Fresh & Mechanical Properties of Concrete Reinforced With Human Hair as Fibres

Abstract

Concrete made with Portland cement has certain characteristics: it is relatively strong in• compression but weak in tension and tends to be brittle. These two weaknesses have limited its use. Another fundamental weakness of concrete is that cracks start to form as soon as concrete is placed and before it has properly hardened. These cracks are major cause of weakness in concrete particularly in large onsite applications leading to subsequent fracture and failure and general lack of durability. The weakness in tension can be overcome by the use of conventional rod reinforcement and to some extent by the inclusion of a sufficient volume of certain fibers. Current studies has been undertaken to study the effect of human hair on plain cement concrete on the basis of its workability, sorptivity, tensile strength and abrasion to economize concrete and to reduce environmental problems. Experiments were conducted on concrete cubes, cylinders & beams with various percentages of human hair fibre i.e. 0%, 1%, 2%, and 3% by weight of cement using different aspect ratios i.e. 100-120,200-240and 300-360. For each combination of proportions of concrete 3 cubes, 3 cylinders and 3 beams are tested for their different properties at green stage, 7 days curing and at 28 days curing. From the results it has observed that there is an improvement in the various properties and strength of concrete by using human hair as micro fibre in cement concrete.