SEARCH KEYWORD: gouasmia
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1. Gouasmia Naoui, Merzoud Mouloud
IMPROVEMENT OF THE MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF CEMENTITIOUS BIO-COMPOSITES REINFORCED WITH GREEN BIO-FIBERS: EFFECT OF THE PRETREATMENT PARAMETERS
Abstract: The valorization of plant fibers in construction and civil engineering is crucial since the products obtained are not subject to strict quality standards. Plant waste, such as Alfa and Diss, has very significant environmental and economic impacts, since these plants are abundant, renewable, cheap, and biodegradable. On other hand, Due to their mechanical resistance and durability, cementitious materials dominate the construction market. In spite of this, they remain perfectible due to their limited deformation capacity and low tensile strength, which makes them susceptible to shrinkage cracks. In addition to pavements and roads, elements on large surfaces that crack due to shrinkage are examples of cracked elements. It is therefore important to improve the deformation capacity of cementitious materials. These composite materials, reinforced with natural fibers, make the desired material very ductile, and with a tensile strength close to the compressive strength. Vegetable fibers contain a high percentage of sugars which interact unfavorably with the cement paste. These total sugars were determined by the colorimetric method. In order to improve the interaction characteristics between the fibers and their matrices, we applied hydrothermal treatments (boiling for four hours in mains water) and chemical treatments (immersion in seawater) to the Alfa and Diss fibers. To evaluate the treatments applied to the fibers, we carried out three-point flexural strength and compression tests on the cementitious composites. The results of tests carried out on biofiber-reinforced cementitious composites showed that their ductility increased more than tenfold (the deformation rate exceeded 29% for fiber-reinforced composites immersed in seawater, and over 40% for boiled fiber-reinforced composites) than that of pure cement, which exhibits brittle behavior (the deformation rate of pure cement is less than 3%). These tests have also shown that seawater treatment proves more interesting, since it enables the highest flexural strengths to be obtained. The results of the tests carried out on the bio-fibrous cementitious composites showed that their mechanical characteristics are improved and that the seawater treatment is more efficiency, as it provides the greatest flexural strength.
Keywords: Green Fibers, Bio-composites, Ductility, Flexion
DOI: 10.24874/PES07.03.018
