Strength degradation of fiber-reinforced cement composites exposed to simulated environments

Short-fiber reinforcement is commonly added to cement-based materials to improve various aspects of their durability and life-cycle performance. Effective designs of Fiber Reinforced Cement Composites (FRCC) depend not only on material composition, but also on their methods of processing. In particular, the distribution of fibers within a structural component can significantly affect its resistance to cracking and, therefore, its durability when exposed to severe environments. Probability-based analyses can be used to accommodate such factors in life-cycle performance evaluation, in which the relevant performance measures are described by probability distributions and their evolution over time. This paper concerns the simulation of FRCC materials using lattice models, in which the individual fibers are explicitly modeled within the material domain. This approach facilitates the study of non-uniform fiber dispersions and their potential effects on structural performance.