Recent studies on compressive and flexural behavior of Wheat Straw Reinforced Concrete (WSRC) showed positive signs for increasing the toughness of concrete. This ultimately will help in reducing the micro-shrinkage cracking in rigid pavements. Splitting-tensile behavior is also an important property which needs to be investigated for WSRC. The overall aim of the research program is the development of economic and durable design for new rigid pavements by using locally available natural fibres in concrete. In this work, splitting-tensile strength of WSRC is investigated experimentally. To study the influence of wheat straw for having concrete with improved properties, Plain Concrete (PC) properties are taken as reference. The proportions of cement, sand and aggregates for PC and WSRC are taken as 1, 2 and 4, respectively. Wheat straw having length of approximately one-inch and contents of 1%, 2%, and 3%, by mass of wet concrete, are used to make WSRC. Water-cement ratios for PC and WSRC are taken as 0.55 and 0.60, respectively. Discussions on splitting-tensile behavior (strength, pre-cracked/cracked energy, and toughness index) of PC and WSRC specimen are made. It is concluded that splitting-tensile toughness index of WSRC is more than that of PC. As results seem favorable, so further study focusing on optimization of materials and durability of WSRC is recommended.
The Effect of Nanoparticles Percentage on Mechanical Behavior of Silica-Epoxy Nanocomposites
