An Experimental Study on Mesh-and-Fiber Reinforced Cementitious Composites

Development of new composite materials which reduces the large consumption of natural resources is an approach towards sustainability. This study is an attempt to explore the possibility of adding polyolefin fibers (PL-F) in steel mesh reinforced cementitious composites (SMRCC) and conduct low velocity impact tests. For this purpose, test specimens of slab size 250 X 250 X 25 mm (thickness) were cast with steel mesh (3 to 5 layers) and polyolefin fibers (0.5-2.5% of  volume of specimens with 0.5% interval) and compared with control specimens (cast with steel mesh of 3 to 5 layers). Statistical t-tests were employed to find out the paired difference in impact energy absorption capacity between initial impact energy absorption (IIEA) and ultimate impact energy absorption (UIEA). Also, through statistical analysis, it was found that when steel mesh layers were varied keeping fiber percentage constant, and vice-versa, there were significant differences in the energy absorption capacity of cementitious slabs

Ferrocement construction technology and its applications – A Review

Ferrocement construction technology is quite popular throughout the world. Ferrocement, a thin element, is used as a building construction as well as a repair material. This paper attempts to review the literature on ferrocement and bring out the salient features of construction, material properties and the special techniques of applying cement mortar on to the reinforcing mesh. This study brings out the importance of using ferrocement in swimming pools and water tanks, silos, corrugated roofs, shell and dome structures, and also in the repair of old/ deteriorated RCC structures. Also is discussed in this paper a similar material to ferrocement, termed as Engineered Cementitious Composite, which uses fibers as reinforcement. The recommendations of this study include addition of fibers in ferrocement to reduce crack-width. The present authors recommend that experimental investigation may be conducted on new reinforcing materials by researchers in the future. The study concludes that ferrocement will certainly be one of the best structural alternatives for RCC in the future