Effect of Corn Stover Ash Reinforced with Cabuya Fiber on the Mechanical Properties of Concrete

Abstract

Currently, organic wastes are an environmental problem generating pollution, bad odors and accumulation of residues in northern Peru, among these products are corn stover and cabuya, predominant materials in the area. Therefore, this research focuses on determining the effect of optimum temperature and optimum percentage of corn stover ash (CSA) reinforced with different proportions of cabuya fiber (CF) on the mechanical properties of concrete. Two conventional designs of standard concrete called A and B (21 and 28 MPa) were made, to these designs were added percentages of CSA in 7%, 10%, 12% and 15% by substitution of the weight of cement to determine the optimum percentage, which was reinforced with percentages of cabuya fiber in 0.5%, 1%, 1.5% and 2% in volume of the concrete. The results showed that the optimum mix was A/B+7CSA, evidencing an improvement in compressive strength of 2.7% as opposed to the optimum CSA +CF hybrid mix, where it was observed that its mechanical properties of compressive strength, tensile strength, flexural strength and static modulus of elasticity decreased to 15.8%, 11.30%, 5.14% and 10.5%, respectively. It is concluded that corn stover ash reinforced with cabuya fiber does not positively influence the mechanical properties of concrete; however, it is an environmentally sustainable alternative to be used in non-structural concrete.