Abstract:

Since the ancient times, many researches and advancements were carried to enhance the physical and mechanical properties of concrete. Since concrete is weak in tension hence some measures must be adopted to overcome this deficiency. Human hair is generally strong in tension; hence it can be used as a fibre reinforcement material. A Fibre is a small piece of reinforcing material possessing certain characteristics properties. Addition of fibres to concrete influences its mechanical properties which significantly depend on the type and percentage of fibre. The properties of fibre reinforced concrete is influenced mainly by the physical and mechanical properties of the fibre. A good fibre should have good adhesion within the matrix and adaptable elasticity modulus. It must be compatible with the binder, which shouldn’t be attacked or destroyed in the long term. It should be short, fine and flexible to permit mixing, transporting and placing and also strong enough to withstand the mixing process. The amount of fibres added to a concrete mix is measured as a percentage of the total volume of the composite (concrete and fibres) termed as volume fraction (Vf). Vf typically ranges from 0.1 to 3%. Also it can be taken as percentage by weight of cement that is used in preparing concrete. The increase in the volume of fibres, increase approximately linearly, the tensile strength and toughness of the composite. But use of higher percentage of fibre is likely to cause segregation and harshness of concrete and mortar. One of the differences between conventional reinforcement and fibre reinforcement is that in conventional reinforcement, bars are oriented in the direction desired while fibres are randomly oriented. It was observed that the fibres aligned parallel to the applied load offered more tensile strength and toughness than randomly distributed or perpendicular fibres. The modulus of elasticity of matrix must be much lower than that of fibre for efficient stress transfer. The Interfacial bond between the matrix and the fibre also determine the effectiveness of stress transfer, from the matrix to the fibre. A good bond is essential for improving tensile strength of the composites. Biological fibres have recently become eye-catching to researchers, engineers and scientists as an alternative reinforcement for FRP ( fiber reinforced polymer ) composites, due to their low cost, fairly good mechanical poperties and high aspect strength. One of the immaculate biological fibers is the human hair, on the whole, three to four tons of human hair fibers are wasted in India annually; hence they pose an environmental challenge. In order to find commercial application the wasted human hair is nowadays finding its use in the field of science. Human hair is basically a nano-composite biological fiber with well characterized microstructures. Different techniques and technologies have been employed to study the different characteristics of the human hair to prove it a biological composite fiber . The main component of hair is keratin which is rough, insoluble and incredibly strong. An important aspect is that a single strand of hair can withstand the load of 100-150 grams. Hair is elastic and it is capable of regaining its original position on removal of the deformation load. Therefore, the present paper reports the current scenario of human hair as biological composite fiber. Fibre-reinforced concrete (FRC) is concrete containing fibrous material which increases its structural integrity. It contains short discrete fibres that are uniformly distributed and randomly oriented. Fibres includes steel fibres, glass fibers, synthetic fibers and natural fibers – each of which lends varying properties to the concrete. In addition, the character of fibre-reinforced concrete changes with varying concretes, fibre materials, geometries, distribution, orientation, and densities. Fibres are usually used in concrete to control cracking due to plastic shrinkage and to drying shrinkage. They also reduce the permeability of concrete and thus reduce bleeding of water. Some types of fibres produce greater impact, abrasion, and shatter–resistance in concrete. Present work has been undertaken to study the effect of human hair on plain cement concrete of M-30 grade on the basis of its mechanical properties which include compressive strength and also to reduce environmental problems. Also addition of human hair fibres enhances the binding properties, micro cracking control imparts ductility and also increases spalling resistance. Fibres are usually used in concrete to control plastic shrinkage and dry shrinkage cracking and also to lower the permeability of concrete. Also, very fine hair fibres can be used for the partial replacement of cement in concrete. By testing we found that there is an increment in the various properties and strength of concrete by the addition of human hair as fibre reinforcement. Experiments were conducted on Concrete cubes, beams and cylinders of standard sizes with addition of various percentages of Human Hair fibre i.e., 1%, 2% and 3% by weight of cement and results were compared with those of plain cement concrete of M-30 grade tested for their mechanical properties. .