Strengthening fiber-cement composites by increasing fiber adhesion using bacterial nanocellulose

The cement-based material is a strong and relatively cheap construction material and is therefore presently the most used construction material worldwide. This material is used as a mortar, concrete or shotcrete. Low tensile strength is an unavoidable and inherent weakness of most cement-based construction materials. Considering the wide-ranging applications of these materials, in this study, the potential of bacterial nano-cellulose on mechanical and physical properties of cement pastes was evaluated. For this purpose, the potential of bacterial nano-cellulose (BNC) as powder, gel, and coated onto Polypropylene fiber as a reinforcement in cement materials was investigated. The results of the flexural strength test showed, up to 103% increase in flexural strength of specimens containing 0.5 wt.% BNC powder compared to control specimens. In addition, specimens containing BNC-coated fibers showed improvement in compressive and flexural strength in comparison with normal fiber mortal specimens.