Impact behavior of textile and hybrid cement-based composites

The bending properties under dynamic (impact) and static loadings of four composite systems-hybrid composites reinforced with twodimensional (2-D) fabrics and short fibers, sandwich composites reinforced with 2-D fabrics, composites with three-dimensional (3-D) fabrics, and composites made from short polypropylene (PP) fibers or polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) fibers-were compared. The hybrid combination of polyethylene (PE) fabrics and short fibers performed well as reinforcements for cement composites exposed to dynamic (impact) loading. The hybrid composite with the short PP fibers outperformed the short PP fiber composite without fabric reinforcement. Under static loading, no difference was observed between the behaviors of the hybrid composites and the nonfabric composites based on short PP fibers. The 2-D and 3-D fabrics show promise when used as reinforcements for composites exposed to dynamic loading, but more research is needed to fully understand the behaviors of these materials under both impact and static conditions.