Predictability of the Mechanical Properties of Glass Fibrous Mortar

Abstract

The features expected from traditional building materials in the construction industry vary, as the needs become too complex. For this reason, fibers are used in the production of concrete or mortar. However, the predictability of the properties of the mortar or concrete-which becomes more complicated with the addition of fibers-decreases. Therefore, one factor at a time experimental designs is insufficient. In this study, 3 mm in length and (12-13) mu m in diameter glass fiber reinforced mortar samples were produced for the determination of the effect levels of the effect variables (fiber ratio, 0.15%, 0.30%, 0.45%, 0.60%, and 0.90% by weight of the mixture; fast mixing time, 60 s, 75 s, and 90 s) on the response variables (flexural strength, compressive strength). As a result of the study, with the analysis of variance (ANOVA), models with high prediction accuracy (flexural strength, R-2 = 0.9194 and compressive strength, R-2 = 0.8193) were obtained. The interaction and higher-order terms (p-value < 0.0001) have a high effect level on the flexural strength than the main terms (p(A)-value = 0.0218, p(B)-value = 0.0273). The effect level of the main terms (p(A)-value = 0.0004 and p(B)-value < 0.0001) on compressive strength is quite high. However, the results show that the interaction and higher-order terms have a high effect level on the response variable. Therefore, experimental designs that take into account multiple effect variables for the predictability of properties of fiber-reinforced mortars should be considered.