Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
250036 | Building and Environment | 2007 | 7 Pages |
The main objective of the present research was to provide the housing alternatives to istle zone rural areas in México, which represent about 10% of the national territory. The proposed solution involved a sustainable portland cement-based composite material, reinforced with high tensile strength natural fibers of “Agave lecheguilla”.The results indicated that the “Agave lecheguilla” or simply lechuguilla fiber shows a high tensile capacity, but can be severely deteriorated in the alkaline environment of the composite. However, if the fiber is protected with paraffin and the composite matrix is modified with a pozzolan admixture such as fly ash, the composite performs acceptably well at exposure to aggressive environments and variations in humidity and temperature.