20.500.12556/DiRROS-21105 Investigating the synergistic impact of freeze-thaw cycles and deicing salts on the properties of cementitious composites incorporating natural fibers and fly ash In cold climates, concrete structures confront durability challenges due to harsh conditions. This study evaluates the effects of incorporating natural fibers, such as hemp and flax fibers (at 1 vol%), and partially replacing cement with fly ash (at 25 and 50 wt%) on the properties of cementitious composites subjected to accelerated aging under freeze-thaw cycles and deicing salts. Findings reveal that natural fibers enhance the freeze-thaw resistance, reducing deterioration (scaling) to 5-8% after 56 cycles. When mortars were subjected to accelerated freeze-thaw cycles, the compressive strength of plain mortar significantly decreased (up to 57%). However, adding natural fibers to the matrix substantially reduced its compressive strength loss. In the case of flexural strength, plain mortars experienced 33% loss, while hemp, flax, and polypropylene fiber mortars showed only 13%, 23%, and 10% losses, respectively. Furthermore, mortars experience a notable enhancement in their energy absorption capacity when reinforced with natural fibers, particularly with hemp fibers (up to 348% higher than plain mortar). Under harsh conditions, hemp and flax-reinforced mortars, with 25wt% fly ash replacement, lose the compressive strength significantly however still demonstrate an alternative to synthetic fibers in terms of flexural strength. Even with 25wt% of fly ash, mortars with natural fiber reinforcement display significantly superior energy absorption capacities compared to plain mortars (up to 48%). cementitious composites natural fibers freeze-thaw cycles mechanical properties mass loss fly ash cementni kompoziti naravna vlakna cikli zmrzovanja in tajanja mehanske lastnosti izguba mase leteči pepel true false true Elsevier Ltd. Angleški jezik Slovenski jezik © 2024 The Authors. Neznano 2024-12-23 10:13:55 2024-12-23 10:28:32 2024-12-24 03:35:46 0000-00-00 00:00:00 2025 0 0 1-46 str. [article no.] 100853 Vol. 24 Feb. 2025 0000-00-00 Zaloznikova Objavljeno NiDoloceno 0000-00-00 0000-00-00 2024-12-06 54 2666-7908 10.1016/j.clet.2024.100853 218668547 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666790824001332 1 3cf89c3d-c10e-11ef-ba3f-001a4af901a5 https://dirros.openscience.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=29915 RAZ_Merta_Ildiko_2025.pdf RAZ_Merta_Ildiko_2025.pdf 1 E351A449375BCF87807D43F314A203D8 8d13942d31b6e05a4e5675cada4a81928308fa381a36c99a6fabb9d0231c4879 3ecfa5c7-c110-11ef-ba3f-001a4af901a5 https://dirros.openscience.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=29917 Zavod za gradbeništvo Slovenije 0 0 0