High speed tensile behavior of sisal fiber cement composites

The experimental behavior of sisal fiber reinforced cement composites subjected to high speed tension load was studied. High strain rates were achieved by using a high rate servo-hydraulic testing machine. A state-of-the-art high speed Phantom camera was also used to take images from the specimen during the test. The images were used in a digital image correlation model to determine the displacement fields and to calculate crack spacing. The effect of strain rate was investigated by comparing static and dynamic tensile tests which were performed at strain rates ranging from 5.5 x 10(-6) to 24.6 s(-1), respectively. A numerical tension stiffening model based on nonlinear finite difference method was used to simulate tensile cracking behavior of sisal fiber cementitious composites. The composite presented strain rate sensitivity for ultimate tensile strength and strain capacity with a dynamic amplification factor of 1.26. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.