Journal of Korean Society of Agricultural Engineers ISSN:1738-3692(Print) 2093-7709(Online) 한국농공학회논문집

In this study, the effect of metakaoline and silica fume on the bond performances of structural polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) fiber in cement mortar, including bond strength, interface toughness, and microstructure analysis are presented. Metakaoline and silica fume contents ranging from 0 % to 15 % are used in the mix proportions. Pullout tests are conducted to measure the bond performance of PVA fiber from cement mortar. Test results showed the incorporation of metakaoline and silica fume can effectively enhance the PVA fiber-cement mortar interfacial properties. Bond strength and interface toughness increased with metakaoline and silica fume content up to 10 % in cement mortar and decreased when the metakaoline and silica fume content reached 15 %. The microstructural observation confirms the findings on the interface bond mechanism drawn from the fiber pullout test results.