Influence of jute fiber on concrete properties

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the addition of jute fibers on the fresh and hardened properties of concrete. Locally produced jute fibers having two different lengths of 10 mm and 20 mm and four different volumes of 0.00%, 0.25%, 0.50%, and 1.00% were added to prepare concrete cylinders and beams. The cylinder specimens were tested for the compressive strength at 7, 28 and 90 days and for the split tensile test at 28 and 90 days, whereas the beam specimens were assessed for the flexural tensile strength at 28 days. Additionally, various factorial analyses were conducted on the experimental results to detect the effect of the volume and size of jute fibers on concrete properties. The experimental results revealed that the addition of 0.50% jute fiber had an adverse impact on the fresh properties of concrete. However, a smaller dosage (0.25%) of jute fiber showed a positive influence on the hardened properties of concrete. The results obtained from factorial analysis demonstrated that the fiber length and volume showed a positive influence on hardened concrete properties at early and extended curing ages, respectively.