Experimental analysis on concrete blocks reinforced with Arundo Donax fibers.

Over the last decade, there has been a growing attention in research and development on non-conventional building materials and technologies, such as vegetable fibers (e.g., flax; hemp; jute; etc.), to be used as eco-friendly materials in a wide range of applications in civil construction. The main reasons of this interest are related to the specific properties, price and sustainability of natural fibers, which can be considered as “green” building materials. In this article, a new kind of fibers, extracted from stem of the Giant Reed Arundo donax L., has been investigated as a potential reinforcement of construction materials. These fibers, which widely grow in Mediterranean areas, but that are diffused all around the world as well, have been extracted from the outer part of plant stem. Then, some experimental concrete bricks, have been prepared with the addition of different weight percentages of vegetal fiber. To assess the mechanical properties of these bricks, tensile tests on single fiber have been performed, as well as compression tests on the whole block. Hence, the differences between concrete bricks without any fiber and those reinforced with different weight percentages of natural fiber have been analyzed, and their potential applications in bio-architecture have been assessed.