CFRC) members need to be well
Accepted 23 December 2011
understood. In this work, in addition to mechanical properties, damping ratio and fundamental frequency
Available online 21 January 2012
of simply supported CFRC beams are determined experimentally. A comparison between the static and
dynamic moduli is conducted. The inuence of 1%, 2%, 3% and 5% bre contents by mass of cement
Keywords:
and bre lengths of 2.5, 5 and 7.5 cm is investigated. To evaluate the effect of coconut bres in improving
Coconut bres
Concrete composites
the properties of concrete, the properties of plain concrete are used as a reference. Damping of CFRC
Mechanical and dynamic properties beams increases while their fundamental frequency decreases with structural damage. CFRC with higher
Beam bre content has a higher damping but lower dynamic and static modulus of elasticity. It is found that
CFRC with a bre length of 5 cm and a bre content of 5% has the best properties.
2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
Researchers have used plant bres as an alternative of steel or
synthetic bres in composites such as cement paste, mortar and
concrete [126]. These natural bres include coconut, sisal, jute,
hibiscus cannabinus, eucalyptus grandis pulp, malva, ramie bast,
pineapple leaf, kenaf bast, sansevieria leaf, abaca leaf, vakka, date,
bamboo, palm, banana, hemp, ax, cotton and sugarcane bres. Nat-
ural bres are cheap and locally available in many countries. Their
use, as a construction material, for improving the properties of the
composites costs a very little when compared to the total cost of
the composites. Compared to steel bres, they are also easy to use
or handle because of their exibility, especially when high percent-
age of bres is involved. However, in such a case, a methodology for
casting needs to be developed. For expressing the quantities of
bres, volume fraction and bre content are often used [1116].
Volume fraction can either be part of total volume of composite
or part of volume of any ingredient to be replaced. Fibre content
can be part of total weight/mass of composite or any ingredient to
be replaced. Researchers often investigated the optimum quantity
and length of bres [1115] to achieve maximum strength of the
composite; any further increase or decrease in volume fraction
and/or bre length may reduce the composite strength.
Coconut bre is extracted from the outer shell of a coconut. The
common name, scientic name and plant family of coconut bre
are coir, cocos nucifera and arecaceae (Palm), respectively. There
are two types of coconut bres, brown bre extracted from
Corresponding author.
E-mail address: mali078@aucklanduni.ac.nz (M. Ali).
matured coconuts and white bres extracted from immature coco-
nuts. Brown bres are thick, strong and have high abrasion resis-
tance, while white bres are smoother and ner, but also
weaker. Coconut bres are commercially available in three forms,
namely bristle (long bres), mattress (relatively short) and decor-
ticated (mixed bres). These different types of bres have different
uses depending upon the requirement. In engineering, brown -
bres are mostly used. According to ofcial website of International
Year for Natural Fibres 2009 [27], approximately, 500,000 tonnes
of coconut bres are produced annually worldwide, mainly in India
and Sri Lanka. Its total value is estimated at $100 million. India and
Sri Lanka are also the main exporters, followed by Thailand, Viet-
nam, the Philippines and Indonesia. Around half of the coconut -
bres produced is exported in the form of raw bre. The general
advantages of coconut bres include moth-proof; resistant to fungi
and rot, provide excellent insulation against temperature and
sound, ame-retardant, unaffected by moisture and dampness,
tough and durable, resilient, spring back to shape even after con-
stant use. Coconut bre is the toughest bre (21.5 MPa) amongst
natural bres (Munawar et al. [28]). They are also capable of taking
strain 46 times more than that of other bres (Munawar et al. [28]
and Satyanarayana et al. [29]).
Abiola [30] evaluated the mechanical properties (load-extension
and stressstrain curves, Youngs modulus, yield stress, stress and
strain at break) of inner and outer coconut bres experimentally,
and the results were veried by nite element method using a com-
mercial software ABAQUS. The author found that the inner coconut
bre had a higher mechanical strength as compared to that of outer
bre, but the outer coconut bre had a higher elongation property
which enables it to absorb or withstand higher stretching energy.

0950-0618/$ - see front matter 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2011.12.068
 M. Ali et al. / Construction and Building Materials 30 (2012) 814825
Ramakrishna and Sundararajan [31] investigated the variation
in chemical composition and tensile strength of four natural bres,
i.e. coconut, sisal, jute and hibiscus cannabinus bres, when sub-
jected to alternate wetting and drying and continuous immersion
for 60 days in water, saturated lime and sodium hydroxide. Chem-
ical composition of all bres changed because of immersion in the
considered solutions. Continuous immersion was found to be crit-
ical due to the loss of their tensile strength. However, coconut -
bres were reported best for retaining a good percentage of its
original tensile strength in all tested conditions.
2. Previous works on coconut bre reinforced composites
Slate [11] investigated compressive and exural strength of
coconut bre reinforced mortar. Two cement-sand ratios by
weight, 1:2.75 with water cement ratio of 0.54 and 1:4 with water
cement ratio of 0.82 were considered. Fibre content was 0.08%,
0.16% and 0.32% by total weight of cement, sand and water. The
mortars for both design mixes without any bres were also tested
as reference. Cylinders of 50 mm diameter and 100 mm height and
beams of 50 mm width, 50 mm depth and 200 mm length were
tested. The curing was done for 8 days only. It was found that, com-
pared to that of plain mortar of both mix designs, all strengths
were increased in the case of bre reinforced mortar with all con-
sidered bre contents. However, a decrease in strength of mortar
with an increase of bre content was also observed.
Cook et al. [12] reported the use of coconut bre reinforced ce-
ment composites as low cost roong materials. The parameters
studied were bre lengths (2.5, 3.75 and 6.35 cm), bre volumes
(2.5%, 5%, 7.5%, 10% and 15%) and casting pressure (from 1 to
2 MPa with an increment of 0.33 MPa). They concluded that the
optimum composite consisted of bres with a length of 3.75 cm,
a bre volume fraction of 7.5% and is casted under the pressure
of 1.67 MPa. A comparison revealed that this composite was much
cheaper than locally available roong materials.
Aziz et al. [13] cited the work of Das Gupta et al. [14,15] who
studied the mechanical properties of cement paste composites
for different lengths and volume fractions of coconut bres. Aziz
et al. concluded that the tensile strength and modulus of rupture
of cement paste increased when bres up to 38 mm bre length
and 4% volume fraction were used. A further increase in length
or volume fraction could reduce the strength of composite. The
tensile strength of cement paste composite was 1.9, 2.5, 2.8, 2.2
and 1.5 MPa when it was reinforced with 38 mm long coconut bre
and the volume fractions of 2%, 3%, 4%, 5% and 6%, respectively. The
corresponding modulus of rupture was 3.6, 4.9, 5.45, 5.4 and
4.6 MPa, respectively. 4% volume fraction of coconut bres gave
the highest mechanical properties amongst all tested cases. With
4% volume fraction, they also studied the tensile strength of ce-
ment paste reinforced with different lengths of coconut bres.
With the bre lengths of 25, 38 and 50 mm, the reported tensile
strength was 2.3, 2.8 and 2.7 MPa, respectively. The results indi-
cated that coconut bres with a length of 38 mm and a volume
fraction of 4% gave the maximum strength.
Paramasivam et al. [16] conducted a feasibility study of coconut
bre reinforced corrugated slabs of 915 mm  460 mm  10 mm
for low-cost housing. A cementsand ratio of 1:0.5 and waterce-
ment ratio of 0.35 were used. Test for exural strength using third
point loading was performed. For producing required slabs having a
exural strength of 22 MPa, a bre length of 2.5 cm, a volume frac-
tion of 3%, and a casting pressure of 0.15 MPa were recommended.
The thermal conductivity and absorption coefcient for low fre-
quency sound were comparable with those of asbestos boards.
Agopyan et al. [17] studied coir and sisal bres as replacement
of asbestos in roong tiles. The dimensions of the tiles were
487 mm  263 mm  6 mm. Three-point bend test specimen with
815
2% total bre volume fraction, support span of 350 mm, deection
rate of 5 mm/min was employed for determination of the maxi-
mum load. After the ageing periods of 16 and 60 months, the cor-
responding maximum load taken by coir tile were 235 and 248 N,
respectively while that by sisal tiles were 237 and 159 N, respec-
tively. The major benet of reinforced tiles was their at least 22%
higher energy absorption than that of the unreinforced tiles which
could help to avoid fragile rupture of tiles during transportation or
installation.
John et al. [18] studied the coir bre reinforced low alkaline ce-
ment mortar taken from the internal and external walls of a
12 year old house. The panel of the house was produced using
1:1.5:0.504 (cement:sand:water, by mass) mortar reinforced with
2% of coconut bres by volume. Fibres removed from the old sam-
ples were reported to be undamaged. No signicant difference was
found in the lignin content of bres removed from external and
internal walls, conrming the durability of coconut bres in ce-
ment composites.
Luisito et al. [19] of PCA-Zamboanga Research Center in Philip-
pines invented coconut bre boards (CFB) for applications such as
tiles, bricks, plywood and hollow blocks. It is used for internal and
exterior walls, partitions and ceiling. CFB consisted of 70% cement
and 30% bre by weight. It has water absorption of 32%, water
swelling of 4.2% and bending strength of 0.81 MPa, respectively.
Mohammad [20] tested wall panels made of gypsum and ce-
ment as binder and coconut bre as reinforcement. Bending and
compressive strength, moisture content, density and water absorp-
tion were investigated. As expected, coconut bres did not contrib-
ute to bending strength of the tested wall panels. Compressive
strength increased with the addition of coconut bres. There was
no considerable change of moisture content with coconut bres.
However, moisture content increased with time. Water absorption
of panels was not signicantly affected with an increase in bre
content.
Ramakrishna and Sundararajan [21] carried out the experiments
on impact resistance of slabs using a falling weight of 0.475 kg from
a height of 200 mm. The slabs consisted of 1:3 cementsand mortar
with the dimension of 300 mm  300 mm  20 mm. They were
reinforced with coconut, sisal, jute and hibiscus cannabinus bres
having four different bre contents of 0.5%, 1.0%, 1.5% and 2.5%
by weight of cement and three bre lengths of 20, 30 and 40 mm.
A bre content of 2% and a bre length of 40 mm of coconut bres
showed the best performance by absorbing 253.5 J impact energy.
At ultimate failure all bres, except coconut bres, showed bre
fracture while coconut bre showed bre pull-out. The ultimate
failure was determined based on the number of blows required
to open a crack in the specimen sufciently and for the propagation
of the crack through the entire depth of the specimen.
Li et al. [22] studied untreated and alkalized coconut bres with
the lengths of 20 mm and 40 mm as reinforcement in cementitious
composites. Mortar was mixed in a laboratory mixer at a constant
speed of 30 rpm, with cement: sand: water: super plasticizer ratio
of 1:3:0.43:0.01 by weight, and bres were slowly put into the run-
ning mixer. The resulting mortar had a better exural strength (in-
creased up to 12%), higher energy absorption ability (up to 1680%)
and a higher ductility (up to 1740%), and is lighter than the conven-
tional mortar.
Reis [23] performed third-point loading tests to investigate the
exural strength, fracture toughness and fracture energy of epoxy
polymer concrete reinforced with coconut, sugarcane bagasse and
banana bres. The investigation revealed that fracture toughness
and energy of coconut bre reinforced polymer concrete were
the highest, and an increase of exural strength up to 25% was ob-
served with coconut bres.
Asasutjarit et al. [24] determined the physical (density, mois-
ture content, water absorption and thickness swelling), mechanical
816 M. Ali et al. / Construction and Building Materials 30 (2012) 814825
Table 1
Properties of plain concrete (PC) and coconut bre reinforced concrete (CFRC) according to Baruah and Talukdar [25].
Fibre volume fraction Compressive strength Split tensile strength
(%) (MPa) (MPa)
21.42 2.88
0.5 21.70 3.02
1.0 22.74 3.18
1.5 25.10 3.37
2.0 24.35 3.54
(modulus of elasticity, modulus of rupture and internal bond) and
thermal properties of coir-based light weight cement board after
28 days of hydration. The physical and mechanical properties were
measured by Japanese Industrial Standard JIS A 5908-1994 and the
thermal properties according to JIS R 2618. The parameters studied
were bre length, coir pre-treatment and mixture ratio. 6 cm long
boiled and washed bres with the optimum cement:bre:water
weight ratio of 2:1:2 gave the highest modulus of rupture and
internal bond amongst the tested specimens. The board also had
a thermal conductivity lower than other commercial ake board
composite.
Baruah and Talukdar [25] investigated the mechanical proper-
ties of plain concrete (PC) and bre reinforced concrete (FRC) with
different bre volume fractions ranging from 0.5% to 2%. Steel, syn-
thetic and jute and coconut bres were used. Here, the discussion
is limited to the coconut bres reinforced concrete (CFRC) only. The
cement:sand:aggregate ratio for plain concrete was 1:1.67:3.64,
and the water cement ratio was 0.535. Coconut bres having
length of 4 cm and an average diameter of 0.4 mm with volume
fraction of 0.5%, 1%, 1.5% and 2% were added to prepare CFRC.
The sizes of specimens were (1) 150 mm diameter and 300 mm
height for cylinders (2) 150 mm width, 150 mm depth and
700 mm length for beams, and (3) 150 mm cubes having a cut of
90 mm  60 mm in cross-section and 150 mm high for L-shaped
shear test specimens. All specimens were cured for 28 days. The
compressive strength r, splitting tensile strength (STS), modulus
of rupture (MOR) using four point load test and shear strength s,
are shown in Table 1 for PC and CFRC. It can be seen that CFRC with
2% bres showed the best overall performance amongst all volume
fractions. The compressive strength, splitting tensile strength,
modulus of rupture and shear strength of coir bre reinforced con-
crete with 2% bres by volume fraction were increased up to 13.7%,
22.9%, 28.0% and 32.7%, respectively as compared to those of plain
concrete. Their research indicated that all these properties were
improved as well for CFRC with other bre volume fractions of
0.5%, 1% and 1.5%. Even for CFRC with small bre volume fraction
of 0.5% the corresponding properties were increased up to 1.3%,
4.9%, 4.0% and 4.7%, respectively.
Li et al. [26] studied bre volume fraction and bre surface
treatment with a wetting agent for coir mesh reinforced mortar
using nonwoven coir mesh matting. They performed a four-point
bending test and concluded that cementitious composites, rein-
forced by three layers of coir mesh with a low bre content of
1.8%, resulted in a 40% improvement in the maximum exural
strength. The composites were 25 times stronger in exural tough-
ness and about 20 times higher in exural ductility.
To the best knowledge of the authors the only research [25] on
the static CFRC properties is done with only one coir bre length of
4 cm. With regard to dynamic properties of CFRC, no study has
been reported. Dynamic tests had been performed only for con-
crete reinforced by other bres, e.g. polyolen bres [32] or rubber
scrap [33]. To reveal the consequence of bre length for CFRC prop-
erties, thorough investigations involving more bre lengths and
other parameters are required in order to have reliable insights.
To be able to apply CFRC in cheap housing in tropical earthquake
Modulus of rupture Shear strength Toughness index Toughness index
(MPa) (MPa) (I5) (I10)
3.25 6.18 1.934 1.934
3.38 6.47 2.165 2.270
3.68 6.81 2.109 2.773
4.07 8.18 2.706 4.274
4.16 8.21 2.345 3.452
regions, the knowledge of static and dynamic properties of CFRC
is necessary. This study is the rst step in lling this knowledge
gap. CFRC can be used in blocks, parking pavements to avoid
shrinkage cracks. Even it can also be used in normal reinforced
concrete to improve its behaviour during earthquake. But it needs
to be properly investigated before implementation.
3. Experimental work
In this study, bre lengths of 2.5, 5 and 7.5 cm and bre contents of 1%, 2%, 3%
and 5% by cements mass are considered to investigate the mechanical and dynamic
properties of CFRC.
3.1. Preparation of coconut bres and CFRC
Ordinary Portland cement, sand, aggregates, water and imported brown coco-
nut bres were used for preparation of CFRC. The maximum size of aggregates
was 12 mm (passing through 12 mm sieve and retained at 10 mm sieve). The mean
diameter of coconut bres is 0.25 mm.
Since bres were in hydraulic compressed form, preparation of bres into the
required length was a time consuming and laborious task. Different approaches
were tried to get bres into the required length quickly without much success. Fi-
nally, coconut bres were loosed and soaked in tap water for 30 min to soften the
bres and to remove coir dust. Fibres were washed and soaked again for 30 min.
Washing and soaking were repeated three times. Fibres were then straightened
manually and combed with a steel comb. To accelerate drying process, wet long -
bres were put in an oven at 30 C for 1012 h where for the most part moisture was
removed. The bres were then completely dried in the open air, combed again and
nally cut into the required length with a guillotine. It may be noted that the pre-
cut bres are also commercially available at relatively high cost, as these are pre-
pared for special purposes like brushes, mats etc. This cost can be reduced if bres
are mechanically prepared at large scales.
3.2. Mix design
For plain concrete, the mix design ratio for cement, sand and aggregates was 1,
2 and 2, respectively with water cement (W/C) ratio of 0.48. The mix design for
CFRC was the same as that of plain concrete, except that (1) more water was added
(stepwise to avoid bleeding) because of bre addition to make CFRC workable and
(2) different lengths and contents of bres were added and the same amount of
aggregates was deducted from the total mass of aggregates. All materials were
taken by mass of cement. It is well known that the W/C ratio has an inuence on
properties of concrete, but compaction is also an important factor. The increased
W/C ratios for CFRC were to ensure its proper compaction with workable mix so
that the good strength could be achieved. The obtained properties of CFRC with
respective W/C ratio can be taken as optimum one, because any addition of water
will cause bleeding, ultimately reducing its strength in hardened state. Whereas,
reduced W/C ratio can lead to improper compaction, again resulting in less
strength.
3.3. Casting procedure
A pan type concrete mixer was used in preparing plain concrete. All materials
were put in the mixer pan along with the water, and the mixer was rotated for three
minutes. The slump test was 50 mm.
For preparing CFRC, a layer of coconut bres was spread in the pan, followed by
spreading of aggregates, sand and cement. The rst layer of bres was hidden under
the dry concrete materials with the help of a spade. Then, another layer of coconut
bres followed by layers of aggregates, sand and cement was spread. This process is
repeated until the rest materials were put into the mixer pan. Approximately, three
quarters of the water (according to a water cement ratio of 0.48 which was the
same as that of plain concrete) was added, and the mixer was rotated for 2 min.
Then the remaining water was added and the mixer was again rotated for 2 min.
All CFRCs were not workable at this stage, so more water was added in small
 M. Ali et al. / Construction and Building Materials 30 (2012) 814825 817

(a) 0.7 2.5 cm 5.0 cm (b) 0.7 1% 2% 3%

7.5 cm PC 5% PC
0.65 0.65

W/C ratio

W/C ratio
0.6 0.6

0.55 0.55

0.5 0.5

0.45 0.45
1% 2% 3% 5% 2.5 cm 5 cm 7.5 cm
Fig. 1. Effect of bre (a) content and (b) length on water cement ratio.

(a) 100 2.5 cm 5.0 cm (b) 100 1% 2% 3%

7.5 cm PC 5% PC
Slump (mm)

Slump (mm)
70 70

40 40

10 10
1% 2% 3% 5% 2.5 cm 5 cm 7.5 cm
Fig. 2. Inuence of bre (a) content and (b) length on slump.

A, B and C (also D, E and F for cylinders splitting tensile strength testing) along
with labels depicted the mark of each specimen. All specimens were white washed
Table 2 before testing to enable a clear identication of cracks.
Specimens labelling scheme.

Fibres (%)a Fibres length 0 cm 2.5 cm 5 cm 7.5 cm 3.5. Testing procedure

Symbol O 1 2 3
0 O OO
1 A A1 A2
2 B B1 B2
3 C C1 C2
5 D D1 D2
a
By mass of cement.
increments to make the CFRC workable. The mixer was rotated for one minute after
each increment of water. The water cement (W/C) ratio of CFRC varied from 0.49 to
0.62. It was to make sure that there should not be any bleeding. Finally, the mixer
was rotated for three minutes to get CFRC well mix.
The effect of bre content and length on W/C ratio of CFRC is shown in Fig. 1. It
can be observed that increasing bre content or length results in an increased W/C
ratio. The W/C ratio of all CFRCs was more than that of PC.
A slump test for PC and CFRC was always performed before pouring it into
moulds. The slumps for CFRCs were 1040 mm, but CFRC was workable inspite of
this low slump. The slump is usually decreased with increased bre content. The
slump of CFRC with 5 cm long bres increased as compared to that with 2.5 cm long
bres for all considered bre contents. The slump decreased when the bre length
increased from 5 to 7.5 cm. In Fig. 2, the effect of bre content and length on slump
is shown. The slump of all CFRCs was less than that of PC.
CFRC was poured into the moulds and the moulds were lifted up to a height of
approximately 200300 mm and then dropped to the oor for self compaction of
the bre concrete and to remove air voids from CFRC. All specimens were cured
for 28 days before testing.
3.4. Specimens
Cylinders 100 mm in diameter and 200 mm in height and beamlets 100 mm
wide, 100 mm deep and 500 mm long were prepared for PC and CFRC. Beams with
the dimensions of 100 mm width, 100 mm depth and 915 mm length, were pre-
pared only for CFRC, because PC beams broke during demoulding. Cylinders and
beamlets were used for material properties while beams were used to determine
the fundamental frequency, damping ratio and dynamic modulus of elasticity. A
set of three samples for each particular test was produced. A total of 6 cylinders,
3 beamlets and 3 beams were prepared for one combination of a particular length
and bre content. Table 2 shows the specimens labelling scheme. In total 72 cylin-
ders, 36 beamlets and 11 beams were tested.
3.5.1. Cylinder and beamlet tests
All cylinders were tested in a compression testing machine to determine static
A3
modulus of elasticity Estatic, compressive strength r, corresponding strain e, com-
B3
pressive toughness Tc and splitting tensile strength STS. Each cylinder was capped
C3
with plaster of Paris for uniform distribution of load before testing of the Estatic, r
and Tc.
All beamlets were tested in a universal testing machine of capacity 100 kN
using 4-point loads to obtain modulus of rupture MOR, corresponding deection
D, exural toughness Tf and cracking load PCrack. Cracking load is the load taken
by bres and part of concrete after the rst visible crack is produced.
3.5.2. Beam tests
The experimental set up for testing beams is shown in Fig. 3. A small impact load
PMax-impact was applied three times at mid-span of the beam with the help of a cal-
ibrated hammer. The response was recorded by accelerometers, located near to
mid-span (Fig. 3a). Then the same beam was put under a static load PMax-static of
1 kN in the universal testing machine. Deection was noted using a linear variable
differential transformer (LVDT), and Fig. 4 shows a typical loaddisplacement
curves. Again, a small impact load was applied three times and the response was re-
corded. The static load was increased by 1 kN, followed by the impact load for
recording response. This procedure was repeated until the rst crack of beam. The
static load before producing the rst crack was taken as the reference for the just
before crack stage. Note that the impact load was applied three times to take the
average of resulting three values of a particular dynamic property. The magnitude
of impact load was kept small so that no additional damage was produced since
the goal was to identify the fundamental frequency and damping at different dam-
age stages. Four stages were considered: (i) Uncracked beam [S1], (ii) just before
cracking [S2], (iii) cracked beam [S3] and (iv) after cracks occurred following 23 cy-
cles of static load [S4a, S4b and S4c]. Crack development is shown in Fig. 5. Each cy-
cle of loading consists of applying a static load on the cracked beam up to a certain
deection and then releasing the load for measuring its dynamic properties.
4. Mechanical properties
4.1. Static modulus of elasticity Estatic
Estatic is calculated as the ratio of stress change to strain change
in the elastic range. Stressstrain curves of PC and CFRC with 5%
and 5 cm long bres are shown in Fig. 6a. Stressstrain relationship
818 M. Ali et al. / Construction and Building Materials 30 (2012) 814825

Fig. 3. Experimental set up for dynamic tests (a) applying hit with calibrated hammer at mid-span and (b) introducing damage by four-point static loading.

5 At cracking 1.0 After

Cycle 1 [S4a]
4 [S3] cracks
Load (kN)

Load (kN)
3
0.5 Cycle 2 [S4b]
2 Just before
crack [S2]
1 Cycle 3 [S4c]
0 0.0
0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 0 2 4 6 8 10
Displacement (mm) Displacement (mm)

Fig. 4. Typical load displacement curves at different damage stages of CFRC beams.

At cracking [S3] After crack - cycle 1 [S4a] After crack - cycle 2 [S4b]

Fig. 5. Crack development.

for each sample shows the average of strain readings taken by two values can be taken from Table 3. The percentage error in Estatic with
LVDTs attached to the specimens. Eq. (1) is less than one percent (Table 5).
Crushed PC and CFRC cylinder specimens with bre content 5%
and 5 cm long bres for determining Estatic and r are shown in
4.2. Compressive strength r
Fig. 6b. It can be noted that the spalling of concrete is observed
in case of PC cylinders, whereas only crack are produced for CFRC
The maximum stress value of stressstrain curves is taken as
cylinders.
compressive strength r. Fig. 8 shows the inuence of bre content
Fig. 7 shows the inuence of bre content and length on Estatic.
and length on r. The straight line is r of PC. r decreased with high-
The solid straight line is Estatic of PC. Estatic of CFRCs decreased with
er bre content, however it rst increased and then decreased with
increasing bre content and length. However, Estatic of CFRC having
longer bres. Because of bres, r can increase up to 24%. Compared
2.5 cm long bres with increasing bre contents showed a differ-
to that of PC, in most cases, r increases. Only with 7.5 cm long -
ent trend, i.e. it rst increased and then decreased (Fig. 7a), and
bres having 2% or 3% bre content, r is less than that of PC. This
these values were higher than that of PC. Compared to PC value,
may be caused by creation of air voids because of long bres with
an addition of bres caused about 15% increase or decrease of Estatic
relatively high bre content.
of CFRC.
The following simple equation is developed for estimating static
modulus of elasticity in GPa: 4.3. Compressive toughness Tc

Estatic X s Y s c Z s c2 1
Tc is calculated as the total area under the stressstrain curve.
where c is bre content parameter of the values of 0, 1, 2, 3 or 5 and Other researchers have taken it as area after the maximum stress
Xs, Ys and Zs are constants corresponding to bre length Lf. The up to 1% strain [34]. Fig. 9 shows the effect of bre content and
 M. Ali et al. / Construction and Building Materials 30 (2012) 814825 819

40

Stress (MPa)
30

20
CFRC
10
PC
0
0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0
Strain (%)
(a) Stress-strain curves for Estatic (b) Tested cylinders for Estatic and

Fig. 6. Compressive test.

(a) 45 2.5 cm 5.0 cm (b) 45 1% 2% 3%

7.5 cm PC 5% PC
40 40
E static (GPa)

E static (GPa)
35 35

30 30

25 25
1% 2% 3% 5% 2.5 cm 5 cm 7.5 cm
Fig. 7. Inuence of bre (a) content and (b) length on static modulus of elasticity Estatic.

Fig. 11 shows the inuence of bre content and length on STS of

Table 3
Constants for static modulus of elasticity Estatic. CFRC. The solid straight line is STS of PC. STS decreases with higher
bre content, however it rst increases and then slightly reduces
Fibre length Constants
with increasing bre length. In the case of 1% long bres, STS is
Lf Xs Ys Zs kept on increasing with the length of bre (Fig. 11b).
33 0 0 Compared to the STS of PC, an addition of bres can increase or
2.5 32.6 2.2 0.37 decrease the splitting tensile strength up to 11%.
5 34 1 0
7.5 33 3.6 0.66
4.5. Modulus of rupture MOR

Fig. 12a displays the loaddisplacement curves of PC and CFRC

Table 4
Constants for dynamic modulus of elasticity Edynamic.
Fibre length Constants
Lf Xd
2.5 39.2
5 37
7.5 29.7
length on Tc. The solid straight line indicates Tc of PC. Compressive
toughness increased with higher bre content. CFRC with 5% bre
content and 5 cm long bres has the highest toughness of 0.32
MPa.
4.4. Splitting tensile strength STS
Load-time histories, obtained during STS tests of PC and CFRC
with 5% and 5 cm long bres, are shown in Fig. 10a. The maximum
load from these curves is taken for the calculation of STS. PC cylin-
ders were broken into two halves at maximum load, while CFRC
cylinders were held together after cracks and even when the test
was continued up to more than 800 s for all CFRC cylinders in order
to observe the post peak load behaviour. The two pieces were held
together up to the end of the test. One of the tested PC and CFRC
cylinder specimens are shown in Fig. 10b.
with 5% and 5 cm long bres. The maximum load from these
curves is taken for the calculation of MOR.
PC beams were broken into two pieces at maximum load
Yd Zd (Fig. 12b). However, CFRC beams were held together even after
0 0.28
maximum load (Fig. 12c). Fig. 12d shows the cross-section of a
2.6 0.14 CFRC beam. CFRC beams were intentionally broken into two halves
2.4 0.86 to observe bre failure. Two types of bre failure were observed:
(i) bre breaking and (ii) bre pull-out. More pull-out bres were
observed with higher bre content, whereas this pull-out was de-
creased as expected with increasing bre length.
Fig. 13 displays the inuence of bre content and length on
MOR. The solid line is MOR of PC. With higher bre content and
longer bre MOR increases. However, MOR of PC beams is mostly
higher than that of CFRC beams. Compared to PC value MOR of
CFRC with 5% bre content and 5 cm long bres increased slightly
up to 4%.
4.6. Flexural toughness
Flexural toughness is measured as the total toughness index
(TTI). It is the ratio of area under loaddisplacement curve up to
maximum deection to the area under curve up to rst-crack load.
In Fig. 12a it is the ratio of area under curve up to 18 mm deection
to area under curve up to 1.5 mm deection. Usually, toughness in-
dex is taken as the area under the curve up to 3, 5.5 or 10.5 times
820 M. Ali et al. / Construction and Building Materials 30 (2012) 814825

(a) 50 2.5 cm 5.0 cm (b) 50 1% 2% 3%

7.5 cm PC 5% PC
45 45

(MPa)

(MPa)
40 40

35 35

30 30
1% 2% 3% 5% 2.5 cm 5 cm 7.5 cm
Fig. 8. Inuence of bre (a) content and (b) length on compressive strength r.

(a) 0.4 2.5 cm 5.0 cm (b) 0.4 1% 2% 3%

7.5 cm PC 5% PC
0.35 0.35
Tc (MPa)

Tc (MPa)
0.3 0.3

0.25 0.25

0.2 0.2
1% 2% 3% 5% 2.5 cm 5 cm 7.5 cm

Fig. 9. Inuence of bre (a) content and (b) length on compressive toughness Tc.

Fig. 10. Splitting test.

(a) 5 2.5 cm 5.0 cm (b) 5 1% 2% 3%

7.5 cm PC 5% PC
4.5 4.5
STS (MPa)

STS (MPa)

4 4

3.5 3.5

3 3
1% 2% 3% 5% 2.5 cm 5 cm 7.5 cm
Fig. 11. Inuence of bre (a) content and (b) length on splitting tensile strength STS.

the rst-crack deection to area under curve at rst-crack deec-
tion, and they are donated as I5, I10 and I15, respectively [35].
Fig. 14 shows the effect of bre content and length on TTI. The
solid straight line is TTI of PC. TTI increases with higher bre con-
tent (Fig. 14a). As far as bre length is concerned for bre content
of 1%, 2% and 3%, TTI increases a little when bre length changes
from 2.5 to 5 cm and then it decreases slightly when bre length
increases to 7.5 cm (Fig. 14b). The possible reason can be explained
as follows: (i) when bre length is 2.5 cm, more bres are available
for bridging the crack, however a shorter bre embedment results
in pull-out of bres; (ii) when bre length is 5 cm, relatively less
number of bres is available but sufcient embedment length is
there to hold the cracks. This results in a higher TTI as compared
to that with 2.5 cm long bres; (iii) when bre length is 7.5 cm,
 M. Ali et al. / Construction and Building Materials 30 (2012) 814825 821

Table 5
Comparison of modulus of elasticity.

Concrete Fibre content (%) Modulus of elasticity (GPa)

Edynamic Estatic % Difference (A and D)
Experimental Eq. (1) % Difference (A and B) Experimental Eq. (2) % Difference (D and E)
A B C D E F
PC 33.10 33.00 0.30
CFRC (2.5 cm) 1 38.56 38.92 0.94 35.85 35.94 0.25 7.0
2 38.80 38.08 1.86 37.85 37.56 0.77 2.5
3 35.96 36.68 1.99 37.55 37.86 0.83 4.4
5 32.12 32.2 0.25 34.32 34.50 0.52 6.8
CFRC (5 cm) 1 34.46 34.54 0.24 32.94 33.00 0.18 4.4
2 32.38 32.36 0.05 32.15 32.00 0.47 0.7
3 30.31 30.46 0.50 31.02 31.00 0.06 2.3
5 27.37 27.5 0.47 29.28 29.00 0.96 7.0
CFRC (7.5 cm) 1 31.25 31.24 0.05 30.80 30.77 0.10 1.5
2 31.11 31.06 0.15 29.69 29.68 0.03 4.6
3 29.24 29.16 0.26 29.31 29.33 0.07 0.3

12
Load (kN)

4
CFRC
PC
0
0 5 10 15 20
Displacement (mm)

(a) Load-displacement curves for MOR (b) Tested PC beam

(c) Tested CFRC beam (d) Cross-section of a tested CFRC beam

Fig. 12. Beamlet test.

(a) 5 2.5 cm 5.0 cm (b) 5 1% 2% 3%

7.5 cm PC 5% PC
4.5 4.5
MOR (MPa)

MOR (MPa)

4 4

3.5 3.5

3 3
1% 2% 3% 5% 2.5 cm 5 cm 7.5 cm
Fig. 13. Inuence of bre (a) content and (b) length on modulus of rupture MOR.

number of bres are further reduced resulting in a lower TTI as 4.7. Density
compared to that with 5 cm long bres.
CFRC with 5% bre content and 5 cm long bres has the highest Fig. 15 shows the effect of bre content and length on the
toughness index of 10.1. density of CFRC. The solid straight line indicates the PC density.
822 M. Ali et al. / Construction and Building Materials 30 (2012) 814825

(a) 12 2.5 cm 5.0 cm (b) 12 1% 2% 3%

7.5 cm PC 5% PC
9 9

TTI (-)

TTI (-)
6 6

3 3

0 0
1% 2% 3% 5% 2.5 cm 5 cm 7.5 cm

Fig. 14. Inuence of bre (a) content and (b) length on total toughness index TTI.

(a) 2400 2.5 cm 5.0 cm (b) 2400 1% 2% 3%

7.5 cm PC 5% PC
Density (kg/m3)

Density (kg/m3)
2350 2350

2300 2300

2250 2250

2200 2200
1% 2% 3% 5% 2.5 cm 5 cm 7.5 cm
Fig. 15. Inuence of bre (a) content and (b) length on density.

As expected, the density of CFRC decreased with higher bre con- and cracked stage as compared to that of CFRC beams with bre
tent and increased with shorter bre length. In general, the density contents of 1% and 2%.
of CFRC decreased up to 4% as compared to that of PC. A smaller The effect of bre content and length on the dynamic properties
density is signicant since less inertia forces will be activated in of CFRC beams before and after cracks is shown in Fig. 18. As ex-
earthquakes and thus smaller structural dimension is required to pected, compared to the properties at a damaged stage, the bre
withstand the reduced earthquake impact. effect on the dynamic properties before damage is not so pro-
nounced. However, after cracking n increases and f decreases
considerably.
5. Dynamic properties

5.1. Damping ratio n and fundamental frequency f 5.2. Dynamic modulus of elasticity Edynamic

Four damage stages were considered: (i) uncracked beam [S1], Fundamental frequency is used to dene the actual beam dy-
(ii) just before cracking [S2], (iii) cracked beam [S3] and (iv) after namic Youngs modulus Edynamic (Zheng et al. [33]). Fig. 19 shows
cracks occurred following some cycles of static load [S4a, S4b a comparison of Edynamic of CFRC for considered parameters. It de-
and S4c]. Typical recorded acceleration time-histories at stages creases with increasing bre content and length.
S1, S3 and S4b are shown in Fig. 16. The following empirical equation is developed to predict dy-
A logarithmic decrement is used for calculating the damping ra- namic modulus of elasticity in GPa:
tio of simply supported CFRC beams. f is calculated from the period
of the recorded acceleration time histories. Edynamic X d Y d c Z d c2 2
n of CFRC beams increased and f decreased with the formation
of cracks. The effect of bre content on n and f is displayed in where c is bre content (0, 1, 2, 3 or 5) and Xd, Yd and Zd are con-
Fig. 17 for CFRC beams having a bre length of 7.5 cm at different stants corresponding to bre length Lf. The values are given in Ta-
damage stages. CFRC beam with 3% bre content has the highest ble 4. The percentage error in Edynamic with Eq. (2) is less than 2%
damping and the lowest fundamental frequency in an uncracked (Table 5).

1 1
acceleration (g)

1
acceleration (g)
acceleration (g)

Vertical
Vertical
Vertical

0 0 0

-1 -1 -1
0 0.1 0.2 0 0.1 0.2 0 0.1 0.2
Time (sec) Time (sec) Time (sec)
(a) Uncracked beam [S1] (b) Cracked beam [S3] (c) After crack - cycle 2 [S4b]

Fig. 16. Typical recorded acceleration time histories of CFRC beam.

 M. Ali et al. / Construction and Building Materials 30 (2012) 814825 823

20 150 1% 2% 3%

Fundamental frequency (Hz)

1% 2% 3%

Damping ratio (%)

15
100
10
50
5

0 0
S1 S2 S3 S4a S4b S4c S4d S1 S2 S3 S4a S4b S4c S4d
(a) Damping ratio (b) Fundamental frequency

Fig. 17. Effect of bre content on dynamic properties of CFRC beam with 7.5 cm long bres at different damage stages.

(a) (b)
18 2.5 cm 5.0 cm 18 1% 2%
7.5 cm
(uncracked beam)

3% 5%
15 15
Damping ratio

12 12
(%)

(%)
9 9

6 6

3 3
1% 2% 3% 5% 2.5 cm 5 cm 7.5 cm

18 2.5 cm 5.0 cm 18 1% 2%
7.5 cm 3% 5%
(cracked beam)

15 15
Damping ratio

12 12
(%)

(%)

9 9

6 6

3 3
1% 2% 3% 5% 2.5 cm 5 cm 7.5 cm

175 2.5 cm 5.0 cm 175

Fundamental frequency

1% 2%
7.5 cm
(uncracked beam)

3% 5%
150 150
f (Hz)

f (Hz)

125 125

100 100

75 75
1% 2% 3% 5% 2.5 cm 5 cm 7.5 cm

175 2.5 cm 5.0 cm 175

Fundamental frequency

1% 2%
7.5 cm 3% 5%
(cracked beam)

150 150
f (Hz)

f (Hz)

125 125

100 100

75 75
1% 2% 3% 5% 2.5 cm 5 cm 7.5 cm
Fibre content Fibre length
Fig. 18. Inuence of bre (a) content and (b) length on dynamic properties of CFRC beams.
824 M. Ali et al. / Construction and Building Materials 30 (2012) 814825

(a) 45 2.5 cm 5.0 cm (b) 45 1% 2%

7.5 cm 3% 5%

E dynamic (GPa)

E dynamic (GPa)
40 40

35 35

30 30

25 25
1% 2% 3% 5% 2.5 cm 5 cm 7.5 cm

Fig. 19. Inuence of bre (a) content and (b) length on dynamic modulus of elasticity Edynamic.

Table 6
Consequence of CFRC for mechanical properties.

Concrete type Estatic (GPa) r (MPa) STS (MPa) MOR (MPa) Density (kg/m3) Tc (MPa) TTI ()
PC 33.1 34.7 3.82 4.34 2338 0.265 1
CFRCs with minimum values 29.38 (5%, 5 cm) 31.3 (3%, 7.5 cm) 3.42 (5%, 2.5 cm) 3.41 (1%, 2.5 cm) 2242 (5%, 5 cm) 0.23 (1%, 5 cm) 3.21 (1%, 2.5 cm)
CFRCs With maximum values 37.8 (2%, 2.5 cm) 43.2 (1%, 5 cm) 4.27 (1%, 7.5 cm) 4.51 (3%, 7.5 cm) 2298 (1%, 2.5 cm) 0.32 (5%, 5 cm) 10.1 (5%, 5 cm)
Recommended CFRC 29.38 36.1 3.74 4.43 2242 0.32 10.1
(5% bre content, 5 cm long bres)

Table 7
Consequence of CFRC for dynamic properties.

Concrete type Uncracked CFRC beams Cracked CFRC beams Edynamic (GPa) Estatic (GPa)
n (%) f (Hz) n (%) f (Hz)
PC 33.1
CFRCs with minimum values 2.5 (1%, 2.5 cm) 109.3 (5%, 5 cm) 5.8 (1%, 2.5 cm) 84.3 (5%, 5 cm) 27.4 (5%, 5.0 cm) 29.3 (5%, 5 cm)
CFRCs with maximum values 6.9 (5%, 5 cm) 145.2 (1%, 2.5 cm) 14.1 (5%, 5 cm) 120.4 (1%, 2.5 cm) 38.8 (2%, 2.5 cm) 37.9 (2%, 2.5 cm)
Recommended CFRC 6.9 109.3 14.1 84 27.4 29.3
(5% bre content and 5 cm long bres)

6. CFRC with best overall properties
Tables 6 and 7 summarise all static and dynamic results, respec-
tively. The maximum values of different properties are generated
with different combinations of bre lengths and contents as can
be observed from the tables. Since the CFRC is prepared with a par-
ticular bre length and content, therefore that combination for
CFRC should be selected, for which most properties are better than
the plain concrete and the CFRC with other bre lengths and con-
tents. From the obtained results, CFRC with bres length of 5 cm
and 5% bre content has the best overall properties. By using bres
in concrete the compressive strength, compressive toughness,
modulus of rupture and total toughness index can be increased
from 34.7 MPa, 0.265 MPa, 4.34 MPa and 1 to 36.1 MPa,
0.32 MPa, 4.43 MPa and 10.1, respectively. It also has the highest
damping. At damaged stage the damping is approximately more
than twice than that in uncracked stage.
7. Conclusions
Experiments have been performed to investigate the mechani-
cal and dynamic properties of coconut bre reinforced concrete
(CFRC). The mechanical properties are static modulus of elasticity
Estatic, compressive strength r, compressive toughness Tc, splitting
tensile strength STS, modulus of rupture MOR, total toughness in-
dex TTI and density. These properties are also compared with those
of plain concrete. The dynamic properties are damping ratio n, fun-
damental frequency f and dynamic modulus of elasticity Edynamic of
CFRC beams. The considered bre lengths are 2.5, 5 and 7.5 cm and
the bre contents are 1%, 2% and 3% for all bre lengths, and 5% for
2.5 and 5 cm long bres. Three specimens of CFRC are tested for
each combination of bres to get reliable average results.
The static investigation reveals:
 The properties can increase or decrease depending on bre
length and content, and CFRC strengths can be greater or smal-
ler than that of plain concrete.
 The testing conrmed that coconut bres in concrete can
improve its exural toughness considerably for all considered
cases.
 The CFRC with 5 cm long bres having 5% bre content has an
increased r, Tc, MOR and TTI up to 4%, 21%, 2% and 910%, respec-
tively, and decreased Estatic, STS and density up to 6%, 2% and 3%,
respectively, as compared to that of plain concrete.
The dynamic tests show that:
 Damping of CFRC beams has, as expected, growing and the fun-
damental frequency has declining trend with increasing damage.
 The increase of bre content has resulted in a higher damping
ratio and a lower fundamental frequency. The change is more
pronounced after cracking.
 CFRC beams with 5 cm long bres have higher damping as com-
pared to those with other bre lengths. It can be clearly
observed in cracked beams.
 The static and dynamic modulus of elasticity decreases with an
increase in bre content or bre length.
 From the considered cases, CFRC with 5 cm long bres and 5%
bre content has the best overall mechanical and dynamic
properties.
 M. Ali et al. / Construction and Building Materials 30 (2012) 814825
 Only 7% difference is observed in static and dynamic modulus of
elasticity. This small difference indicates that non-destructive
modal testing may be used to determine modulus of elasticity
of built members.
It is important to note that the free vibration testing of the un-
cracked CFRC beams gives some idea of changes in material damp-
ing due to the introduction in bres, but these measurements are
for low amplitude excitations and behaviours would likely be dif-
ferent during a seismic event. Therefore, further research on con-
guration and behaviour of CFRC structures under earthquake
loading is necessary.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank all persons who helped them
throughout the research, particularly Mark Byrami, Noel Perin-
panayagam, Claudio Oyarzo-Vera and Golden Bay Cement and
Winstone Aggregates for support of this research. The careful re-
view and constructive suggestions by the anonymous reviewers
are gratefully acknowledged. The rst and last authors also wish
to thank Pakistan Higher Education Commission for supporting
the PhD study of the rst author at the University of Auckland.
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