Natural Fiber Textile Reinforced Mortar (NFTRM) for Integrated Masonry Upgrading

The construction and building industry is responsible for a significant amount of carbon emissions due to its high energy consumption throughout the lifecycle of buildings. Many masonry buildings were constructed without following any seismic or energy standards, making them vulnerable to both natural and man-made disasters. This paper discusses the use of a Natural Fiber (NF) in the Textile Reinforced Mortar (TRM) system, to upgrade or retrofit masonry walls, addressing both structural and thermal issues. During this campaign, various jute fiber products have been used to upgrade or retrofit the masonry wall to achieve a balanced thermo-structural property for the NFTRM system. Notably, jute fiber nets (with mesh type “2.5 cm x 2.5 cm”) and diatons have been used to enhance the strength of the masonry wall. For the thermal upgrading of masonry walls, a combination of 30 mm jute fiber length and 1% jute fiber (based on the dry mortar mass) was chosen for composite mortar preparation. The use of the jute NFTRM system has resulted in an increased load-bearing capacity (kN) of more than 450% and whereas, an improved insulation capacity, with a reduction of thermal transmittance (W/m2K) of about 36% have been observed for the upgraded masonry wall, when compared to the un-strengthened masonry wall.