Experimental and numerical analysis of interfacial bonding strength of polyoxymethylene reinforced cement composites Wei Zhang, Xiao Xu, Hailou Wang ⇑ , Fayun Wei, Yu Zhang National and Local Joint Engineering Research Center of Technical Fiber Composites for Safety and Protection, Nantong University, Nantong 226019, China School of Textile and Clothing, Nantong University, Nantong 226019, China highlights  Strength of POM/cement interface in forms of fiber and woven fabric is observed.  POM forms a stronger interface with cement than PP and PET.  POM woven fabric/cement interface is significantly structural dependent.  Woven fabric with more straight segments could form a stronger interface with cement. article info Article history: Received 7 October 2018 Received in revised form 25 January 2019 Accepted 19 February 2019 Keywords: Polyoxymethylene Interfacial bonding strength Cement Pull-out tests Finite element analysis abstract The objective of this paper is to investigate the interfacial bonding strength of polyoxymethylene (POM) reinforced cement composites through pull-out tests and finite element model (FEM). As comparison with usual materials, the pull-out tests of polypropylene (PP) reinforced cement composites and poly- ethylene terephthalate (PET) reinforced cement composites are also performed. The pull-out tests are performed in forms of fiber reinforced cement and woven fabric reinforced cement. The woven fabrics contain three different structures, i.e. plain, twill and hybrid. Compared with PP and PET, the results show that POM could form a much stronger interface bonding with cement irrespective of reinforcement form (fiber or woven fabric). Besides, the interfacial bonding strength of woven fabric reinforced cement com- posite presents a significant structural dependency. The FEM of woven fabric reinforced cement compos- ite is established and the internal mechanism for the structural effect is analysed. Woven fabric comprises two different yarn segments: curved segment and straight segment. During the pull-out pro- cess, the curved segment rotates and distorts the weft yarn. Owing to the rotational deformation, the cement surrounding the curved segments damages more seriously. Therefore, a woven fabric with more straight segments could form a stronger interface bonding with cement. Ó 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Cement based composite, as an important man-made engineer- ing material has been widely used in many applications, such as bridges, roads, dams, buildings and so on. Cement based composite has hard texture and outstanding pressure resistance, but with poor tensile properties and toughness. In order to overcome these limitations, some technologies have been developed to increase the durability or workability properties of cement based composite for example fiber reinforced cement [1], self-compacting concrete [2–4]. Reinforcements are usually added to enhance cement perfor- mances and these can be in various forms, such as fibrous materi- als [5], fabric [6–8] or even mussel shells [9] and so on. Fibrous materials as reinforcements could enhance tensile properties and toughness of cement [10–12]. The common fibrous materials applied in cement are steel [13,14], polyethylene (PE) [15], polyvi- nyl alcohol (PVA) [15], polyethylene terephthalate (PET) [16,17], polypropylene (PP) [18–20] and basalt fiber [21]. Hybrid fibers [22,23] are also used and studied to reinforce the cement based materials. Besides, the behaviors of concrete reinforced with waste fibers from recycled materials [24–26] are also investigated with an intention of sustainable development. When fibrous materials are used as reinforcement, the interface is a critical constituent besides cement and fiber. A good interface ensures stress transfer between cement and reinforcement, which https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2019.02.122 0950-0618/Ó 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. ⇑ Corresponding author. E-mail address: wanghl1130@ntu.edu.cn (H. Wang). Construction and Building Materials 207 (2019) 1–9 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Construction and Building Materials journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/conbuildmat