Wheat Fiber from a Residue to a Reinforcing Material: a Study on Wheat Fiber Reinforcement of Cementitious Matrices and Concrete

The notion of recycling and using materials from the nature is welcomed in some countries or rather required in others. In order to investigate one of the most common natural building materials; wheat fibers, as a reinforcing material, 156 cementitious matrix specimens and 99 concrete specimens were tested. The specimens were tested in either compression or bending. The main objective of this research was to determine if these natural fibers increase the loading capacity of the specimen tested and what is the optimum amount to do so. Also to compare specimens reinforced by wheat fibers with those reinforced by polypropylene fiber. Finally, ABAQUS models were developed for concrete cylinders and prisms to simulate the effect of inclusion of the wheat fibers.