MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF LIGHTWEIGHT PVA FIBER-REINFORCED CEMENT-BASED COMPOSITE (FRCC) WITH PLA VORONOI STRUCTURE

Abstract

Concrete is a commonly used building material in the construction industry. However, its weakness in tensile strength makes it require reinforcement to suit its purpose. There are multiple alternatives to reinforce concrete such as rebars or fiber reinforcements. Given the wide range of options, several research are on-going to find innovative ways to create better construction materials. The complex nature of how different components react in concrete makes it challenging to find a one-size fit all product. Cement is critical component in concrete used as a binder but its production is environmentally unfriendly. Therefore, researchers are finding ways to either replace or reduce it usage. Concrete being part of cement-based composite is not the only solution to building materials. There are availability of polymer and 3D printing technology that could possibly replace concrete with advance in technology. Therefore, the route to finding alternative concrete product as a building material is an on-going process. In this paper, it will focus on experimenting with lightweight PVA Fiber-Reinforced Cement-based Composite (FRCC) as a possible use in load bearing wall. The densities are altered via 3D printed Voronoi structures. Lightweight materials are preferred in the construction industry for its cost-effectiveness and weight-to-strength ratio. This justifies one of the reasons for carrying out the experiment in this paper. PVA fiber content will also be varied citing evidence from literature review that increasing fiber content to a certain extent can aid in compressive strength. Specimens of 50mm cubes will be subject to compression test according to ASTM C109 in vertical and horizontal orientation. Results arrived concluded that 0.5% and 1% PVA fiber with 67% porosity is the lightest in density and suitable to be explored for its use in load bearing wall. Additional findings also include increasing fiber content from 0.5% to 1% is effective regardless of porosities and increasing fiber content for 67% porosity might be helpful but no for other porosities. Compressive strength also decreases with decreasing density but 42% and 67% do provide some form of aid in increasing compressive strength.