Mechanical behaviour of cementitious composites reinforced with bagasse and hemp fibers

Abstract

Vegetable fibers are increasingly used in composites because of their good mechanical properties and low carbon footprint; composites made with vegetable fibers are considered greener and have mechanical and thermal applications. The effect of hemp and sugarcane bagasse fibers in the flexural behavior of cementitious matrix composites was studied. The overall behavior of the composite was studied through the contribution of its components. Tensile properties of the fibers were tested to determinate their potential as reinforcement material. Pull-out tests were carried out to assess the fiber-matrix interaction. In the pull-out assays, more than a third of the bagasse fibers were broken with very small displacements, while all the hemp fibers were completely pulled out. The flexural behavior of the composite was evaluated by three-point flexure test on notched beams. Bagasse fiber increased flexural strength while hemp fibers increased the composite toughness. The fibers pull-out tests resulted useful to predict the composite flexural behavior.