Reinforcing effects and mechanisms in the composites

The reinforcing mechanisms of cement matrices by fabrics are essentially similar to the ones outlined in Section 12.2 for high performance FRC. Most of the fabric reinforcements provide systems where the content and the spacing of the reinforcement are such that strain and deflection hardening are obtained. 

When analysing the reinforcing mechanisms in the composite, there is also a need to take into account the special geometry of the fabric, which may induce strengthening or weakening influences which cannot be predicted by simple consideration of yarn-matrix interactions of unidirectional longitudinal reinforcement. 

Mu and Meyer [51] studied the effect of orientation in cements reinforced with AR glass and PVA fabrics. They developed a model to calculate the post-crack bending capacity at different orientations, as a function of the orientation angle and the post-crack bending capacity in the weft and warp directions. The model could predict the orientation effect of the different fabrics, and it was independent of the nature of the fabric. They suggested that the influence of the fabric itself is already expressed in the bending capacity in the warf and weft directions. 

An additional factor which needs to be considered is the mode of fabrication of the composite, inrelation to the structure of the fabricand yarn. Pultrusion (relative 

Within this context of the production process, there is a need to consider also parameters related to the impregnation of the fabric. In one report the pultrusion 

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