Comparative Study of Mechanical and Microstructural Properties of Interlocking Concrete Blocks Reinforced with Chicken Feather Fiber and blend of Chicken Feather Fiber/Synthetic Hair Fibers

Concrete reinforcement with fibers is undergoing findings in order to manufacture concrete with low cost but improve mechanical and microstructural properties. Chicken feather fiber(CFF) possesses characteristics, which can improve the mechanical and microstructural properties of the concrete. Concrete is a brittle material with no tension. In this study, samples A (control sample), B1 and C1 constitute of 0%, 1% and 3% by weight of CFF while B and C constitute of 0.5% and 1.5% equal proportion of CFF and Synthetic hair fiber(SHF) respectively. Concrete with CFF and CFF/SHF composites were tested to determine water absorption (WA), thickness swelling (TS), compressive strength (CS) and splitting tensile strength (STS) between 7 to 28 days of curing. Results of WA of concrete increased after 28 days to 10.01%, 12.52% and 23.11% for samples A, B1, C1 and 11.83% and 17.67% for samples B and C respectively. Similarly, TS increased after 28 days to 0.13%, 0.22% and 0.32% for samples A, B1and C1 and for samples B and C it remains stable at 0.25%., respectively. CS of samples A and B1 increased with curing days to values of 20.66 MPa and 9.36 MPa, respectively. However, for samples C1, B and C it decreased to 3.74 MPa, 9.98 MPa and 4.29 MPa. STS of A, B1 and C1 increased with curing days with values of 13.94 MPa, 8.91 MPa and 2.26 MPa respectively while samples B and C decreased with curing days with values of 5.43 MPa and 2.39 MPa respectively, after 7 days. Results of SEM deduced that CFF improves the ductility of ICBs but increased in the proportion resulted in reduction of the STS of the concrete. Similarly, SHF offers higher CS but also serves the purpose of reduction in micro cracking and increasing structural stability.