A percolation-type fracture criterion for composites with randomly oriented fibres

A fracture model is built up for a solid composed of brittle fibres randomly oriented in the matrix volume. The fracture process includes a stable growth of microcracks caused by fibre breaking under the load and formation of an infinite cluster of the microcracks. Both upper and lower bounds for ultimate stress in a fibre system are found as functions of the fibre volume fraction. The calculation of the ultimate stresses are performed by using the percolation theory and the theory of branching processes. At the present stage of the theory under consideration, only two types of the microcracks are appraised, namely that of a delamination type which corresponds to a weak fibre/matrix interface, and that of a penny shape which corresponds to a strong fibre/matrix interface. A particular solid contains only one type of the microcracks. In both cases, non-linear dependencies of the ultimate composite strength on fibre volume fraction are obtained.     

Asymptotic modulus results for composites containing randomly oriented fibers

Asymptotic methods are used to obtain simple formulas for use in predicting the effective modulus properties of composite materials containing randomly oriented fibers. Both cases of two and three dimensional random orientation are treated. The theoretical predictions are compared with experimental results in the two-dimensional case. The results extend and simplify an earlier approach to the problem.     

Statistically inhomogeneous media with randomly distributed inclusions

Based on Kunin's microstructure theory, the Random Point Field Theory is proposed to study a statistically inhomogeneous medium with randomly distributed inclusions. By using the theory, several examples are worked out, such as the effective modulus of composites and the micro-field around and in an inclusion.     

Long-term damage of discrete-fiber-reinforced composites with transversely isotropic inclusions and stress-rupture microstrength described by an exponential power function

The theory of long-term damage of homogeneous materials, which is based on the equations of the mechanics of stochastically inhomogeneous materials, is generalized to discrete-fiber-reinforced composite materials. The microdamage of the composite components is modeled by randomly dispersed micropores. The failure criterion for a microvolume is characterized by its stress-rupture strength. It is determined by the dependence of the time to brittle failure on the difference between the equivalent stress and its limit. Given macrostresses and macrostrains, an equation of damage (porosity) balance in the composite components at an arbitrary time is formulated. The time dependence of microdamage and macrostresses or macrostrains is established in the case of stress-rupture microstrength described by an exponential power function Translated from Prikladnaya Mekhanika, Vol. 45, No. 2, pp. 19–29, February 2009.     

Transversely isotropic solid with elliptical inclusions or cracks

Consider the elastostatic problem of a transversely isotropic space embedded with an inclusion in the form of a thin rigid sheet with an elliptical opening. The sheet is given an infinitesimal tangential shift along an arbitrary direction in the plane. By means of Fourier transforms, the problem is reduced to a system of coupled two-dimensional integro-differential equations. Closed-form solutions are derived by using the Ferrers–Dyson and Galin theorems. Explicit expressions for the displacements and stresses are obtained.     

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.     

Thermoelasticity of orthotropic composites with ellipsoidal inclusions

Institute of Mechanics, Academy of Sciences of the Ukrainian SSR, Kiev. Translated from Prikladnaya Mekhanika, Vol. 26, No. 9, pp. 3–10, September, 1990.     

Piezocomposite with reciprocal polarization of oriented ellipsoidal inclusions and the matrix

We consider statistically homogeneous two-phase random piezoactive structures with deterministic properties of inclusions and the matrix and with random mutual location of inclusions. We present the solution of a coupled stochastic boundary value problem of electroelasticity for the representative domain of a matrix piezocomposite with a random structure in the generalized singular approximation of the method of periodic components; the singular approximation is based on taking into account only the singular component of the second derivative of the Green function for the comparison media. We obtain an analytic solution for the tensor of effective properties of the piezocomposite in terms of the solution for the tensors of effective properties of a composite with an ideal periodic structure or with the “statistical mixture” structure and with the periodicity coefficient calculated for a given random structure with its specific characteristics taken into account. The effective properties of composites with auxiliary structures (periodic and “statistical mixture”) are also determined in the generalized singular approximation by varying the properties of the comparisonmedium. We perform numerical computations and analyze the effective properties of a quasiperiodic piezocomposite with reciprocal polarization of oriented ellipsoidal inclusions and the matrix, the layered structures with reciprocal polarization of the layers [1] of a polymer piezoelectric PVF, and find their unique properties such as a significant increase in the Young modulus along the normal to the layers and in dielectric permittivities, the appearance of negative values of the Poisson ratio under extension along the normal, and an increase in the absolute values of the basic piezomoduli.     

含随机填充孔圆形蜂窝结构的面内冲击性能

研究多孔材料细观结构与宏观力学性能之间的关系, 建立具有固定相对密度的含随机固体填充孔的圆形蜂窝结构模型。在此模型的基础上具体讨论了不同孔洞填充比和冲击速度对圆形蜂窝结构变形模式、动态冲击平台应力以及能量吸收性能的影响。研究结果表明:填充孔在蜂窝变形过程中有局部牵制作用, 蜂窝材料变形模式仍为准静态模式、过渡模式、动态模式; 当变形模式为过渡模式或动态模式时, 结构的平台应力与速度的平方成线性关系, 存在明显的速度效应; 高速冲击下, 含固体填充孔的蜂窝结构单位质量吸收的能量高于规则蜂窝结构。研究结果可为蜂窝材料的研究和设计提供参考。     

The effective properties of piezoelectric composite materials with transversely isotropic spherical inclusions

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Plastic potential and yield function of porous materials with aligned and randomly oriented spheroidal voids

Based on an energy approach, the plastic potential and yield function of a porous material containing either aligned or randomly oriented spheroidal voids are developed at a given porosity and pore shape. The theory is applicable to both elastically compressible and incompressible matrix and, it is proved that, in the incompressible case, the theory with spherical and aligned spheroidal voids also coincides with Ponte Castaneda's bounds of the Hashin-Shtrikman and Willis types, respectively. Comparison is also made between the present theory and those of Gurson and Tvergaard, with a result giving strong overall support of this new development. For the influence of pore shape, the yield function and therefore the stress-strain curve of the isotropic porous material are found to be stiffest when the voids are spherical, and those associated with other pore shapes all fall below these values, the weakest one being caused by the disc-shaped voids. The transversely isotropic nature of the yield function and stress-strain curves of a porous material containing aligned pores are also demonstrated as a function of porosity and pore shape, and it is further substantiated with a comparison with an exact, local analysis when the void shape becomes cylindrical.     

An investigation of elastic field created by randomly distributed inclusions

In this paper, the elastic field created by randomly distributed inclusions is studied. The inclusions are considered to be randomly distributed in the material, and have random orientation and size. The random point field model is proposed to describe the randomness of inclusion position, orientation and size. As a special case, when phase transformation inclusions are uniformly distributed in the material, and have non-random orientation, the theory gives the same result as Mori and Tanaka (1973. Acta Metallurgica 21, 571). The elastic field created by randomly distributed dislocation loops is also considered in some detail, and it is found that the continuum theory of dislocation loops is applicable only when the size of the dislocation loop becomes infinitesimal.     

Problem of a randomly oriented crack in a box-shaped shell

This paper deals with the stress state of a box-shaped shell formed by two semi-infinite plates joined at a right angle. The plates are homogeneous but have different thicknesses. The shell is weakened by a finite rectilinear crack of unit length which reaches one edge of the shell. The orientation of the crack and the load on its edges are arbitrarily chosen. The problem is solved with the assumption that the thickness of the plates is small compared to the length of the crack, which allows an asymptotic formulation of the problem. The problem is reduced to a special type of Riemannian vector problem in which the stress-intensity factor allows matrix factorization in accordance with Khrapkov’s scheme. The asymptotes of the resulting solution and the stress-intensity factor are examined in relation to the thickness of the shell and the angle formed by the crack and the edge of the shell. Translated from Prikladnaya Mekalinika, Vol. 34, No. 12, pp. 48–54, December, 1998.     

BEM for simulation of a 2D elastic body with randomly distributed circular inclusions

Based on our 2D BEM software THBEM2 which can be applied to the simulation of an elastic body with randomly distributed identical circular holes, a scheme of BEM for the simulation of elastic bodies with randomly distributed circular inclusions is proposed. The numerical examples given show that the boundary element method is more accurate and more effective than the finite element method for such a problem. The scheme presented can also be successfully used to estimate the effective elastic properties of composite materials. Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 19772025).     

Designing isotropic composites reinforced by aligned transversely isotropic particles of spheroidal shape

The aim of this paper is to study the design of isotropic composites reinforced by aligned spheroidal particles made of a transversely isotropic material. The problem is investigated analytically using the framework of mean-field homogenization. Conditions of macroscopic isotropy of particle-reinforced composites are derived for the dilute and Mori–Tanaka's schemes. This leads to a system of three nonlinear equations linking seven material constants and two geometrical constants. A design tool is finally proposed, which permits to determine admissible particles achieving macroscopic isotropy for a given isotropic matrix behavior and a given particle aspect ratio. Correlations between transverse and longitudinal moduli of admissible particles are studied for various particle shapes. Finally, the design of particles is investigated for aluminum and steel matrix composites.