Numerical prediction of the mechanical properties of anisotropic composite materials

Abstract

A numerical method is presented to predict the mechanical properties of composite materials with anisotropic constituents and used to predict the properties of a Fiber-Reinforced Composite (FRC). The FRC is treated as an anistotropic but homogeneous continuum and the elastic constants are determined using an Energy Equivalence method. The strain energy (or complementary energy) of the composite, calculated analytically is equated with the summation of the strain energies (or complementary energies) of the components (i.e. fiber and matrix) calculated by finite element analysis. Comparison is made with previous techniques to determine the longitudinal, transverse moduli and Poisson's ratios for isotropic and transversely isotropic fibers in isotropic matrices. The method is also applicable to any nonlinear elastic stress-strain relationship.