WOVEN FABRIC REINFORCEMENT OF CEMENT MATRIX

The performance of woven fabric reinforced cement was studied to resolve the influence of the structure of the fabric on its reinforcing efficiency. Special fabrics were produced for this study in which the longitudinal (warp) yarn density was kept constant and the perpendicular (fill) yarn density was varied, in the range of 0 to 22 yarns per centimeter. Specimens for flexural and pull out testing were produced from the fabrics and crimped yarns unitied from the fabric Scanning electron microscope tests were carried out to resolve the microstructure of the composite, in particular at the yarn-matrix interface. The results point to three main conclusions: (1) Woven fabric structure improved the bonding capacity as compared to polyethylene monofilament fibers and cement matrix. (2) The crimped structure of the yarns in the fabric plays an important role in this improvement of the bond, providing mechanical anchoring between the woven fabric and the cement matrix. (3) There is an optimal density of fill yarn in the fabric, which causes the higher flexural strength within the tested densities and matrix formulations. This optimum is achieved in the fabric with five fill yarns per centimeter, and it may be accounted for by the fact that at higher density the matrix does not penetrate efficiently into the spaces in the fabric.