Enhancing Sustainability in Construction: Water Effect on Jute Fiber Composite Mortar

The use and application of natural fiber in the Construction and Building sector is gaining momentum due to its various advantages over synthetic fibers, mainly in terms of sustainability, recyclability, and biodegradability. In this paper, two aspects of the jute fiber composite mortar have been discussed. Firstly, the effect of water on the mechanical performance of the jute fiber composite mortar samples has been presented here. Secondly, the Digital Image Correlation (DIC) method has been used to analyze and determine the crack openings (mm), in the deformed specimens that occurred during the flexural tests. Notably, for 0.5% (fiber lengths: 30 mm, 10 mm, 5 mm) and 1.0% (fiber length: 30mm) fiber (with respect to the dry mortar mass) composite mortar samples prepared with the same water amount, exactly the same used for the mortar (without fiber). The reduction in flexural (−1.47 to −2.79 MPa) and compression strengths (−5.4 to −14.01 MPa) have been observed when compared with similar combinations (fiber % and fiber lengths) prepared with different amounts of water for every mixture. Whereas, when these composite mortars are compared with samples prepared with the same average water, increment in flexural strengths (0.24 to 1.45 MPa), while changes in compressive strengths ranging from −1.67 and 6.22 MPa have been noticed. The percentage of water used for the grout preparation is an important factor in influencing the mechanical performance of the composite sample. Therefore, whenever fiber is used during the composite mortar fabrication some amount of extra water is necessary for the mixture preparation.