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 bridges were fabricated with laminating hybrid composite resin and one was fabricated with hybrid composite resin alone. 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 3mm to 6mm, and bending the FRC apically increased the flexure strength by about 400N, respectively (p<0.01). We found that it is desirable to enlarge the width of the FRC and to bend it apically when using this material for making bridges.