Inelastic Response of a Woven Carbon/Copper Composite— Part II: Micromechanics Model

Abstract

Part II of this paper presents a detailed development of an efficient micromechanics model for woven metal matrix composites (MMCs). The approach was to employ Aboudi's (1995) three-dimensional generalized method of cells (GMC-3D) as a global model, and to embed Aboudi's (1987) original method of cells within GMC-3D as a local model. Inelastic deformation is modeled on the local level, in the original method of cells. For this reason the field quantities must be passed between the local and global models continuously, as opposed to using the local model once simply to determine local effective properties. This process is computationally intensive, and GMC-3D, in its original form, is not adequately efficient to analyze refined composite geometries. Hence, GMC-3D was reformulated using mixed concentration equations rather than traditional strain concentration equations, improving the model's computational efficiency considerably. The model is now capable of readily analyzing the thermomechanical behavior of elaborate and varied woven and braided composites. Experimental test results for a particular woven MMC, 8-harness satin carbon/copper, were presented in Part I of this paper. The predictions of the model described herein will be correlated with these experimental results in Part III.