Performance Assessment of Agave americana L. Fiber-Reinforced Concrete Slabs under a Humanitarian Engineering Approach in Peru (#2628)

Authors

Nishihara Alcocer, Jorge Luis

Alzamora De Los Godos Urcia, Luis Alex

Calderón Saldaña, Jully Pahola

Valladolid Marcos, Fiorella Sthefany

Condorchoa Anculle, Ceferino

Roldán Medina, Moisés

De La Rosa Condormango, Rossina Dany

Abstract

Abstract– Plastic shrinkage cracking is one of the primary early-age deterioration mechanisms in rigid pavements exposed to variable environmental conditions. This study evaluated the effect of incorporating natural fibers from Agave americana L. on reducing surface cracking in full-scale concrete slabs. Four volumetric dosages (0.00%, 0.50%, 0.75%, and 1.00%) were analyzed, measuring average crack width, total crack length, cracked area, and crack frequency. Results demonstrated that the 0.75% dosage achieved complete suppression of measurable cracking, identifying a critical fiber density threshold required to stabilize the early-age tensile stress field. Statistical analysis confirmed a significant structural effect of fiber dosage on cracking behavior. From a humanitarian engineering perspective, agave fiber constitutes a technically efficient, locally available, and economically viable solution to enhance pavement resilience in resource-constrained urban environments.