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<doi>/ISEC.res.2017.93</doi>
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<article-title>MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF COCONUT<br/>
FIBER-REINFORCED CONCRETE</article-title>
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<author>GINO NG<sup>1</sup>, GIRUM URGESSA<sup>1</sup>, YARED SHIFFERAW<sup>2</sup>,<br/>
and HARIANTO HARDJASAPUTRA<sup>3</sup></author>

<aff><sup>1</sup>Civil, Environmental and Infrastructure Engineering, George Mason University, Fairfax, USA<br/>
<sup>2</sup>Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering, Drexel University, Philadelphia, USA<br/>
<sup>3</sup>Civil Engineering Dept, Universitas Pelita Harapan, Tangerang, Indonesia</aff>


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<abstract>
<title>ABSTRACT</title>
<p>The use of natural fibers in concrete has significantly increased in recent years as a
result of the push for sustainable construction. Coconut fibers, also known as coir
fibers, have been used as natural fibers in concrete, particularly in some parts of Asia.
This paper presents an experimental study that investigates the use of coconut fibers in
concrete. Two baseline concrete mix designs were selected based on design standards
with a water-cement ratio of 0.4 and 0.5 respectively. For each baseline mix design,
four 20 cm x 20 cm x 1 cm concrete plates were constructed by varying the percentage
of coconut fibers by weight of cement. The fiber contents studied are 0%, 0.1%,
0.175%, and 0.25%. The concrete plates were then tested to determine the mechanical
properties of the coconut fiber-reinforced concrete and comparisons were made with
the mix designs with 0% coconut fiber content. The results show that adding coconut
fibers increases the flexural strength of concrete plates. This is particularly beneficial
for low scale construction applications such as those in concrete tile production. For
both mix designs, adding 0.25% of coconut fibers increased the flexural strength of the
concrete plates by 90% when compared to concrete with no coconut fibers.</p>
<p><italic>Keywords: </italic>Coir fibers, Natural fibers, Concrete plates, Sustainable construction.</p>
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