Effect of Sisal Fibers on Flexural Behavior of Cement Mortar

Abstract

The development of techniques, manufacturing processes and the production of new materials in construction are topical. Algeria is one of the countries that have extraordinary resources in plant fibers (Palm, Alfa, Cotton, Sisal, etc.), unfortunately, their valorization in building materials is still little exploited. The aim of this research is to highlight, through an experimental investigation, the mechanical behavior of cement mortar matrix lightened by Sisal fiber under three-point bending loading. Our approach consists in taking into account the influence of the Sisal fibers slenderness, hence the use of two different lengths (7 cm and 10 cm). Several fiber percentages were used: 0%; 0.25%; 0.5%; 0.75%; 1%; 1.25% and 1.5%. After 28 days of curing, we evaluated the mechanical performance by three-point bending tests on specimens (4×4×16) cm3.The best variant will be used in the manufacture of the multi-layer panels. The results showed that the fiber-reinforced mortars presented higher resistances compared to the control mortar. For the two slenderness studied, the best variant is given by the mortar from 1% fibers.

Keywords

• Sisal fiber
• Mortar
• Valorization
• Mechanical tests
• Analyzes.