THE TOUGHNESS OF NYLON FIBER MATS LAMINATED MDF CEMENT COMPOSITES

Laminated composites based on MDF cement matrices reinforced by nylon fibre mats were prepared to improve the mechanical performance of MDF cements. The flexural strength, fracture energy and impact energy were measured for such composites. The load-deflection curves in the 3-poi nt bending test were recorded to calculate the toughness indexes using the ASTM C 1018 procedure. The effect of fibre volume and diameter on the toughness of the laminated composites is discussed. Three kinds o f toughness criteria, impact energy (W), fracture energy (G), and toug hness index (I100) obtained from experiments are compared. The results showed that the toughness behavior is improved significantly by the n ylon fibre mats. Impact energy is increased with an increase of fibre volume fraction and the diameter of fibre. The toughness index I100 co uld be a good criteria to evaluate the toughness of fiber mats laminat ed MDF cement composites.