ABSTRACT
If such fiber-reinforced cementitious material is exposed to an external tensile stress, a deformation of the matrix takes place, which - as long as a good bond exists between the matrix and the fiber surface - is also transferred to the fibers embedded in the matrix. Thus both the matrix and the fibers are put under stresses, whose magnitude is proportional to the deformation, and - at an equal deformation - proportional to the modulus of elasticity of the particular material (Fig. 25.2). Consequently, fibers with a high modulus of elasticity — if introduced in sufficiently high amounts - have the capacity to reduce distinctly the stresses existing in the matrix at a given degree of deformation and thus increase the maximum load that the material can sustain without failure. In general, the tensile
Figure 25.1 Schematic presentation of the distribution of fibers in a fiberreinforced cementitious composite material.
