A mortar reinforced with long unidirectional alfa and sisal fibers was considered. Laminated mortar specimens with different fiber volume fractions were prepared, and their mechanical properties were investigated. The optimum fiber volume fraction was found to range between 0.8 and 1.1% and depended on curing conditions. In the case of alfa fibers, the flexural strength of mortar specimens increased by about 27%. It is concluded that alfa fibers can be an alternative to synthetic fibers.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
S. V. Joshia, L. T. Drzalb, A. K. Mohantyb, and S. Arorac, “Are natural fiber composites environmentally superior to glass fiber reinforced composites?,” Composites: Part A, 35, 371-376 (2004).
P. Wambua, J. Ivens, and I. Verpoest, “Natural fibres: can they replace glass in fibre reinforced plastics?,” Compos. Sci. Technol., 63, 1259-1264 (2003).
I. Miraoui and H. Hassis, “Mechanical model for vegetal-fiber-reinforced composite materials,” Physics Procedia, 25, 130-136 (2012).
M. Schneider, M. Romer, M. Tschudin, and H. Bolio, “Sustainable cement production — present and future,” Cement and Concrete Research, 41, 642-650 (2011).
M. M. Shokrieh, A. Mahmoudi, and H. R. Shadkam, “Hybrid polyvinyl alcohol and cellulose fiber pulp instead of asbestos fibers in cement-based composites,” Mech. Compos. Mater., 51, No. 2, 329-340 (2015).
F. Silva, D. Zhub, B. Mobasherb, C. Soranakomb, and R. Filhoc, “High speed tensile behavior of Sisal fiber cement composites,” Mater. Sci. and Eng., 527, 544-552 (2010).
F. Silva, B. Mobasher, and R. Filho, “Cracking mechanisms in durable sisal-fiber-reinforced cement composites,” Cement and Concrete Composites, 31, 721-730 (2009).
W. Yaoa and Z. Lib, “Flexural behavior of bamboo-fiber-reinforced mortar laminates,” Cement and Concrete Research, 33. 15-19 (2003).
A. Kriker, G. Debicki, A. Bali, M. Khenfer, and M. Chabannet, “Mechanical properties of date palm fibres and concrete reinforced with date palm fibres in hot-dry climate,” Cement and Concrete Composites, 27, 554-564 (2005).
F. Pacheco-Torgal and S. Jalali, “Cementitious building materials reinforced with vegetable fibres: A review,” Construction and Building Materials, 25, 575-581 (2011).
D. Sedan, Etude des interactions physico-chimiques aux interfaces fibres de chanvre/ciment. Influence sur les propriétés mécaniques du composite, Thèse Université de Limoges, No. 63 (2007).
A. Kriker, A. Bali, G. Debicki, M. Bouziane, and M. Chabannet, “Durability of date palm fibres and their use as reinforcement in hot dry climates,” Cement and Concrete Composites, 30, 639-648 (2008).
O. Bahloul, A. Bourzam and A. Bahloul, “Utilisation des fibres végétales dans le renforcement de mortiers de ciment (cas de l’Alfa),” 1st Int. Conf. on Sustainable Built Environment Infrastructures in Developing Countries, Oran, Algeria, October 12-14 (2009).
M. Mominul Haque, M. Hasan, M. Saiful Islam, and M. Ershad Ali, “Physico-mechanical properties of chemically treated palm and coir fiber reinforced polypropylene composites,” Bioresource Technology, 100, 4903-4906 (2009).
S. A. S. Goulart, T. A. Oliveira, A. Teixeira, P. C. Miléo, and D. R. Mulinari, “Mechanical behaviour of polypropylene reinforced palm fiber composites,” Procedia Engineering, 10, 2034-2039 (2011).
D. Bachtiar, S. M. Sapuan, and M. M. Hamdan, “The effect of alkaline treatment on tensile properties of sugar palm fibre reinforced epoxy composites,” Materials and Design, 29, 1285-1290 (2008).
A. Bessadok, S. Roudesli, S. Marais, N. Follain, and L. Lebrun, “Alfa fibres for unsaturated polyester composites reinforcement: Effects of chemical treatments on mechanical and permeation properties,” Composites: Part A, 40, 184-195 (2009).
S. Ben Brahim and R. Ben Cheikh, “Influence of fibre orientation and volume fraction on the tensile properties of unidirectional alfa-polyester composite,” Compos. Sci. Technol., 67, 140-147 (2007).
M. Rokbia, H. Osmania, A. Imadc, and N. Benseddiqd, “Effect of chemical treatment on flexure properties of natural fiber-reinforced polyester composite,” Procedia Engineering, 10, 2092-2097 (2011).
Z. Marrakchi, R. Khiaria, H. Oueslatic, E. Maureta, and F. Mhennib, “Pulping and papermaking properties of Tunisian Alfa stems (Stipa tenacissima) — effects of refining process,” Industrial Crops and Products (2011).
B. Bouiri and M. Amrani, “Elemental chlorine-free bleaching halfa pulp,” J. of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry, 16, 587-592 (2010).
K. Murali Mohan Rao and K. Mohana Rao, “Extraction and tensile properties of natural fibers: vakka, date and bamboo,” Compos. Struct., 77, 288-295 (2007).
M. Guo, T. H. Zhang, B. W. Chen, and L. Cheng, “Tensile strength analysis of palm leaf sheath fiber with Weibull distribution,” Composites: Part A, 62, 45-51 (2014).
M. A. AlMaadeed, R. Kahraman, and A. Khanam Somaya, “Characterization of untreated and treated male and female date palm leaves,” Materials and Design, 43, 526-531 (2013).
A. Alawar, A. M-Hamed, and K. Al-Kaabi, “Characterization of treated date palm tree fiber as composite reinforcement,” Composites: Part B, 40, 601-606 (2009).
A. Komuraiah, N. Shyam Kumar, and B. Durga Prasad, “Chemical composition of natural fibers and its influence on their mechanical properties,” Mech. Compos. Mater., 50, No. 3, 509-528 (2014).
G. Di Bella, V. Fiore, G. Galtieri, C. Borsellino, and A. Valenza, “Effects of natural fibres reinforcement in lime plasters (kenaf and sisal vs. polypropylene),” Construction and Building Materials, 58, 159-165 (2014).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Russian translation published in Mekhanika Kompozitnykh Materialov, Vol. 52, No. 4, pp. 773-784 , July-August, 2016.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Miraoui, I., Jaballi, S. & Hassis, H. Analysis of the Mechanical Properties of Mortar Reinforced with Long Unidirectional Alfa Fibers in Different Curing Conditions. Mech Compos Mater 52, 545–554 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11029-016-9605-0
Received:
Revised:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11029-016-9605-0