The simulation of damage and failure in short fiber reinforced composites like high performance hybrid-fiber reinforced cement composites is still a challenging task, due to the richness of failure mechanisms introduced by fibers on the mesoscale of the material. Randomly oriented, hooked steel fibers, like the Baekaert Dramix® fibers, sustainable modify the macroscopic failure behavior of the ...

A mathematical model is presented that describes the health-endangering interaction of fibrous particles deposited in the human alveoli with alveolar fluids, cells, and tissues. As suggested by the theoretical approach, short fibers (diameter: 0.5 μm, length: 2-10 μm) are preferably ingested by alveolar macrophages and removed from the alveolar surface 10-15 days after exposure. Long (diameter:...