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The addition of metallic fibres in concrete is a widely used technique to increase its resistance to crack opening, energy absorption capacity, and durability. The properties of the resulting composite strongly depend on the geometry of the fibres, which usually dispose of an hooked end, as well as on the mechanical properties of both the fibre and the concrete. The optimization of the fibre reinforcement mechanisms can only be achieved by an approach that takes into account adequately these aspects. Therefore, in this work, a computational model incorporating the key features of a hooked end fibre embedded in a cement matrix is proposed. The fibre is modelled as a Timoshenko beam, whereas a cohesive interface is used to model the interaction with the surrounding concrete. Different failure mechanisms are defined including fibre debonding or fibre tensile rupture and concrete spalling at fibre exit point. The model is calibrated by using the results of an experimental campaign conducted by authors. A multi-step optimization algorithm is used to find the optimal geometry and model’s constitutive parameters that maximize the peak pull-out force and the energy absorption capacity in a fibre pull-out test. The analysis suggests that the use of concrete with high strength has the potential to increase both peak force and energy absorption capacity by designing the proper geometry of the fibre, FEDER through the Operational Program for Competitiveness Factors - COMPETE and Internationalization Program (POCI), under the project NG_ TPfib POCI-01-0247-FEDER-033719

The hybridisation of fibres reinforced laminates, i.e., the combined use of two or more families of fibres, is an effective technique to achieve a pseudo-ductile response and overcome the inherent brittleness which limits the wider use of composite materials. In this paper, a one-dimensional analytical model for unidirectional hybrid laminates is derived. The model considers two elastic–brittle layers bonded together by a cohesive elasto–plastic–brittle interface. This formulation is applied to the study of the debonding and fracture of laminates under uniaxial loading and the results compared to experiments available from the open literature. This study shows that the proposed model provides a close fit to the experimental data and it is able to match accurately the crack patterns seen in the experiments. The model predicts four different failure mechanisms and is able to discriminate among them according to the geometrical and mechanical properties of the layers.

In the present work, a multiscale model for fibre reinforced concrete (FRC) beams failing in bending is presented. At the microstructural level, the fibre is modelled as a one-dimensional continuum with axial, shear and bending deformability, with cohesive-like interfaces to simulate the interaction with the surrounding concrete. At the macroscopic level, the response of the beam is simulated by discretising the cross-section into layers and by enforcing the proper compatibility conditions between the layers. In the post-cracking stage, the tensile capacity is assured by the fracture energy of the concrete and the fibre resisting mechanisms simulated by the fibre pull-out constitutive laws determined at the microstructural level. The model can account for fibre distribution and orientation, controlled by the casting conditions and geometry of the mould. By using experimental data available from the open literature, it is proved that such an integrated approach is able to derive, by inverse analysis, the stress-crack width relationship of FRC, which is the fracture mode I information in the material nonlinear analysis of FRC structures with approaches based on the finite element method.

Fibre-reinforced elastomers are a class of elastomeric materials with peculiar mechanical properties. If the fibres are metallic or metallic-coated their orientation can be controlled by applying a magnetic field during the curing phase of the elastomer so to tailor the material anisotropy. Once the elastomer is cured, the application of a magnetic field may be used to control the deformation of the solid. In this paper, we aim at modelling both the pre-curing and post-curing phases within a unifying framework compatible with nonlinear elasticity and growth theory. The coupling between elasticity and magnetic field is obtained by considering a proper form of the free energy density which accounts for the mutual orientation between the magnetic field and the fibres. By considering some asymptotic limits, it is shown that the proposed approach incorporates both the usual magneto-elastic model of solids as well as those models used to study the magnetic reorientation of fibres in viscous solutions.

Alignment of magnetic particles into a viscous fluid by a homogeneous magnetic field has been studied both experimentally and theoretically, but very few studies have investigated the effects of viscosity changes on the capability of achieving complex fibre assemblies in composite materials. In this paper, we study the alignment of short carbon fibres into a viscous matrix whose viscosity is made dependent on the time, in order to simulate the curing process of the composite. A simple model is derived which gives the evolution of fibre position and orientation in terms of the external field and shows good agreement with the experimental evidence on nickel coated carbon fibres embedded in PDMS. The model is used to predict the fibre distribution at curing and hence could be a useful tool to predict the mechanical, electrical and magnetic properties of the composite. A closed form expression of the minimum magnetic field intensity necessary to achieve the desired orientation is derived in terms of the magnetic and geometric properties of the fibres. This equation can be used to guide experiments, and offers a way to discriminate which matrix/fibre configuration can be most proficiently used to have a highly ordered composite.

Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) films reinforced with short Nickel-coated Carbon Fibres (NiCF) were successfully fabricated, with the fibres aligned along different directions using an external magnetic field. The fibres were dispersed in the host matrix using sonication and mechanical mixing before being cured for 48 hours in the magnetic field; thanks to the nickel functionalisation, the fibre orientation was achieved by a low intensity field ( < 0.2 T) which required an inexpensive experimental set-up. The main focus of this study was looking at the actuation potential of this magnetic composite material; successful actuation was achieved, showing its large displacement capability. The results confirm the presence of an instability controlled by the magnetic torque, as predicted by the introduced model. The composite films undergo a transition from a bending-only deformed configuration for the 0° fibre specimen, to a twisting-only configuration, achieved for fibres at 90°, whereas all the intermediate angles show both bending and twisting. This behaviour mirrors that which is used to propel a selection of marine mammals.

The mechanical properties of natural rubber reinforced with exfoliated graphene oxide (GO) nanoplatelets have been studied to evaluate the reinforcement efficiency of the filler. Tensile tests on rectangular specimens have been carried out at different strain rates for deformations up to 600%. Tensile tests showed a significant increase in the Young’s modulus of the composites even at low filler loading (+50% @ 1.00 wt%) that corroborates the strong interfacial interaction between GO and natural rubber. The viscoelastic properties are investigated through relaxation tests and loading–unloading cycles at different strain rates. It is shown that the Young’s modulus increases with the strain rate and the dissipation increases (+250% @ 0.75 wt%) for increased GO content because of the increased friction caused by the presence of high aspect-ratio GO platelets. These findings indicate significant improvements in the mechanical properties at much lower filler concentration than those usually achieved with carbon black or carbon nanotubes.

The large strain behaviour of a short fibre-reinforced composite is studied through numerical simulations. The reinforcing fibres yield the macroscopic response transversely isotropic which is indeed the case of many reinforcements currently used in composites: short carbon fibres, cellulose whiskers, carbon nanotubes. As a result of the analysis, it is shown that the reorientation of the fibres that takes place at large strain has a significant effect on the overall material response by changing the axis of isotropy. This behaviour can be adequately described by using a transversely isotropic model whose strain energy function depends on three invariants: two isotropic and one representing the stretch along the direction of the fibres. To assess its capabilities, the model is compared to the results of experiments carried out by the authors on nickel-coated chopped carbon fibres in a vulcanised natural rubber matrix for which the fibre orientation is achieved by controlling an external magnetic field prior to curing. Possible applications include micro-sized propulsion devices and actuators.Copyright © 2014 by ASME

We propose a simple mathematical model to describe isotropic auxetic materials in the framework of the classical theory of nonlinear elasticity. The model is derived from the Blatz–Ko constitutive equation for compressible foams and makes use of a non-monotonic Poisson function. An application to the modelling of auxetic foams is considered and it is shown that the material behaviour is adequately described with only three constitutive parameters.