Mechanical properties of coconut fiber-reinforced coral concrete

This study examined the changes in the mechanical properties of coral concrete under different coconut fiber admixtures. To accomplish this goal, the compressive strength, splitting tensile strength, flexural strength and elastic modulus properties of coral concrete blocks reinforced with coconut fibers were measured. The results showed that the addition of coconut fiber had little effect on the cube and axial compressive strengths. With increasing coconut fiber content, the flexural strength and splitting tensile strength of the concrete changed substantially, first by increasing and then by decreasing, with maximum increases of 36.0% and 12.8%, respectively; additionally, the addition of coconut fibers resulted in a failure type with some ductility. When the coconut fiber-reinforced coral concrete was 7 days old, it reached approximately 74% of its maximum strength. The addition of coconut fiber did not affect the early strength of the coral concrete mixed with seawater. When the amount of coconut fiber was no more than 3 kg/m3, the resulting concrete elastic modulus decreased only slightly from that of a similar concrete without coconut fiber, and the maximum decrease was 5.4%. The optimal dose of coconut fiber was 3 kg/m3 in this study.