Using coconut fiber in concrete manufacturing improves the quality of social housing in the Southwest region to adapt to climate change

Abstract

Climate change has a profound and specific impact on the quality of high-rise building construction in the Southwest region. In recent years, the temperature and rainfall in most of the Southwest region have increased, affecting the durability and lifespan of structures, especially many structures in high-rise buildings have cracked and completely destroyed due to the impact of climate change. Therefore, it is very necessary to study the use of coconut fiber in concrete manufacturing to improve the quality of social housing construction and reduce the phenomenon of structural cracking in the Southwest region under climate change conditions. On the other hand, concrete using randomly dispersed coconut fiber has created concrete products with high tensile strength and good crack resistance. Therefore, coconut fiber reinforced concrete is the preferred material for use in load-bearing wall structures, garden areas and many other suitable structures... in social housing projects in areas affected by climate change in Long An province. This paper presents some research results on the possibility of using coconut fiber in concrete production to reduce climate change. Materials used in the study include: Coconut fiber in Ben Tre and Long An provinces; fly ash from Vinh Tan thermal power plant (Tra Vinh) and silica fume SF90 combined with water-reducing superplasticizer. The experimental results have shown the potential for producing coconut fiber reinforced concrete from locally available materials with good workability, slump from 14.5 cm to 20.5 cm and compressive strength ranging from 40.8 MPa to 59.5 MPa. In addition, reducing the amount of cement used in concrete has brought many positive effects in combating climate change. Replacing 30% of the cement content with thermal power fly ash has helped reduce energy consumption and environmental pollution caused by the cement industry, especially the estimated CO2 volume has decreased from 454 kg/m3 to 324 kg/m3 and reused about 118 kg of fly ash in each cubic meter of concrete. This contributes significantly to environmental protection, reducing climate change impacts, and promoting a sustainable circular economy and "green" growth in line with the Vietnamese government's objectives.

Keywords: Coconut-Fiber; concrete; fly ash; silica fume; climate change.