Micromechanics of the Interface in Fibre-Reinforced Cement Materials

In fibre reinforced brittle matrix composites the mechanicalbehaviour of the interface between the fibres and the matrix has avery significant influence on the overall mechanical behaviour ofthe composite material. Since brittle matrix composites are designed primarilywith the aim of improving the strength and ductility of the brittlematrix material rather than changing the overall stiffness,the ability of the fibres to interact with cracking processes in thematrix material is essential.

Furthermore, since matrix cracking in afibre reinforced material can only take place with simultaneousinterfacial debonding of the fibre-matrix interface, it is clear thatspecial emphasis should be put on the mechanical and strengthproperties of the interface. The present paper gives an overview of the different modelsapplied in the literature in the description of interfaces incementitious composite materials.

It covers the geometricalcharacterisation, the mechanical characterisation of the interface - including the perfectly bonded, the debonded and the cohesiveinterface, the debonding criteria - including stress based andfracture mechanical criteria, discussion and finally a total of 97references.