EXPERIMENTALSTUDIES ON REPLACEMENT OF STEEL STIRRUPS BY SISAL FIBER REINFORCED POLYMERS

Growing awareness about natural resources the environmental guidelines are fortified researchers to practice it for structural claims. Sisal fibers are abundantly available and they are less in cost compared with steel reinforcement. Sisal fibre is solitary promising reinforcements in fibre-reinforced polymer composites because of increased in tensile strength. Traditionally sisal fibres were used to make ropes, due to these high tensile properties in the sisal fibre it can be molded into the form of a stirrup by using Pultrusion process and hand layup method. which leads to the replacement of steel stirrups. The beams were casted with steel stirrups and sisal fibre stirrups and tested. On comparison of the results sisal fibre stirrups showed slightly increase in flexural strength but crack width is more compared to beams with steel stirrups. Due to their superior corrosion resistance of SIFRP (Sisal fibre reinforced polymer), it increases the durability. But the brittleness of SIFRP and their inferior bonding performance with concrete needs to be addressed.