Laboratory evaluation of tensile strength and energy absorbing properties of cement mortar reinforced with micro- and meso-sized carbon fibers

•Effects of micro- and meso-fiber reinforced cement mortars were considered.•Tensile strength, energy absorbing properties, and workability were tested.•Factors of fiber content, fiber-length, aspect ratio were included.•Pre- and post-peak stress energy absorption were evaluated.

In this present research the potential use of micro-fibers as concrete reinforcement was investigated by blending micro- and meso-length carbon fibers into Portland cement mortar and comparing the performance of these mortars through indirect tension tests, specific gravity analysis, and flow tests. The micro-fiber reinforced mortars were observed to have greater tensile strengths than the unreinforced mixture while maintaining a lower air-to-cement ratio than the meso-fiber reinforced mixtures. In addition, micro-fibers proved to be of less detriment to the workability of the mortar than the meso-fibers.