Study on the Effect of Jute to the Mechanical Properties of Concrete in Bangladesh

Concrete, the prevailing construction material globally, is a composite blend comprising cement, sand, coarse aggregate, and water. Nevertheless, concrete as a structural material faces certain limitations that curb its widespread application, including brittleness, limited ductility, inadequate resistance to impact strength, fatigue, and diminished durability. Fiber reinforced concrete, blending concrete with natural fibers like jute, offers promise in overcoming these challenges, particularly due to its enhanced tension detection capabilities. This study investigates how the freshly state properties and strength of concrete are affected by jute fiber. Raw jute fibers were cut to 10 mm and 15 mm and mixed with cement, fine aggregate, and coarse aggregate in different proportions in this work with varying volumes of jute fibers (1%, 2%, 3%, 4% and 5%) and cured for 7, 14 and 28 days with 0.50 water-cement ratio. The study found that compressive strength was increased 7.77% by using 1% proportion with 10 mm length and split tensile strength was increased 15.14% by same percentage and length of jute fiber content at 28 days. However, the mechanical properties of concrete decrease by the increasing fiber content resulting in poor workability of concrete.