Local effective thermoelastic properties of graded random structure matrix composites

Summary  We consider a linearly thermoelastic composite medium, which consists of a homogeneous matrix containing a statistically inhomogeneous random set of ellipsoidal uncoated or coated inclusions, where the concentration of the inclusions is a function of the coordinates (functionally graded material). Effective properties, such as compliance and thermal expansion coefficient, as well as first statistical moments of stresses in the components are estimated for the general case of inhomogeneity of the thermoelastic inclusion properties. The micromechanical approach is based on the Green function technique as well as on the generalization of the multiparticle effective field method (MEFM), previously proposed for the research of statistically homogeneous random structure composites. The hypothesis of effective field homogeneity near the inclusions is used; nonlocal effects of overall constitutive relations are not considered. Nonlocal dependences of local effective thermoelastic properties as well as those of conditional averages of the stresses in the components on the concentration of the inclusions are demonstrated. Received 11 November 1999; accepted for publication 4 May 2000     

Time-dependent thermoelastic creep analysis of rotating disk made of Al–SiC composite

Time-dependent creep stress redistribution analysis of rotating disk made of Al–SiC composite is investigated using Mendelson’s method of successive elastic solution. All mechanical and thermal properties except Poisson’s ratio are radial dependent based on volume fraction percent of SiC reinforcement. The material creep behavior is described by Sherby’s constitutive model using Pandey’s experimental results on Al–SiC composite. Loading is an inertia body force due to rotation and a distributed temperature field due to steady-state heat conduction from inner to outer surface of the disk. Using equations of equilibrium, stress strain, and strain displacement, a differential equation, containing creep strains, for displacement is obtained. History of stresses and deformations are calculated using method of successive elastic solution. It is concluded that the uniform distribution of SiC reinforcement does not considerably influence on stresses. However, the minimum and most uniform distribution of circumferential and effective thermoelastic stresses belongs to composite disk of aluminum with 0% SiC at inner surface and 40% SiC at outer surface. It has also been found that the stresses, displacement, and creep strains are changing with time at a decreasing rate so that after almost 50 years the solution approaches the steady-state condition.     

Resonant-Based Identification of the Poisson’s Ratio of Orthotropic Materials

The resonant-based identification of the in-plane elastic properties of orthotropic materials implies the estimation of four principal elastic parameters: E ₁ , E ₂ , G ₁₂ , and ν ₁₂ . The two elastic moduli and the shear modulus can easily be derived from the resonant frequencies of the flexural and torsional vibration modes, respectively. The identification of the Poisson’s ratio, however, is much more challenging, since most frequencies are not sufficiently sensitive to it. The present work addresses this problem by determining the test specimen specifications that create the optimal conditions for the identification of the Poisson’s ratio. Two methods are suggested for the determination of the Poisson’s ratio of orthotropic materials: the first employs the resonant frequencies of a plate-shaped specimen, while the second uses the resonant frequencies of a set of beam-shaped specimens. Both methods are experimentally validated using a stainless steel sheet.     

Derivation of a Darcy’s Law for a Porous Medium Composed of Two Solid Phases Saturated by a Single- Phase Fluid: A Homogenization Approach

The objective of this article is to derive a macroscopic Darcy’s law for a fluid-saturated moving porous medium whose matrix is composed of two solid phases which are not in direct contact with each other (weakly coupled solid phases). An example of this composite medium is the case of a solid matrix, unfrozen water, and an ice matrix within the pore space. The macroscopic equations for this type of saturated porous material are obtained using two-space homogenization techniques from microscopic periodic structures. The pore size is assumed to be small compared to the macroscopic scale under consideration. At the microscopic scale the two weakly coupled solids are described by the linear elastic equations, and the fluid by the linearized Navier–Stokes equations with appropriate boundary conditions at the solid–fluid interfaces. The derived Darcy’s law contains three permeability tensors whose properties are analyzed. Also, a formal relation with a previous macroscopic fluid flow equation obtained using a phenomenological approach is given. Moreover, a constructive proof of the existence of the three permeability tensors allows for their explicit computation employing finite elements or analogous numerical procedures.     

The effective thermoelectroelastic properties of microinhomogeneous materials

The paper is concerned with composite materials which consist of a homogeneous matrix phase with a set of inclusions uniformly distributed in the matrix. The components of these materials are considered to be ideally elastic and exhibit piezoelectric properties. One of the variants of the self-consistent scheme, the Effective Field Method (EFM) is applied to calculate effective dielectric, piezoelectric and thermoelastic properties of such materials, taking into account the coupled electroelastic effects. At first the coupled thermoelectroelastic problem for a homogeneous medium with an isolated inclusion is solved. For an ellipsoidal inclusion and constant external field the solution of this problem is found in a closed analytic form. This solution is then used in the EFM to derive the effective thermoelectroelastic operator for the composite containing a random array of ellipsoidal inclusions. Explicit formulae for the electrothermoelastic constants are given for composites, reinforced by spheroidal inclusions.     

Fourier series based FE analysis of a disc under prescribed displacements–elastic stress study

This paper examines the numerical displacements and stresses developed around a disc under horizontal prescribed displacements and at the interface separating it from the surrounding elastic soil. Since the geometry of the problem exhibits axial symmetry and the loading is non-axisymmetric, the semi-analytical FE approach is used as it proves to be efficient and economical. First, both analytical and numerical expressions for soil reaction are established and compared. Results of comparison show a very good agreement. Then, for different values of the soil Poisson’s ratio, normal radial stresses, orthoradial stresses and shear stresses distributions along radial distance reaching 20r _d (r _d is the disc radius) are presented for a disc that has either perfectly smooth or perfectly rough interfaces with the elastic medium. The paper finishes by showing the effect of the soil Poisson’s ratio as well as the relative soil/interface stiffness on the stresses developed at the interface locations.     

Prediction of the effective elastic properties of spheroplastics by the generalized self-consistent method

The problem of predicting the effective elastic properties of composites with prescribed random location and radius variation in spherical inclusions is solved using the generalized self-consistent method. The problem is reduced to the solution of the averaged boundary-value problem of the theory of elasticity for a single inclusion with an inhomogeneous transition layer in a medium with desired effective elastic properties. A numerical analysis of the effective properties of a composite with rigid spherical inclusions and a composite with spherical pores is carried out. The results are compared with the known solution for the periodic structure and with the solutions obtained by the standard self-consistent methods. Perm’ State Technical University, Perm’ 614600. Translated from Prikladnaya Mekhanika i Tekhnicheskaya Fizika, Vol. 40, No. 3, pp. 186–190, May–June, 1999.     

Elastic properties of Al<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>3</Subscript>–NiAl: a modified version of Hashin–Shtrikman bounds

The modified nonlinear relations for the estimation of elastic constants of Al₂O₃–NiAl composite material are developed. The concept of microstructure and interconnectivity of phases at the interface is used. Hashin–Shtrikman relations are described in their actual form and modified version of Hashin–Shtrikman relations for bulk and shear moduli are discussed. These relations for elastic and mechanical properties are applied mainly for Al₂O₃–NiAl composite material. Theoretical predictions using modified relations are compared with Hashin–Shtrikman bounds and experimental results of elastic properties for Al₂O₃–NiAl matrix-inclusion-based composite. It is found that the predicted values of elastic and mechanical properties using modified relations are quite close to the experimental results.     

Plasticity of a two-phase composite with partially debonded inclusions

The effective elastoplastic behavior of a two-phase composite consisting of partially debonded elastic inclusions and a ductile matrix is investigated by a homogenization method. The method drew information from a recent study by the authors on the effective elastic moduli of the said composite and from an energy approach suggested by Qui and Weng, J. Appl. Mech., 59, 261 [1992] to address the homogenized plastic state of the heterogeneously deformed ductile matrix. Two types of partial debonding configuration are considered; the first is on the top and bottom of the aligned oblate inclusions and the other is on the lateral surface of the prolate ones, with special reference to spherical inclusions for both types of debonding. The transversely isotropic elastoplastic properties of the partially debonded composite are found to be highly dependent upon the debonding mode and the volume concentration and shape of inclusions. A damage mechanics based on Weibull's statistical function is also proposed to study the progressive partial debonding of the initially bonded composite under pure tension and under biaxial tension, respectively, for these two types of partial debonding. It is found that the interfacial strength, particle concentration, inclusion shape and debonding mode all play significant role in the overall response of the heterogeneous system during the progressive debonding process.     

The averaged mechanical properties of prismatic lattice formed by ellipsoidal inclusions

Summary The objective of this paper is to evaluate the averaged elastic properties of 3-D grained composites in which identical inclusions form a prismatic network interacting with the matrix material. The inclusions are of ellipsoidal shape with transverse circular sections located at the nodes of a doubly-periodic lattice with an orthogonal elementary cell. When the arrays of inclusions are set at equal spacings in normal directions through the thickness of the matrix, the material formed is an anisotropic composite with tetragonal symmetry at planes transverse to the fiber axis. The longitudinal and transverse elastic and shear moduli as well as the longitudinal Poisson's ratios of such composites are evaluated in this paper. The averaged properties are studied in terms of the aspect ratio and volume fraction of the inclusions as well as the relative rigidity of the constituent phases. Employing the Eshelby's theory for the stress field around a single ellipsoidal inhomogeneity, which is surrounded by the effective anisotropic material, and considering the Mori-Tanaka's concept for the mutual interaction of the neighboring inclusions, we may evaluate the averaged elastic properties of grained composites with aligned ellipsoidal inclusions at finite concentrations. The results provided in a closed-form solution concern the stiffness of 3-D grained composites with parallely dispersed ellipsoidal inclusions forming a prismatic network inside the principal material. It is shown that the stiffness is affected by both the geometry of the inclusions and their concentration. The use of different composite models in the analysis shows that intense variations of stiffness occur mainly in hard composites weakened by soft ellipsoidal inclusions. These findings come in full verification with experimental or theoretical results from the literature. Received 10 February 1998; accepted for publication 27 November 1998     

Bifurcations in the Regularized Ericksen Bar Model

We consider the regularized Ericksen model of an elastic bar on an elastic foundation on an interval with Dirichlet boundary conditions as a two-parameter bifurcation problem. We explore, using local bifurcation analysis and continuation methods, the structure of bifurcations from double zero eigenvalues. Our results provide evidence in support of Müller’s conjecture (Müller, Calc. Var. 1:169–204, 1993) concerning the symmetry of local minimizers of the associated energy functional and describe in detail the structure of the primary branch connections that occur in this problem. We give a reformulation of Müller’s conjecture and suggest two further conjectures based on the local analysis and numerical observations. We conclude by analysing a “loop” structure that characterizes (k,3k) bifurcations.      

Thermoelastic investigations for fatigue life assessment

An investigation is presented on the suitability and accuracy of a thermoelastic technique for the analysis of fatigue cracks. The stress intensity factor ranges ΔK _I and ΔK _II are determined from thermoelastic data recorded from around the tip of a sharp slot in a steel specimen under biaxial load, in order to assess the accuracy of the technique. ΔK _I and ΔK _II are determined to within 4% and 9% of a theoretical prediction, respectively. The results from a similar test on a fatigue crack under biaxial load are also presented. These show that thermoelastic stress analysis is a rapid and accurate way of analyzing mixed-mode fatigue cracks. A discussion is given on the potential of thermoelastic stress analysis of propagating cracks.     

Constitutive modelling of cyclic plasticity of metal particulate-reinforced brittle matrix composites under compression-compression loading

The Mori-Tanaka approach is used to modelling metal particulate-reinforced brittle matrix composites under cyclic compressive loading. The J₂-flow theory is considered as the relevant physical law of plastic flow in inclusions. Ratchetting of the composite is prevented by the strong constraint exerted by the matrix on the inclusions, even under the assumption of evanescent kinematic hardening. However, the weakening constraint power of the matrix caused by microfracture damage around inclusions is closely coupled with the plasticity of inclusion and leads to ratchetting even when the plastic deformation of inclusions is described by an isotropic hardening rule. A detailed parametric study has revealed that ratchetting is followed by either plastic or elastic shakedown, depending on the load amplitude, composite parameters and the mean length of microcracks.     

Elastic stresses in bodies with elliptic,parabolic, and tunnel cracks

The paper gives explicit expressions of the elastic T-stress components T _I, T _II, and T _III for an elliptic crack in an unbounded body under uniform pressure and bending and expressions of all the T-stress components for parabolic and tunnel cracks under uniform loading. These formulas are derived by analyzing the asymptotic behavior of the stress components near the crack front using special harmonic functions. The dependence of the T-stresses on Poisson’s ratio, semiaxes and parametric angle of the elliptic crack is studied. The expressions of T _I, T _II, and T _III for a penny-shaped crack under arbitrary uniform pressure and bending follow as a special case from the respective expressions for an elliptic crack __________ Translated from Prikladnaya Mekhanika, Vol. 43, No. 8, pp. 57–70, August 2007.     

Prediction of the overall moduli of a cylindrical short-fiber reinforced composite

With respect to obtaining the effective elastic moduli of the composite, the present theory differs from both Eshelby's equivalent inclusion method and Hill's self-consistent one, both of which only consider the mechanical properties of the matrix and inclusions (fibers). In fact, the inclusion-inclusion interaction is more pronounced when the volume fraction of inclusions of the composite increases. Hence, in this paper the effective elastic moduli of the composite are derived by taking into account the shapes, sizes and distribution of inclusions, and the interactions between inclusions. In addition, it is more convincing to assume short-fibers as cylindrical inclusions as in the present paper than as ellipsoidal ones as in others^[7,8]. Finally, numerical results are given.     

On thermoelastic dielectrics

Constitutive equations for a linear thermoelastic dielectric are derived from the energy balance equation assuming dependence of the stored energy function on the strain tensor, the polarization vector, the polarization gradient tensor and entropy. A method is indicated for constructing a hierarchy of constitutive equations for materials with arbitrary symmetry by introducing various thermodynamic potentials. Maxwell's relations are constructed for the thermodynamic potential W^L. The entropy inequality is used to obtain stability conditions for an elastic dielectric in equilibrium under prescribed boundary constraints. Frequencies are explicitly determined for a plane wave propagating along the x₁-axis in an infinite centro-symmetric isotropic thermoelastic dielectric.     

Load transfer in fibre-reinforced composites with viscoelastic matrix: an analytical study

In A fibre-reinforced 2D composite material with elastic fibres and viscoelastic, isotropic matrix is studied. Starting from the solution of a reference-problem with elastic matrix material the elastic matrix parameters are substituted by their viscoelastic correspondents in the Laplace domain. For simplification the time-dependent solution is approximated by using limiting value theorems that give information about the time-dependent solution for t → 0 and t → ∞. Then the method of asymptotically equivalent functions is used and illustrated with examples of a steel fibre in a PMMA matrix. The analytical solutions are compared with their numerical counterparts. In summary it can be stated that this paper is a further contribution to the vast literature about the application of the correspondence principle to the solution of special problems of the linear viscoelasticity.     

Unified formulae of variational bounds for multiphase anisotropic elastic composites

Using the spherical and deviator decomposition of the polarization and strain tensors, we present a general algorithm for the calculation of variational bounds of dimension d for any type of anisotropic linear elastic composite as a function of the properties of the comparison body. This procedure is applied in order to obtain analytical expressions of bounds for multiphase, linear elastic composites with cubic symmetry where the geometric shapes of the inclusions are arbitrary. For the validation, it can be proved that for the isotropic particular case, the bounds coincide with those recently reported by Gibiansky and Sigmund. On the other hand, based on this general procedure some, classical bounds reported by Hashin for transversely isotropic composites, are reproduced. Numerical calculations and some comparisons with other models and experimental data are shown.     

Dynamic effective properties of matrix composite materials with high volume concentrations of particles

A new approach is proposed to investigate the propagation of a plane compressional wave in matrix composite materials with high volume concentrations of particles. The theory of quasicrystalline approximation and Waterman’s T matrix formalism are employed to treat the multiple scattering resulting from the particles in composites. The addition theorem for spherical Bessel functions is used to accomplish the translation between different coordinate systems. The Percus–Yevick correlation function widely applied in the molecular theory of liquids is employed to analyze the interaction of the densely distributed particles. The analytical expression for the Percus–Yevick correlation function is also given. The closed form solution for the effective propagation constant is obtained in the low frequency limit. Only numerical solutions are obtained at higher frequencies. Numerical examples show that the phase velocities in the composite materials with low volume concentration are in good agreement with those in previous literatures. The effects of the incident wave number, the volume fraction and the material properties of the particles and matrix on the phase velocity are also examined.