Effect of sand types and mixing procedures on the flexural behaviour of the high ductile mortar in monotonic and cyclic loadings.

The use of fibre in concrete enhances its flexural behaviour and ductility. Different types of synthetic fibres are developed and replaced steel fibre to solve the corrosion of steel. Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) is one of the synthetic fibres used in cementitious fibre composites. The High Ductile Mortar (HDM) was developed using PVA fibres. This paper assesses the effect of sand types and mixing procedures on the (PVA) fibre-reinforced high ductile mortar (HDM) in monotonic and cyclic loadings. Two different types of sands (crushed and river) and mixing methods were used for the comparison of the properties of HDM. The Pre-mixed mortar method refers to the mixing of PVA fibres in the pre-mixed mortar. And, pre-mixed paste method refers to the mixing of PVA fibres in a pre-mixed paste and the mixing of PVA mortar with the addition of sand. The pre-mixed mortar method gave a better flexural performance of the HDM than the pre-mixed paste method. The pre-mixed mortar method with crusher sand enhanced the flexural strength in the cyclic loading (11.8 MPa) than in the monotonic loading (10.3 MPa). It was the same for the case of river sand (11.4 MPa). Overall, the pre-mixed mortar method using river (finer) sand is better to enhance the strength, deflection, strain hardening, fracture energy, and toughness. The coarser sand is better for rigidity and fatigue flexural strength.