The Influence of Fiber Treatment on the Mechanical Behavior of Jute Textile Reinforced Concrete

Abstract

In the present work a natural textile reinforced concrete (TRC) was developed and mechanically characterized. A fabric made of jute, a natural occurring fiber, was used as reinforcement in a fine grained cementitious matrix with a low content of calcium hydroxide. Tensile tests were performed on TRC reinforced with 3 and 5 layers of jute fabric. The mechanical tensile tests were coupled with image analysis in order to measure the crack spacing and the results were correlated with the applied tensile strain. Various stages of loading corresponding to initiation, propagation, distribution, opening, and localization of a crack system in the specimen are discussed. In order to improve the fiber-matrix interface the jute fabric was treated with a polymer based coating.