j m a t e r r e s t e c h n o l . 2 0 2 0;9(x x):8697-8704 w w w . j m r t . c o m . b r DOE Glass fiber Polyester Water soaking a b s t r a c t Glass fiber-cement-polyester composites with different weight percentages (wt.%) of glass fiber and cement were fabricated in the present work through hand lay-up process. Composites were made to undergo different soaking conditions viz., water soaking at room temperature, and boiling water soaking. Unsoaked (as prepared) composites, water-soaked at

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... m temperature, and boiling water soaked samples were tested as per ASTM standards for tensile and flexural strengths. The design of experiments (DOE) based on the full factorial design (3 3 = L 27 ) is applied to optimize the response variables using MINITAB-18. Results revealed that increasing the wt.% of glass fiber enhanced flexural and tensile strengths. Increasing the wt.% of cement deteriorated the tensile strength but increased the flexural strength. However, specimen subjected to water soaking conditions exhibited a decline in both tensile and flexural strengths. (M. Manjunath). composites in the aforesaid applications [6] . Although there are many reinforcement choices, the focus for greater use is certainly on glass fiber compared to other types of fibers, for its economic advantage. Glass fiber with many orientations viz., unidirectional continuous, bidirectional woven and randomly oriented mats (chopped-strand mats) are used in the preparation of FRP composites. One of the most commonly used reinforcing material is a chopped-strand mat (CSM), which offers economical reinforcement for many applications. CSM delivers brilliant strand integrity, decent wettability, and exhibit uniform strength in all directions. CSM is mostly applied for small mold and pattern making, bathroom tubs, partition walls, and waterproofing. The most commonly used resin systems in the marine and construction industries are polyester resins. Polyesters are https://doi.