Multiscale thermomechanical modeling of short fiber-reinforced composites

Abstract

A study of the micromechanical behavior to predict the overall response of short fiber-reinforced composites under cyclic mechanical and thermal loading is presented. The instantaneous average over a “representative volume” of the material is considered. The influence of the short fiber’s aspect ratio, volume fraction, and spatial orientation has been investigated. The linear combined hardening model is used to describe the cyclic hardening effects in the case of metal matrix. A numerical procedure is used to predict the response of composites under mechanical and thermal conditions. The results of the numerical procedure have been compared to the results of three different models and to published experimental data.

Keywords

• cyclic mechanical and thermal loading
• instantaneous average
• linear combined hardening model
• representative volume