Physical properties of cement mortars containing steel fiber

Abstract

In this paper, some physical properties such as dry unit weight, porosity, water absorption and capillarity were investigated for cement mortars containing steel fibers. Steel fibers were used at 0% (control), 0.5%, 1.0% and 1.5% by volume. While sand/binder ratio was 3.0, water/cement ratio was 0.50 in the mixtures. After the production of mortar specimens with size of 40 x 40 x 160 mm, dry unit weight, porosity, water absorption and capillarity values were determined at 7, 14 and 28 days. The results obtained from the tests showed that steel fiber produced a decrease in porosity, water absorption and capillarity values of cement mortars.