Exploring innovative resilient and sustainable bio-materials for structural applications: Hemp-fibre concrete

Traditional construction is no longer practical in the modern competitive sustainability market, and growing urbanisation demands are paralleled by heightening concerns over the depletion of natural resources. Abundant renewability is offered in agriculture products for construction. A successful prototype is in the use of natural fibre, e.g., the commercially available hemp fibre (HF). Hemp is a widely accessible plant with flexible and sustainable cultivation processes possessing a positive carbon sequestration effect. HF possesses superior physio-mechanical properties, such as high tensile strength and excellent insulation capacity. The barrier to broader adoption lies in the nonuniformity inherent to natural materials and deficiencies imposed in using HF for composites, such as heightened permeability and slow setting, presenting engineering challenges that limit the suitability of HF to hydraulic mortars for non-structural applications. This paper aims to deliver a comprehensive state-of-the-art review of existing hemp fibre-reinforced concrete (HFRC) experiments towards identifying structural potential in various cementitious binders. In experimenting different arrangements of hemp in concrete, positive outcomes include increased flexural capacity, however, a loss in compressive strength and higher permeability are reported.