Natural Fiber Reinforced Concrete: Bibliometric and Network Analyses to Delineate the Current Status and Future Pathways

ABSTRACT

Natural fibers are being increasingly used in concrete to enhance various mechanical properties and to address sustainability challenges. This study systematically reviews 158 research articles published in the last two decades (2000 to 2021) in the domain of natural fiber reinforced concrete. Bibliometric analysis reveals a drastic rise in the number of studies since 2015. It also reveals the important journals, prolific authors, and popularly used keywords, which created an intellectual pattern of the field. Network analysis of authors, keywords, and articles (bibliometrically coupled and co-cited) unravels various foundational and emerging themes of research in this domain. Various natural fibers like basalt, sisal, flax, jute, hemp, etc., have been used individually or in combination with others to improve the tensile, flexural, compressive, impact resistance, and thermal properties. While basalt distantly followed by sisal are two widely used natural fibers in concrete, in recent years, synthetic fiber polypropylene has been used along with natural fibers to get synergistic benefit. This review summarizes the research trends in the area of natural fiber reinforced concrete and also creates an intellectual map of the domain, which will be helpful for the researchers working in this field.

摘要

天然纤维越来越多地用于混凝土中，以提高各种机械性能，并应对可持续性挑战. 本研究系统地回顾了过去二十年（2000至2021）在天然纤维增强混凝土领域发表的158篇研究文章. 文献计量分析显示，自2015年以来，研究数量急剧增加. 它还揭示了重要的期刊、多产的作者和广泛使用的关键词，这些都创造了该领域的智力模式. 作者、关键词和文章的网络分析（文献计量耦合和共同引用）揭示了该领域研究的各种基础和新兴主题. 各种天然纤维，如玄武岩、剑麻、亚麻、黄麻、大麻等，已单独或与其他纤维组合使用，以提高拉伸、弯曲、压缩、抗冲击和热性能. 虽然玄武岩和剑麻是混凝土中广泛使用的两种天然纤维，但近年来，合成纤维聚丙烯已与天然纤维一起使用，以获得协同效益. 本文总结了天然纤维增强混凝土领域的研究趋势，并创建了该领域的知识图谱，这将有助于该领域的研究人员.

KEYWORDS:

• Basalt
• compressive strength
• flexural strength
• jute
• reinforced concrete
• sisal
• natural fibers

关键词:

• 玄武岩
• 抗压强度
• 弯曲强度
• 黄麻
• 钢筋混凝土
• 剑麻
• 天然纤维

Highlights

• A vast collection of articles on natural fiber reinforced concrete has been reviewed.

• Bibliometric and network analyses have been used to identify dominant research themes.

• Basalt is the most widely used natural fiber in reinforced concrete followed by sisal.

• Natural fibers hybridized with polypropylene/glass are becoming popular in reinforced concrete.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Ethical approval

The authors confirm that the research meets ethical guidelines and adheres to the legal requirements of the study country.