Because of hazards to human and animal health, the use of asbestos and its products is being prohibited all around the world and academic institutions and fibre cement producers have been engaged in intensive research to find asbestos-free cement products. The application of natural fibres such as sisal to replace asbestos fibres can bring economical and ecological benefits due to their availability, low cost, low consumption of energy and suitability to the semi-arid area of the Northeast of Brazil (where not many plants can grow). In this paper, cement-based laminates reinforced with continuous sisal fibre were produced. Three point bending tests were carried out to evaluate the influence of addition of fibre (3%), number of layers of reinforcement (2 and 3), fibre orientation (0 and 90°) and moulding pressure (0 and 2 MPa) on the flexural behaviour of the laminate. The results indicate that the fibre addition increased the toughness and post-cracking flexural strength of all composites studied. The laminate reinforced with 3% of sisal fibre arranged in three parallel layers and moulded at a compression pressure of 2 MPa presented the best mechanical behaviour.
mortar; composites; flexural behaviour
