Development and cement sheet reinforced with natural fiber

Abstract

This research project has developed and produced natural fiber-reinforced cement tiles by incorporating natural fibers from para rubber leaves and torpedo grass and mixing them with cement and then compressed into a mold with dimensions of cube was 5 cm x 5 cm x 5 cm. The ratio of fiber and cement were 1:9, 2:8, and 3:7 respectively. This study used both types of natural fibers including para rubber leaves, and torpedo grass. This research found that torpedo grass mixed with cement in a ratio of 1:9 provided high quality of reinforced cement. The density of this sample was found 2.07 g/cm3. Moreover, the dry shrinkage value, and water absorption were 0.02%, 0.10%, respectively. The compressive strength was 64.25 kN or 0.23 MPa. In comparison with the standards of non-load bearing concrete blocks according to TIS 58-2530, the result shown that some experimental data are lower than criteria standard. Furthermore, the adhesives (i.e. silica) are very important for the quality of natural fiber-reinforced cement