Flexural Strength of Consolidated Natural Fibers for Floor Tiles

Abstract

The focus of this study is to design and develop a natural based floor tiles. The tiles are consolidated natural fibers, sand, cement and water ratio matrix medium. Consolidation involved six steps process. Banana stem and rice hull were the natural based constituents, considered abandoned biomass source. Fiber content of 15%, 20% and 25% were mixed with the sand and cement water ratio. Floor tiles are consolidated with natural fibers like rice hulls and banana stem fibers. With a size of 30.5 cm by 30.5 cm, three types of samples are considered: one with rice hull, one with banana stem and one with hybrid fibers. The study underwent three major stages which include the preparation of the raw materials, fabrication of the tiles, and testing and data analyses. A three-point bending test was performed to generate the modulus of elasticity (MOE).

Findings revealed that among the samples, the tiles with 20% particulate rice hull achieved the highest MOE with 13.05 GPa. On the other hand, the tiles with 25% particulate banana stem fibers obtained the lowest MOE of 1.2 GPa. However, the 20% particulate banana stem fibers gave favorable results but with significant difference with particulate rice hull thus, the rice hull and banana stem in particulate type were successfully consolidated into floor tiles. As a whole, findings show that the 20% proportion performs better than the pure cement sand tile. The 20% rice hull proportion shows better performance than that of 15% and 25%. The same result can be said for banana stem tiles. In hybrid conditions, the 20% hybrid, with a proportion of 50% particulate rice hull and 50% particulate banana stem show better MOE than pure cement sand tiles.