WSEAS Transactions on Applied and Theoretical Mechanics
Print ISSN: 1991-8747, E-ISSN: 2224-3429
Volume 13, 2018
The Stiffness of Short and Randomly Distributed Fiber Composites
Authors: , ,
Abstract: In this work, analytical calculations are described to estimate the elastic moduli of polymer composite materials consisting of short fibers, by extending and generalizing a reliable model. The fibers may have a finite length and an orientation characterized as random. An effort was made to complete and improve a previous procedure concerning transversely isotropic composites. To this end, a cylinder model with a short fiber in the centre of the matrix is considered. The elastic moduli were expressed in terms of the fiber content and fiber length. The obtained representations were used to evaluate the moduli of a randomly oriented short fiber composite. A comparison was made with theoretical values derived from two other authors who established trustworthy and accurate models. Finally, our theoretical values were also compared with obtained experimental results.
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Keywords: Fiber composite materials, short fibers, unit cell, elastic constants, model of equivalent fiber, fiber contiguity
Pages: 53-75
WSEAS Transactions on Applied and Theoretical Mechanics, ISSN / E-ISSN: 1991-8747 / 2224-3429, Volume 13, 2018, Art. #7