Organic Natural Fibers and Textiles for Reinforcement and Performance Enhancement of Mortars and Concrete

A special issue of Fibers (ISSN 2079-6439).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2024 | Viewed by 2827

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Civil Engineering, Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences, pl. Grunwaldzki 24, 50-356 Wrocław, Poland
Interests: concrete technology; supplementary cementitious materials; sustainable building materials; recycling; durability; thermal properties; heat and mass transfer; Monte Carlo simulation

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Guest Editor
Department of Civil Engineering, Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences, pl. Grunwaldzki 24, 50-356 Wrocław, Poland
Interests: beam and slab deformation; steel fiber-reinforced concrete; mechanical properties of high-strength fiber-reinforced concrete; creep and shrinkage of concrete; calculation methods of beams and plates

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Natural organic fibers, which include plant fibers and animal fibers, are used in the preparation of concrete and mortars. They are added both in the form of loose fibers and as bundles, weaves and even textiles. Their admixture alters the properties of concrete composites, and the extent of these changes is the subject of much research. Thus, the durability of the fibers themselves is studied in an environment that is often unfavorable to them to determine how this can be enhanced.  The use of natural organic fibers makes it possible to achieve at least one of the following objectives: to improve selected characteristics of cementitious composites, to make cementitious composites a more environmentally friendly material by reducing their carbon footprint, and to manage materials that are considered waste in other industries. With this in mind, research into the use of natural organic fibers in cementitious composites is still an important and interesting area of science, where there are still both many blank spaces and room for further innovation. An example of a topic that is relatively underexplored scientifically is the recycling of cementitious composites containing fibers, and there are probably more such areas.

This Special Issue aims to attract all researchers working in this research field and will collect new findings and recent advances related to the use of natural organic fibers in cementitious composites; their influence on the mechanical, physical and durability properties of such materials; the mechanisms by which the cement matrix interacts with the fibers and how this interaction can be improved; the mechanisms by which the fibers degrade and how these processes can be reduced; as well as other issues that fall within the broad subject matter encompassed by the title of the Special Issue.

Dr. Roman Jaskulski
Dr. Maciej Kaźmierowski
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • natural organic fibers
  • natural organic textiles
  • cement concrete
  • cement mortar
  • mechanical properties
  • shrinkage
  • thermal properties
  • durability parameters
  • material structure

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

18 pages, 3633 KiB  
Article
Evaluation of Hydrothermally Treated Wood Fibre Performance in Cement Mortars
by Petrini Kampragkou, Vasiliki Kamperidou and Maria Stefanidou
Fibers 2024, 12(3), 21; https://doi.org/10.3390/fib12030021 - 26 Feb 2024
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2208
Abstract
Biofibres’ wide application in mortar enhancement has thus far been restricted by factors related to their chemical composition and hygroscopic nature. Their hydrophilic behaviour increases the water demand of mortar mixtures and diminishes their affinity to the matrix, while further moisture-related fibre degradation [...] Read more.
Biofibres’ wide application in mortar enhancement has thus far been restricted by factors related to their chemical composition and hygroscopic nature. Their hydrophilic behaviour increases the water demand of mortar mixtures and diminishes their affinity to the matrix, while further moisture-related fibre degradation issues may arise. Additionally, natural fibres seem to be susceptible to degradation caused by exposure to alkaline environmental conditions such as those experienced by cement mortars, restricting their utilisation in the construction industry. Therefore, the current study investigates the potential of fibre modification through treatments that would permanently alter their structure and chemical composition to improve their performance. In this study, wood fibres of black pine and beech species were exposed to mild thermal treatment (140 °C 2 h, under a steam atmosphere), characterised in terms of the physical and chemical properties and incorporated in cement mortars, applying the proportion of 1.5% v/v in the mortar, in order to assess their performance as reinforcement material. The mortars’ workability (at a fresh state) was examined, as well as other physical, hygroscopic, thermal, and mechanical characteristics of the mortars at the ages of 28, 90 and 365 days and weathering performance, by subjecting them to different artificial ageing environments (freeze–thaw cycles or outdoor exposure). The results revealed the beneficial role of the treated fibres in dimensional stability, flexural strength, thermal insulation properties and capillary absorption of the mortar specimens, especially during the ageing process, with the black pine fibres showing the greatest improvement. The hydrothermally treated wood fibres seem to help maintain the integrity of cement mortars under all ageing conditions, proving that they could provide low-cost and eco-friendly mortar enhancement pathways. Full article
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