Compressive and flexural behavior of fiber-reinforced mortar: An experimental study

The addition of fiber in the structural elements has a bright prospect, as the performance of the concrete can be enhanced by improving the bonding between the mortar matrix and the aggregates, also developing a better behavior against the external load on the concrete materials. This paper investigates the effect of steel fibers on mortar specimens, focusing on the failure mode and behavior in the compressive and flexural tests. The experimental study was performed on the standard-size specimen with the size of 50x50x50 mm and 50x50x170 mm, respectively, for the compressive and flexural test specimens. The results reveal that the fibers’ presence contributes significantly to the flexural and compressive strength related to the conventional specimens. The calculation of modulus of rupture compared to the first-cracking stress shows that the specimens can still have increasing stress after the cracks occurred. Moreover, the failure modes of the fiber specimens changed into the more ductile failure characteristic due to the bridging mechanism from the fibers. The result provides vital information on the related research.