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Abstract
The major limitation of using fibre–cement mortar composite for roofing application is the high water absorption of the mortar. In order to improve the water behaviour of fibre–cement mortar composite, which motivated this present study. Polymer-modified Raffia fibre (RPF) cement mortar was developed by varying the RPF from 0% to 25%. Polyester and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) were used in the production of the cement mortar. The curing time of 28 days were used. Water absorption of the developed composite was examined. The result shows that the water absorption decreased with increasing number of days of curing. The low values of water absorption recorded in this work for the polyester-modified cement mortar after curing for 28 days are within the recommend standard of 0% to 2% for roofing sheet application. Factorial design of the experiment can be successfully employed to describe the water absorption of the cement mortar; the developed linear equation model can be used in predicting the water absorption of the composites within the selected experimental conditions.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.