Journal of Emerging Trends in Engineering and Applied Sciences: Research Areas

Article Title: Flexural Characteristics and Potentials of Oil Palm Stem as Reinforcement in Concrete Beams
by Olatokunboh Ofuyatan and Festus Olutoge

Abstract:
This paper examined the flexural characteristics and potentials of oil palm stem (OPS) as reinforcement in concrete beams. The soaring cost of steel used in building construction has been a source of concern to governments and private developers in most developing countries. Utilising OPS in concrete production not only solves the problem of disposing this solid waste but helps conserve natural resources. A total of 30 fiber strip reinforced concrete beams of size 150 x 150 x 750 mm were cast. The concrete beams were reinforced with different 10mm x 20mm oil palm fiber strips resulting in varying percentages of reinforcement. The three-point bending test was adopted to assess cracking, deflection and flexural strength of the beam at curing ages of 7, 14, 21 and 28 days. Analysis of variance was used to analyse the data at significance level p=0.05. The result showed that there was an increase in the load carrying capacity of fiber reinforced beams with increase in the percentages respectively. Vertical cracks and shear cracks were observed at the center and edges of the beams respectively. The ultimate failure load increased from 58.8kN to 89.7 kN as the number of fiber strips increased from 2 to 6 with an optimum value of 3%. Strip volume had significant effects on the flexural and compressive strengths of reinforced concrete samples. Structural performance of oil palm strips as reinforcement in concrete was less than that of steel. However, it could still be considered for minor stressed structures.

Keywords: palm fiber strip, reinforced concrete, crack, flexural characteristics, natural fiber.

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