Quasi-static and Dynamic Prope

Introduction
Natural and synthetic fi bers are used
in many products including fabric,
insulation, and composite materials.
Often, the mechanical properties of
the fi bers dictate the performance and
longevity of the products in which they
are used. Generally, it is not suffi cient to
assume that a fi ber will have the same
strength as a larger specimen of the
same material. This is especially true
for metals, because strength depends
directly on grain size, and grain size
depends on geometric constraints.
So for its size, a thin metal wire will
generally be stronger than a large
specimen of the same material, because
the wire has smaller grains. Some
polymers also manifest size-dependent
strengthening mechanisms [1].
Therefore, the ability to measure
the mechanical properties of fi bers
is essential for their successful
incorporation into products. This article
describes experimental method and
results for three prototypical fi bers: a
basalt glass fi ber, a fi ne tungsten wire,
and polypropylene.