Evaluation of ductility index enhancement level of banana fibre reinforced lightweight self-compacting concrete beam

An experimental investigation was carried out to evaluate the ductility index of banana fibre reinforced lightweight self-compacting concrete (LWSCC) containing supplementary cementitious materials of rice husk ash and micro silica as ternary system. Coconut shell aggregate (CSA) was substituted at the rate of 50% as partial replacement of coarse aggregate by volume. Banana fibre was added at 0.25, 0.5, 0.75, 1, 1.25 and 1.5% by volume of concrete to develop the fibre reinforced LWSCC. The study program included to evaluate the effect of CSA and banana fibre on fresh properties, compressive strength and flexural strength of LWSCC. Reinforced concrete beams were casted with M30 grade concrete and tested under flexure using two point loading. The load-deflection curves were developed and examined. The ductility index was calculated to evaluate the ductility enhancement behaviour of banana fibre reinforced LWSCC. The test results indicated that 1.25% banana fibre added LWSCC beam had shown better performance than the other dosage level of fibres and results are compared with the LWSCC without fibre. (C) 2020 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Automated summary

The experimental investigation evaluated the ductility index of banana fibre reinforced lightweight self-compacting concrete (LWSCC), with results showing that concrete with 1.25% banana fibre performed better than other dosage levels.