Numerical analysis of the mechanical behavior of cement matrix composites reinforced with natural fibers

GONZALO RUANO; JUAN VERA; RICARDO QUINTEROS; FACUNDO BELLOMO; SERGIO OLLER

Bologna

Congreso; ICCS21; 2018

University of Bologna, Italy

Nowadays the so-called green-materials as well as the reuse of agro-industrial wastes are in their peak. Natural fibers are one of those materials and also have good mechanical properties that make them suitable as reinforcement of fragile matrix such as Portland cement one. Particularly, vegetal fibers have low density due to their material and the internal sponge-like structure. Fibers will have a distribution and orientation as well as different bonding within the matrix due to water absorption among others technological aspects. In this work the behavior of vegetable fiber reinforced cementitious matrix through serial/parallel mixture theory is performed. In the composite, for each fiber content, the influence of the fiber elastic modulus and the distribution/orientation are evaluated. The numerical model allows to assess the incidence of fiber morphology considering a wide range of possible composite behaviors, improving the design and considering the length and type of fibers.