Experimental Evaluation of Sheep Wool Fibres as Sustainable Reinforcement in Eco-Friendly Cement Mortars

TL;DR

This study explores using sheep wool as a sustainable reinforcement in cement mortars, finding that it can offer good mechanical performance and improved thermal properties.

Contribution

The novelty lies in evaluating Segureña sheep wool fibres as eco-friendly reinforcement in cement mortars, comparing washed and encapsulated forms.

Findings

Optimal wool dosage (1.0 g per batch) achieved flexural strength comparable to polypropylene and higher compressive strength.

Wool incorporation reduced thermal conductivity by up to ~18% at the highest dosage.

Higher wool dosages (3.0 g per batch) led to reduced mechanical performance due to dispersion issues.

Abstract

Sheep wool is a low-value agricultural by-product with potential to contribute to more sustainable cementitious materials. This study investigates Segureña sheep wool fibres as reinforcement in cement mortars, comparing washed wool (W) and cement-encapsulated wool (E) at the same oven-dry raw wool dosages (0.5, 1.0, and 3.0 g per batch), and benchmarking against polypropylene (PP) fibres. Flexural and compressive strength were evaluated at 1, 7, and 28 days, whereas apparent density, water absorption, and thermal conductivity were assessed at 28 days. An intermediate dosage (1.0 g per batch) provided the most favourable mechanical response, while the highest dosage (3.0 g per batch) reduced performance, plausibly due to dispersion limitations and void formation. At 28 days, W-1 reached 9.65 ± 0.50 MPa in flexure (very close to PP-1) and 59.70 ± 1.05 MPa in compression, exceeding PP-1 in compression. Wool incorporation also reduced apparent density and yielded an observed reduction in thermal conductivity of up to ~18% at the highest dosage (single specimen per series). Overall, optimally dosed washed wool can deliver competitive mechanical performance while improving thermal behaviour, supporting circular-economy valorisation of waste wool in eco-mortars.

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