Wood fibre-reinforced cement composites

Abstract

The use of wood fibres as reinforcement for a structural composite material has been investigated. Although wood fibres have relatively poor mechanical properties compared with synthetic fibres, they have the advantages of low density, low cost and low energy demand during manufacture. A number of possible matrix materials were considered and Portland cement was chosen for further investigation. An examination was made of the effect of the pulping technique used to prepare the fibre on the strength of the composite and on the stability of the wood fibres in the cement matrix. A chemically pretreated high-temperature thermomechanical pulp and a pulp produced by the kraft process were selected for further study. The effect of the water-cement ratio of the matrix and the weight of fibre in the composite on the strength of the composite and the rate of increase in strength and fracture energy of composite are reported for composites containing these pulps. The results indicate that the kraft pulp is suitable for applications where slurry dewatering can be employed during the forming operation and that the thermomechanical pulp is more suited to applications where low water-cement ratio slurry is used.