TY - JOUR
T1 - A sustainable cementitious composite reinforced with natural fibers
T2 - An experimental and numerical study
AU - Abedi, Mohammadmahdi
AU - Hassanshahi, Omid
AU - Rashiddel, Alireza
AU - Ashtari, Hamidreza
AU - Seddik Meddah, Mohammed
AU - Dias, Daniel
AU - Arjomand, M. A.
AU - Keong Choong, Kok
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors would like to acknowledge the 3SR - laboratory of Grenoble Alpes university, Tech-lab of university of Technology Sydney, and laboratory of composites material of Shahid Rajaee Teacher Training university for their support and contribution to laboratory tests. In addition, the authors wish to express their gratitude to Grenoble Alpes University, France, for their collaboration in confirming the modelling aspects of this study using the academic license of the Ansys software provided by ANSYS Inc.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 Elsevier Ltd
PY - 2023/5/1
Y1 - 2023/5/1
N2 - Eco-friendly nature, low cost, life-cycle superiority and lightweight are the key drivers pushing today's technology towards employing natural fibers as reinforcement for cementitious-based composites. The present study provides an extensive experimental and finite element analysis aiming to develop a sustainable cementitious composite reinforced with natural fibers. Different concentrations of kenaf and coconut fibers were chemically treated and incorporated into the stabilized sand and specimens were cast and compacted using a modified compaction method. The mechanical, microstructural, and durability properties of the specimens were investigated by various types of tests. A validated 3D slab track model was also developed using a finite element method, which includes all components of the railway infrastructure to assess the performances of this composite under realistic operation scenarios. The outcomes indicated that reinforcing cementitious composite with a certain amount of kenaf fiber (1.5% wt of dry sand) can significantly improve the mechanical behavior and durability performance of the composite through microstructural enhancement. This study opens proper perspectives on the immense potential of the natural fibers in order to develop sustainable, reliable and affordable cementitious composites for different infrastructures applications related to structural layers in transportation, pavements, slope protection and stabilization, embankment, and building foundation.
AB - Eco-friendly nature, low cost, life-cycle superiority and lightweight are the key drivers pushing today's technology towards employing natural fibers as reinforcement for cementitious-based composites. The present study provides an extensive experimental and finite element analysis aiming to develop a sustainable cementitious composite reinforced with natural fibers. Different concentrations of kenaf and coconut fibers were chemically treated and incorporated into the stabilized sand and specimens were cast and compacted using a modified compaction method. The mechanical, microstructural, and durability properties of the specimens were investigated by various types of tests. A validated 3D slab track model was also developed using a finite element method, which includes all components of the railway infrastructure to assess the performances of this composite under realistic operation scenarios. The outcomes indicated that reinforcing cementitious composite with a certain amount of kenaf fiber (1.5% wt of dry sand) can significantly improve the mechanical behavior and durability performance of the composite through microstructural enhancement. This study opens proper perspectives on the immense potential of the natural fibers in order to develop sustainable, reliable and affordable cementitious composites for different infrastructures applications related to structural layers in transportation, pavements, slope protection and stabilization, embankment, and building foundation.
KW - Cementitious Composite
KW - Finite Elements
KW - Infrastructure
KW - Natural Fibers
KW - Sustainability
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UR - https://www.mendeley.com/catalogue/3bfd1ed7-107d-3214-af8f-a7fd1bfc528d/
U2 - 10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2023.131093
DO - 10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2023.131093
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85152423842
SN - 0950-0618
VL - 378
JO - Construction and Building Materials
JF - Construction and Building Materials
M1 - 131093
ER -