Mechanical Properties of Hybrid PVA–Natural Curaua Fiber Composites
Bartosz Żukowski, Yasmim Gabriela dos Santos Mendonça, Igor José Koury Tavares, Romildo Dias Tolêdo Filho
Abstract
This work presents the experimental study of hybrid cement-based composites with polyvinyl alcohol fiber (PVA) and alkali-treated, short, natural curaua fiber. The objective of this research is to develop composites reinforced with PVA and curaua fiber to present strain-hardening behavior with average crack width control. To achieve this objective, three groups of composites were investigated. The first group had only PVA fiber in volumes of 0.5, 1, and 2%. The composite with 2% PVA fiber was the only one with strain-hardening and crack width control. The second group had 0.5% PVA fiber and volume fractions of 2, 2.5, and 3% curaua fiber, and presented only deflection-hardening behavior. The third group had 1% PVA and volumes of 1, 1.5, and 2% curaua fiber, and presented strain-hardening behavior. Based on the results, the hybrid combination of 1% PVA and 1.5% curaua was the optimal mixture as it presented strain-hardening behavior and crack width control, with a lower volume of synthetic PVA fiber. Additionally, compressive strength and mix workability were calculated for the investigated composites for comparison.