A long-fibre composite contains reinforcing fibres whose lengths are large enough that end regions do not dominate their load-carrying response. In a well-bonded continuous aligned specimen pulled along the fibres, the fibres and composite matrix undergo approximately the same axial strain. Their different Young's moduli then produce different axial stresses, and adding their forces gives the longitudinal rule of mixtures.
Load enters a fibre through shear stress at its interface with the composite matrix. Near a free fibre end the axial stress must rise from zero, so a short fibre can spend much of its length below its useful load. The critical fibre length expresses the associated scale in a simple strength-transfer model. Whether a fibre is mechanically long therefore depends on its diameter, the interface and the required stress, rather than on an absolute length in millimetres. Changing fibre direction still changes the response: long reinforcement does not remove anisotropy.
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