Augmentation of Coconut Fiber with Ground Granulated Blast Furnace Slag Reinforced Light Weight Aggregated Concrete: A Review

Natural fibers are environmentally friendly, cost-effective, lightweight, renewable, and have high thermal stability with corrosion resistance capabilities. The addition of natural fibers with ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS) in light weight aggregate concrete (LWAC) will be a long-term step toward improving mechanical properties and encouraging green construction. Coconut fibers are the least expensive of all-natural fibers and are widely available in a several developing countries. This study describes the impact of using coconut fibers in LWACs for sustainable construction. The effect of coconut fiber and GGBFS on the mechanical strength of LWACs including compressive strength, split tensile strength, and flexural strength, is reported. The effect of varying coconut fiber length and content on the mechanical strength of LWACs has been described, and optimum coconut fiber length and content have been reported. The current research initiative aims to increase understanding of the issues and challenges encountered during the production of coconut fiber reinforced GGBS with LWACs. In this study, it was determined that incorporating coconut fibers with GGBS can improve the strength properties of LWACs when used in shorter lengths and lower volume contents, whereas higher volume contents of coconut fibers degraded the strength properties of LWACs. Furthermore, current research on the practical applications of coconut fiber reinforced LWACs is quite limited, and more research is required in the future to determine their applications in civil engineering construction. Moreover, this review will aid in the promotion of the use of coconut fiber in the green construction of LWACs with the addition of GGBS.