Hybrid Model for Homogenization of the Elastoplastic Properties of Isotropic Matrix Composites

Abstract

A hybrid homogenization model for calculating the effective elastoplastic properties of isotropic matrix composites is suggested. The hybrid model combines the continuous deformation models of heterogeneous solid and porous materials. A distinctive feature of the model is the calculation of concentration coefficients of the average Hill strains in terms of the effective volumes of strain averaging. The effective volumes of averaging are determined by solving the boundary-value problem on plastic deformation of a simplified structural model of a two-phase composite considering the porous state of matrix. A comparison of calculation results with experimental data upon constructing deformation diagrams for polymer-matrix and metal-matrix composites is carried out. The possibility of changing the properties of the metal matrix in producing composites is mentioned. Therefore, the adequacy of analytical models greatly depends on the accuracy of identification of material constants of the matrix. On the whole, the new model described the plastic deformation of matrix composites more accurately than the Mori–Tanaka model. The analytical model proposed has a simpler sampling scheme, a simple computation algorithm, and ensured the same calculation accuracy for the deformation diagram of an aluminum-matrix composite as the numerical finite-element model created by the ABAQUS software.