7 - Polymer matrix composites: Update

Abstract

Polymeric materials exhibit viscoelastic effects that can be significant when they are subjected to large deformations. These viscoelastic effects can be simulated by employing finite viscoelastic constitutive equations that allow large deviations away from the thermodynamic equilibrium. Finite linear viscoelasticity (where the deviations are small) and linear viscoelasticity are obtained as special cases. In the first edition of Creep and Fatigue in Polymer Matrix Composites, the author contributed a chapter titled “Finite Strain Micromechanical Modeling of Viscoelastic Polymer Matrix Composites” (Aboudi, 2011a). This modeling of the viscoelastic polymeric matrix composites has been performed under the assumptions of isothermal conditions. Presently, the effect of elevated temperature on the finite strain behavior of such composites is discussed. This discussion relies on the published paper (Aboudi, 2011b).