Abstract

The degradation of the natural fibers in the hydraulic binder alkaline matrix is widely known. This study investigates the effect of two fiber treatments, namely immersion in sodium hydroxide (NaOH) solution and hornification, in two types of alkaline environmental ordinary Portland cement (OPC) and a mixture of OPC and natural hydraulic lime (NHL). After curing for 28 days, the specimens were subjected to 25 and 50 dry–wet aging cycles to evaluate their degradation behavior. Subsequently, the specimens underwent flexural and compressive strength tests. This study reveals that the specimens with the mixed binder of ordinary Portland cement (OPC) and natural hydraulic lime (NHL), after 50 aging cycles, reached toughness values in the descending branch compared to the total toughness obtained in the flexural–displacement diagram, of 17% and 27% for the treatment with NaOH and hornification fiber, compared to 3% and 10% obtained for the matrix with an OPC binder. Therefore, the inclusion of NHL as a matrix binder provided better softening behavior than those with only the OPC binder, providing better protection of the fibers against environmental alkalinity due to matrix alkalinity. In addition, the hornification treatment better preserved the fibers throughout the aging process.

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