Modeling of the Indentation of Fiber Reinforced Materials Using Spherical Indenters

Following the enormous development of the technology there is a great need for complex engineering materials to be studied in multilayered films at the nano-level. Careful modeling of the structure of engineering materials, using finite element analysis may reveal specific behavior of the component materials and the filling materials, such as mortars, which are the important boundaries of all the engineering materials. The instruments used for experiments are expensive and their utilization is hindered by many unexpected factors. With the help of computer programs it is possible to achieve virtual nanoindentation, a widely known non-destructive method. It is easy to model structures in whatever shape or dimensions we wish, with one or more layers and with linear or nonlinear materials in order to obtain stress, strain, displacement curves, study microhardness, etc. The purpose of this paper is to model the nanoindentation process for fiber-reinforced concrete and to study the mechanical properties as a function of the distance of a particular fibre.