Application of Sisal, Bamboo, Coir and Jute Natural Composites in Structural Upgradation

The materials chosen for structural upgradation must, in addition to functional efficiency and increasing or improving the various properties of the structures, should fulfil some criterion, for the cause of sustainability and a better quality. For example, these materials should not pollute the environment and endanger bioreserves, should be such that they are self sustaining and promote self-reliance, should help in recycling of polluting waste into usable materials, should make use of locally available materials, utilise local skills, manpower and management systems, should benefit local economy by being income generating, should be accessible to the ordinary people and be low in monetary cost. Besides improving the strength of the structure using FRPs as the raw material, it is also necessary to make use of local materials in construction. So far the work on construction. So far the work on retrofitting of structures is confined to using of carbon, glass or aramid fibres etc, very little work is being imparted in improving structures using naturally available materials, or natural fibres. The application of composites in structural facilities is mostly concentrated on increasing the strength of the structure with the help of artificial fibres and does not address the issue of sustainability of these raw materials used for strengthening purposes. In an expanding world population and with the increase of the purchasing potentials, the need for raw materials required for structural strengthening, that would satisfy the demand on world market is rapidly growing. In times when we cannot expect the fibre reinforced polymer prices to come down, with the consumption growing day by day. Also waste disposal has become one of the major problems in modern cities. At present there are two major methods in practice to dispose wastes. One is land filling and the other is burning. First one requires more valuable land and second one pollutes the environment. So, alternate methods to dispose solid waste should be found. New materials that would be cheaper and at the same time offer equal or better properties have to be developed. We have enough natural resources and we must keep on researching on these natural resources. Development of plant fibre composites has only begun. Among the various natural fibres such as, sisal fibres, bamboo fibres, coir fibres and jute fibres are of particular interest as these composites have high impact strength besides having moderate tensile and flexural properties compared to other lignocellulosic fibres. Among the various natural fibres, sisal fibre reinforced composite, bamboo fibre reinforced composite, coir reinforced composite and jute fibre reinforced composite are of particular interest as these composites have high impact strength besides having moderate tensile and flexural properties compared to other lignocellulosic fibres. Hence encouragement should be given for the use of natural fibres such as sisal fibres, bamboo fibres, coir fibres and jute fibres which are locally available