CEMENT COMPOSITES REINFORCED WITH TEOS-TREATED WOOD FIBRES

摘要

In this study, wood fibres were extracted from eucalyptus and pine woods, treated by immersion in tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) and incorporated into a cementitious matrix at three weight contents (2 wt%, 5 wt% and 10 wt%). The fibres were characterized using chemical and morphological analyses and the cement-based composites were evaluated using chemical, hygroscopic, mechanical and morphological tests. The morphological and spectroscopic results satisfactorily justified the physical-mechanical properties. The wood fibre-cement composites reached similar water uptake and apparent porosity to those of the neat mortar, but exhibited higher mechanical properties. Furthermore, all treated fibres yielded composites with improved mechanical and hygroscopic properties compared to those with pristine fibres. Overall, the best performance (based on hygroscopic and mechanical results) was obtained for the wood fibre-cement composite with 2 wt% pine fibres.