Mechanical Reinforcement of Lime Pastes by Electrospun Cellulose Acetate Polymer Fibers

Lime-based composites have been extensively used throughout the years as plasters/renders and jointing mortars in building construction. However, the low flexural strength and tensile ductility of these composite building materials, that are currently still used in the structural and thermal upgrading of existing structures of high cultural and architectural significance, have been a significant drawback. Therefore, researchers have been focusing on the development of novel composites involving the use of additives to enhance the tensile and flexural capacity of lime-based materials. For the first time in this study, naturally-derived polymer fibers produced by electrospinning have been successfully introduced as additives in lime pastes aiming to investigate their effect on the mechanical performance of the end composites. More precisely, the introduction of electrospun cellulose acetate (CA) microfibers within lime pastes resulted to a tremendous improvement of the mechanical properties of the latter. Consequently, the present study paves the pathway towards the use of electrospun fibrous additives in the development of advanced composite lime-based building materials, which is currently an unexplored area.