Assessing the influence of human hair on the mechanical properties of fibred reinforced concrete matrix

For many reasons: Economic, safety, etc., improvement in the mechanical properties of concrete structures has been an interesting research undertaking. Fibred reinforced concrete has emerged as a candidate that provides useful, practical and economic approach to overcome micro-cracks and other long and short-term shortcomings associated with a concrete matrix. Identifying the weakness of a concrete structure and its associated tension zone and having plastic shrinkage provides a basis to improve the mechanical properties of concrete. This study presents a detailed assessment of the impact of using human hair fibres (HHF) for such purposes. HHF is an alternative non-degradable material, strong in tension, abundantly available at a reasonable price. Typically, when added to concrete structures, fibres help to delay cracking, control shrinkage and reduce permeability of the concrete. Our study is primarily aimed at ascertaining improvements in mechanical properties of fibred reinforced concrete matrix in terms of compressive and flexural strengths as well as cracking patterns and mode of failure. Experiments were conducted on concrete cubes with varying percentage of HHF (up to a maximum of 3%) by weight of cement. Outcomes from the experiments carried out suggest increase in different properties of FRC as the amount human hair fibre reinforcement is increased. Overall, the outcomes validate the immense potentials of using HHF as suitable supplementary material for to improve mechanical properties as well as delay crack patterns in FRC structures.