Stiffness and Strength of two glass-fiber reinforced cement laminates

A general description is given of the load-deformation characteristics in tension, compression and bending of two types of thin cement laminate reinforced with short random glass fibers. Cyclic loading in tension is used to demonstrate that stiffness decreases and residual strain increases as cracking damage accumulates. The damage depends on the greatest strain previously reached. There is no evidence that the presence of fibers delays the onset of cracking. Bending strains can be predicted by assuming linear strain distributions. Bending stress distribution is markedly non-linear. The bending test is an insensitive indicator of the onset of cracking.