Can the strength of brittle materials be enhanced?

We have employed a two-dimensional computer model to study the effect of volume fraction of second phase constituents on load transfer (stiffness) and strength in brittle short-fiber composites, i.e. composites containing a random distribution of aligned fibers, and brittle particulate composites. We find that the efficiency of load transfer to the second phase constituent increases with volume fraction in particulate composites, while it decreases for short-fiber composites. The strength of brittle particulate composites is found to decrease, while the strength of brittle short-fiber composites marginally increases only at fiber volume fractions equal or greater than 0.25.