Simulation of the effect of a reinforcement fibre on network mechanics

Computer simulations were used to study the effect of a single reinforcement fiber added to a mechanical fibre network. The stresses of the surrounding fibers and inter-fiber bonds increased proportionally to the logarithm of the elastic stiffness of the reinforcement fibre. In the case of fiber failure the breaking stress of the model system increased only little and breaking strain decreased little when the reinforcement fiber is added. In the case of bond failure the effect should be more negative. The study demonstrated one reason why in practice small amounts of reinforcement fiber do not improve the strength properties of paper.