Abstract
This research paper explores the possibility of using indigenous woody plant materials as the reinforcement for composite members in cement mortar. The objectives of the study are to ascertain the stress-strain relationship and volumetric stability of indigenous woody plant materials with respect to locally adopted seasoning techniques. The survey identified six woody plant materials namely Veval, Una, Tharana, Eraminiya, Kooratiya and Dodanpana, which are worthy of being investigated based on past knowledge. The two locally adopted seasoning techniques investigated in this research are air drying and heat treatment. The specimens subjected to air drying for seasoning record higher tensile strengths than the heat treated, with respect to all six materials investigated. While Dodanpana records the lowest variation in cross sectional area, Tharana, Kooratiya and Una also show relatively high stability in relation to shrinkage. Three out of the six woody plant materials investigated, Kooratiya Tharana and Dodanpana can be recommended as suitable to be used as reinforcements, in terms of tensile strength, cross sectional area stability and length stability. These materials could be utilized for replacing mild steel reinforcements in Reinforced Cement Mortar (RCM) composite members. RCM could be effectively adopted for relatively low stress level applications in rural areas, where the villagers can easily obtain such woody plant materials and season the same using traditional methods.