Controlling fracture toughness of matrix for ductile fiber reinforced cementitious composites

An experimental study was carried out to find material parameters for making fiber reinforced cementitious composites (FRCC) more ductile. One of the dominant factors to control the ductility might be hidden in fracture property of matrix as well as the interface property between fiber and matrix. Therefore this study varied air content and water–binder ratio as the parameters to change the fracture property of matrix and experimentally examined their influence on the ductility of FRCC by three-point bend test with notched beams. As a result, it is concluded that fracture toughness of the matrix could be one of key parameters to control the ductility of FRCC. In case of a polyethylene fiber used in this study, the optimum value of the fracture toughness (critical strain energy release rate): G IC of the matrix was obtained to be 7.5–8.0 N/m.