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

G. RUANO; F. BELLOMO; J. VERA; S. OLLER

Congreso; International Conference on Composite Structures; 2018

nowadays the so‐called green‐materials as well as the reuse of agroindustrialwastes are in their peak. Natural fibers are one of those materials and alsohave good mechanical properties that make them suitable as reinforcement of fragilematrix such as Portland cement one. Particularly, vegetal fibers have low density dueto their material and the internal sponge‐like structure. Fibers will have a distributionand orientation as well as different bonding within the matrix due to water absorptionamong others technological aspects. In this work the behavior of vegetable fiberreinforced cementitious matrix through serial/parallel mixture theory is performed. Inthe composite, for each fiber content, the influence of the fiber elastic modulus andthe distribution/orientation are evaluated. The numerical model allows assessing theincidence of fiber morphology considering a wide range of possible compositebehaviors, improving the design and considering the length and type of fibers.Numerical analysis of the mechanical behavior of cement matrix composites reinforcedwith natural fibers.