Mechanical property test of a multi-scale fiber reinforced cementitious composites

One kind of multi-scale fiber reinforced cementitious composite (MSFRCC), which contains steel fiber, polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) fiber and calcium carbonate whisker, was designed from the perspective of multi-scale structure and fracture process of cementitious materials. Mechanical properties of MSFRCC, such as compressive strength, flexural strength, flexural toughness, multiple cracking patterns and fracture process, were studied. The result indicates that both the strength and toughness are improved. Hardening behavior and multiple cracking patterns are achieved under flexural loading. Multi-scale cracking resistance of multi-scale fiber is confirmed by the results of SEM and fracture test. The result shows that the toughness of cementitious composite can be significantly improved through the multi-scale combination design of fibers. The steel fiber and PVA fiber can be replaced appropriately by relative cheap calcium carbonate whisker through the multi-scale design of fibers.