5 Influence of the shape of fiber-reinforced composites on the fracture strength of bridges

Abstract

We investigated the influence of the shape of fiber-reinforced composite (FRC) on the flexure strength of bridges. Four different FRC shapes were fabricated with laminating hybrid composite resin (n=5). Flexure strength was determined by mechanical loading on the center of the pontic using a universal testing machine. Both enlarging the width of the FRC from 3 mm to 6 mm, and bending the FRC apically increased the flexure strength by about 400 N respectively (p<0.01). We found that it is desirable to enlarge the width of the FRC and to bend the FRC apically when using this material for making a bridge.