Micromechanics analysis

The micromechanics approaches presented in this book are an attempt to predict the mechanical properties of a composite material based on the mechanical properties of its constituent materials. In nearly all fiber-reinforced composite materials, there is considerable difference between expectation and reality. Thus, we must ask what is the usefulness of micromechanical analysis beyond gaining a feeling for why composite materials behave as they do Basically, there are two answers one related to designing a material and one related to designing a structure. 

Fibers are often regarded as the dominant constituents in a fiber-reinforced composite material. However, simple micromechanics analysis described in Section 7.3.5, Importance of Constituents, leads to the conclusion that fibers dominate only the fiber-direction modulus of a unidirectionally reinforced lamina. Of course, lamina properties in that direction have the potential to contribute the most to the strength and stiffness of a laminate. Thus, the fibers do play the dominant role in a properly designed laminate. Such a laminate must have fibers oriented in the various directions necessary to resist all possible loads. 

Microcomposite tests including fiber pull-out tests are aimed at generating useful information regarding the interface quality in absolute terms, or at least in comparative terms between different composite systems. In this regard, theoretical models should provide a systematic means for data reduction to determine the relevant properties with reasonable accuracy from the experimental results. The data reduction scheme must not rely on the trial and error method. Although there are several methods of micromechanical analysis available, little attempt in the past has been put into providing such a means in a unified format. A systematic procedure is presented here to generate the fiber pull-out parameters and ultimately the relevant fiber-matrix interface properties. 

Specific results are calculated for SiC fiber-glass matrix composites with the elastic constants given in Table 4.1. A constant embedded fiber length L = 2.0 mm, and constant radii a = 0.2 mm and B = 2.0 mm are considered with varying matrix radius b. The stress distributions along the axial direction shown in Fig. 4.31 are predicted based on micromechanics analysis, which are essentially similar to those obtained by FE analysis for the two extremes of fiber volume fraction, V[, shown in Fig. 4.32. The corresponding FAS distribution calculated based on Eqs. (4.90) and (4.120), and IFSS at the fiber-matrix interface of Eqs. (4.93) and (4.132) are plotted along the axial direction in Fig. 4.32. 

Fig. 4.31. Distributions of (a) fiber axial stress and (b) interface shear stress along the axial direction obtained from micromechanics analysis for different fiber volume fractions, Vf = 0.03, 0.3 and 0.6 (—) single fiber composite (--------) three cylinder composite model. After Kim et al. (1994b).

One of the major differences between the results obtained from the micromechanics and FE analyses is the relative magnitude of the stress concentrations. In particular, the maximum IFSS values at the loaded and embedded fiber ends tend to be higher for the micromechanics analysis than for the FEA for a large Vf. This gives a slightly lower critical Vf required for the transition of debond initiation in the micromechanics model than in the FE model of single fiber composites. All these... 

Bowles, D.E. and Griffin, O.H. (1991a). Micromechanics analysis of space simulated thermal stresses in composites, part I Theory and unidirectional laminates. J. Reinforced Plast. Composites 10, 504-521. 

The commercial composite materials being marketed today are optimized in order to make the interfacial properties acceptable in the sense that they will not fail at such low levels as to detract from the overall composite behavior. Considering a unidirectional specimen, where the fibers are all aligned parallel to each other, commercial systems can be described by a rule of mixtures661 relationship (Fig. 10). Properties of the matrix and fiber can be linearly combined based on the volume fraction of each constituent. For example, the longitudinal tensile modulus is the sum of the proportion of each component. The interface in these systems is considered ideal in that it efficiently transmits forces between fiber and matrix without failure. Using this model as a basis for micromechanical analysis and discussion, the magnitude of the forces present at the interface can be predicted. 

Fig. 11. A unidirectional lamina under longitudinal tension. The micromechanical analysis of the radial, shear and hoop stresses show an increase with fiber volume fraction. From Haener et al.67>...

Fig. 12. A unidirectional lamina under transverse tension. The points of stress concentration are at the dots. The micromechanical analysis shows that the stress concentration factor increases with volume fraction of fiber and fiber to matrix modulus ratio. From Adams et al.70)...

Abstract When subjected to a mechanical loading, the solid phase of a saturated porous medium undergoes a dissolution due to strain-stress concentration effects along the fluid-solid interface. Through a micromechanical analysis, the mechanical affinity is shown to be the driving force of the local dissolution. For cracked porous media, the elastic free energy is a dominant component of this driving force. This allows to predict dissolution-induced creep in such materials. 

M. Paley, J. Aboudi Micromechanical analysis of composites by the generalized cells model. Mech. Matls. 14, 127-139 (1992)... 

To determine the IDEFs as functions of the damage parameters D D, micromechanical analysis of the damaged laminate has to be performed. 

As shown above, the ZrO/Ni composites examined by disk-bend testing are found to deform in a nonlinear manner, so that composition-dependent fracture strengths cannot be obtained directly from the stress-strain diagram in Fig. 3. Under the circumstances, we now make a micromechanical analysis to estimate actual stresses to be developed by plastic deformation of the ductile constituent on the basis of an established "mean-field" model [12]. In the following, the macrostress a) is related to the microstresses and (o) such... 

Through disk-bend testing on a series of ZrOj/Ni composite specimens fabricated by powder processing, we have examined the fracture behavior of ceramic/metal composites under an equibiaxial plane-stress loading, and derived, by making a micromechanical analysis of elastoplastic stress states, a brittle phase-controlled fracture criterion of the form, ( )max const., in terms of the equivalent normal stress a. This criterion is conceptually simple and quite useful particularly for our micromechanics-based approach to the FGM architecture. 

We present now the extension of the constitutive equation (7) to partially saturated porous media. The material is assumed to be saturated by a liquid phase (noted by index w) and a gas mixture (noted by index g ). The gas mixture is a perfect mixture of dry air (noted by index da) and vapour (noted by index va). Based on most experimental data of unsaturated rocks and soils (Fredlund and Rahardjo 1993), and on the theoretical background of micromechanical analysis (Chateau and Dormieux 1998), the poroelastic behaviour of unsaturated material should be non-linear and depends on the water saturation degree. We consider here the particular case of spherical pores which are dried or wetted under a capillary pressure equal to the superficial tension on the air-solid interface. By adapting the macroscopic non-linear poroelastic model proposed by Coussy al. (1998) to unsaturated damaged porous media, the incremental constitutive equations in isothermal conditions are expressed as follows ... 

Pensee V. and Kondo D. 2001. A 3-D micromechanical analysis of damage by mesocracking, C.R. Acad. Sci. Paris, t329, Serie II b, 271-276... 

Seidel, G. D. and Lagoudas, D. C. Micromechanical analysis of the effective elastic properties of carbon nanotube reinforced composites. Mech of Mater., 38, 884-907 (2006). 

Ghosh, S. (2010) Micromechanical Analysis and Multi-scale Modeling Using the Voronoi Cell Finite Element Methods, CRC Press, Boca Raton, Florida. 

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