Stiffness and strength of short fibre composites as affected by cracks and plasticity

Abstract

This paper develops an analysis for predicting the stress-strain relation and strength of unidirectional short fibre composites. The classical shear-lag analysis is modified to take into account the effects of load transfer at the fibre ends as well as plasticity of the matrix material. These effects are examined in detail using numerical examples. A comparison of the present theory with experimental data on the strength of short fibre composites has also been made.