Abstract
Multiple cracking has been shown to occur in hardened cement paste reinforced with aligned polypropylene fibres of elastic modulus considerably lower than that of the cement paste. The effect of fibre volume fraction on the distribution of matrix cracks has been studied and good agreement found with existing theory. Factors which enable fibre/matrix contact to be maintained during the multiple cracking process, despite the unfavourable Poisson's ratio contraction of polypropylene have been discussed. These include the lateral displacement of one surface of a crack relative to the other and also the lateral displacement of matrix material next to the crack surface relative to the fibre array. This latter mechanism is shown to apply to other aligned composites and calculations based on a simple theory predict that multiple cracking should occur in all composites provided that a critical size is exceeded.
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