Luffa cylindrical fibre as: an emerging natural reinforcement fibre for cement composites reinforcement:- A review

Luffa cylindrica fibre (also known as sponge gourd) is widely available in major parts of Asia and Africa because it is a good source of cellulose fibre. The fibre is cheap, available free in nature, possesses excellent composition and will provide a sustainable fibre reinforced cementitious composite for various applications. Studies and published articles on its use are found in other non-cement based areas but little or no review has been performed on its relevance to cement composites. This is because it is an emerging field of study with limited information on what the fibre is all about. This review gives a compendium of the limited available concluded studies on the use of luffa cylindrical fibre as reinforcement in different cement based matrices. Therefore, the major highlights reviewed included its source, physical, chemical and mechanical compositions, pre-treatment methods, drying shrinkage, compressive and flexural strengths and microstructural analysis of the cement composites. This review was able to establish the important role it played in improving some of these earlier listed properties of the cementitious materials considered. However, further studies in the future are needed to be able to establish some parameters which will aid its adoption in cement based medium such as appropriate treatment methods, optimum content, effective reinforcement form or type (dispersed type or fabric/lay up mat form) and durability studies. It is desired that through this review, interest in the use of luffa cylindrical fibre as an important cellulose fibre for reinforcement in cement based materials will be kindled.