Fabric structure and its reinforcing efficiency in textile reinforced cement composites

In polymer matrices reinforced with fabrics, the effectiveness of the reinforcement is reduced when the yarns do not maintain a straight geometry. In cement composites, this concept may not be adequate since the nature of the interaction between the cement matrix and the fabric and its individual yarns is more complex, as concluded from pullout tests. The present paper discusses the bulk properties and geometrical characteristics of textile fabrics that need to be considered in order to predict the performance of cement composites reinforced with textile fabrics. It was found that the geometry of a given fabric could enhance the bonding and enable one to obtain strain hardening behavior from low modulus yarn fabrics, due to the special shape of the yarn induced by the fabric. On the other hand, variations of the geometry in a fabric could drastically reduce the efficiency, resulting in a lower strengthening effect of the yarns in the fabric, relative to single yarns not in a fabric form. Therefore, in cement composites the fabrics cannot be viewed simply as a means for holding together continuous yarns to be readily placed in the matrix, as is the case in composites with polymer matrix.