Durability of Jute Fibre-Reinforced Concrete: A Critical Review of Degradation Mechanisms, Mitigation Strategies and the Quantitative Evidence Base

Abstract

Jute is among the most abundant and lowest-cost renewable reinforcing fibres available in South and Southeast Asia, and a substantial body of work confirms that it improves the tensile, flexural and impact performance of cement-based composites. The property that governs service use — durability — is nonetheless far less consolidated. Both existing reviews of jute in cementitious composites are, by their own inclusion criteria or conclusions, accounts of mechanical strength: one screened 937 records and analysed 143 strength studies, while the other concluded that little research exists on jute reinforced concrete durability. This review addresses that imbalance and, where jute-specific data are absent, maps onto jute the degradation mechanisms established for analogous lignocellulosic fibres. Five findings emerge. First, degradation is governed by the alkaline pore environment through calcium hydroxide mineralisation of the fibre cell wall and alkaline hydrolysis of lignin and hemicellulose, proceeding in stages in which interfacial damage precedes loss of fibre strength.