This paper aims to analyse the influence that the length of coconut fiber exerts on compressive strength of mortar seeking to determine their critical length. Mortars were prepared with addition (0.3% volume of the mixture) of 6 different lengths of coconut fibers: 12.5, 25.0, 37.5, 50.0, 62.5 and 75.0 mm, and a reference mortar. To study the behavior of each one in mortar, consistency tests were performed on fresh and hard state in axial compression strength test at three ages (7, 28 and 56 days) during the first half of 2013. It was observed that all lengths tested decrease resistance compared to the reference mortar in three ages, however, the mortar with addition of 25.0 mm length fibers had a better performance in the study.
natural fibers; cement matrix; composite
