Design and Development of Abaca Fiber Sand Cement Frogged Brick Composites

Abstract

An attempt is made to fabricate at room condition short abaca fiber sand cement composite material using the conventional mixing method. Frogged bricks have been designed and developed as a novel material built upon the foundation of concurrent engineering practice. Through this process, the brick molder and the fabricating rig are conceived. Abaca fibers are natural fibers which are classified as leaf fibers among the plant fibers. These fibers are impregnated with a mixture of sand and cement water ratio which cures at room temperature by hydration process. The fabrication, constituent proportion, and compressive strength of fabricated frogged brick composites are described. The fabricating facility is designed to accommodate fabrication of four bricks in one setting. Accordingly, for a given fiber length, the compressive strength increases as the volume fraction increases to a limiting value of 10% fiber volume fraction. The product lends its application in the building industry.