Stress Redistribution in Glass Fibers of G-FRCM Composites

Abstract

Fiber reinforced cementitious matrix (FRCM) composites are increasingly adopted as a strengthening technique for existing masonry structures. Among the different fibers that can be employed in the reinforcing open-mesh textiles, which are embedded within cement- and lime-based matrices, glass fibers are gaining popularity due to their low price and promising performances observed so far. However, the stress redistribution between the glass fiber filaments within the textile is often uneven, which strongly affects the performance of the FRCM when subjected to external forces. In this paper, the stress redistribution between the glass fiber filaments is studied on the basis of tensile tests on a glass fiber textile left bare and impregnated with organic and inorganic matrices. The parameters studied are the fiber textile tensile strength and elastic modulus. Different systems, including the digital image correlation (DIC) technique, were employed to measure the specimen tensile strain. The results obtained shed light on the tensile strength of the glass textile, which is a key parameter in the design of glass FRCM strengthening.