An experimental study on the flexural performance of agro-waste cement composite boards

Worldwide, asbestos fibers utilized in fiber cement boards, have been recognized as harmful materials regarding the public health and environmental pollutions. These concerns motivate the researchers to find the appropriate alternatives to substitute the asbestos material towards the sustainability policies. In this paper, the applicability of asbestos replacement with three types of agricultural waste fibers, including bagasse, wheat and eucalyptus fibers were experimentally investigated. To this end, the flexural behaviour and microstructure of cement composite boards made by addition of 2 % and 4 % of waste agricultural fibers in combination with and without 5 % replacement of silica fume by mass of cement were evaluated. The results of this study attested the applicability of utilized waste agricultural fibers in production of cement composite boards by improving the flexural and energy absorption characteristics, more or less, depending on the type of fibers. Moreover, it is found that application of silica fume in production of cement composite boards led to an increase in flexural strength.