Study on the Durability of New Construction Materials Based on Mortar Reinforced with Date Palm Fibers Wastes

The present work aims to investigate the feasibility to use date palm waste as reinforcement to improve durability and performance of concrete. Four formulations (0 wt %, 5 wt %, 10 wt % and 15 wt %) were prepared according to the date palm fibers weight contents. The performance of all these formulations was studied in terms of swelling, drying shrinkage, weight change, compressive strength and volume change. The investigations were performed by exposing the samples to various environments: immersion in water, drying, salts exposure and cyclic wetting/drying. The results revealed that mortar reinforced with date palm fibers offers better shrinkage prevention, and thus allows decreasing the cracking effect. Moreover, the composites prepared with high content of natural fibers showed better resistance against sulphuric acid attack and therefore better resistance to deterioration. A significant enhancement in mechanical behavior following alkali treatment was recorded. Finally, date palm fibers can mainly contribute for minimizing the deterioration of cement mortar composites following cyclic wetting and drying