Influence of Steel Fiber on Flexural Strength of Pure Gypsum

This study investigates the effect of adding steel fiber (SF) to pure gypsum on its flexural strength. Two water to Gypsum ratios (W/G) and three volume fractions (VF) of steel fiber were adopted to produce six mixtures. Three prismatic samples measured (40x40x160) mm were casted and examined from each mix. Regardless of W/G ratio, the results show that adding steel fiver to gypsum increases its modulus of rupture. This improvement in flexural strength becomes more evident as the W/G ratio increases. In contrast, the flexural strength decreases as the W/G ratio increases for all VF of steel fiver. As the proportion of short fibers increases, however, the magnitude of this reduction in flexural strength shrinks.