Performance of “Agave lecheguilla” natural fiber in portland cement composites exposed to severe environment conditions

The main objective of the present research was to provide the housing alternatives to istle zone rural areas in México, which represent about 10% of the national territory. The proposed solution involved a sustainable portland cement-based composite material, reinforced with high tensile strength natural fibers of “Agave lecheguilla”. The results indicated that the “Agave lecheguilla” or simply lechuguilla fiber shows a high tensile capacity, but can be severely deteriorated in the alkaline environment of the composite. However, if the fiber is protected with paraffin and the composite matrix is modified with a pozzolan admixture such as fly ash, the composite performs acceptably well at exposure to aggressive environments and variations in humidity and temperature.