Utilised of Coconut Fibre in Green Concrete

Abstract

The agricultural industry in Malaysia is rapidly developing, particularly in the cultivation of coconut trees, which is a key contributor to the Malaysian economy. Coconuts are widely used in making cakes, drinks, etc. Disposing of coconut coir on land, considered waste, will pollute the environment. Therefore, this study was carried out to produce new sustainable concrete. The objective is to assess concrete's workability and compressive strength using coconut fibre as an additive ingredient in a new green concrete product. The mass of cement determined the proportion of coconut fibre material. The grade 40 suitable for footing and paving slabs structure for car parks was determined by applying the mix design guidelines for normal concrete proposed by the Building Research Establishment in the United Kingdom. A slump test was carried out immediately after the mixing of fresh concrete. 24 concrete specimens, each measuring 150x150x150mm, were prepared. The compressive strength of the specimens was evaluated at 7 and 28 days. The finding discloses that the workability of mixed concrete is higher when the coconut fibre is increased.  The optimum compressive strength was examined with a 0.6% additive of coconut fibre in concrete. This study concluded that coconut fibre can potentially be utilized as an additive in concrete to develop environmentally green concrete.