On the mixed mode I/II fracture properties of jute fiber-reinforced concrete

- Adding jute fibers improves mixed mode fracture toughness of concrete.
- Minimum fracture toughness of jute fiber-reinforced concrete occurs at mode II.
- Jute fibers enhances compressive, tensile, and flexural strengths of concrete.

In this paper, mixed mode I/II fracture toughness of jute fiber-reinforced concrete is investigated experimentally using a large number of cracked semi-circular bend (SCB) specimens. For this purpose, jute fibers with percentages of 0.1%, 0.3%, and 0.5% by weight and of 20 mm length are used to be mixed with plain concrete. Cracked semi-circular bend (SCB) specimens are employed to obtain fracture toughness under mixed mode I/II loading conditions from pure mode I to pure mode II. The results show that the effects of the fiber percentages on the mixed mode fracture toughness is very significant. It is found that specimens made of jute fiber-reinforced concrete represent higher resistance against crack growth than those of made of plain concrete. The compressive strength, splitting tensile strength and flexural strength of the concrete mixes is also studied. It is shown that jute fiber improves compressive, splitting tensile, and flexural strength of concrete materials.

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