On fiber curvature effects in the analysis of unidirectionally reinforced composite structures (Q1574305)

The authors validate the application of Mori-Tanaka method for giving the material law of axisymmetric matrix-fiber composites under thermo-mechanical loading. To give the reference solution, the thermo-elastic solution is given for a multi-layered cylinder in which two different layers alternate consecutively. The results are compared with those obtained by the classical lamination theory, and by the method using a hexagonal cell tiling pattern. It is demonstrated that the Mori-Tanaka method is capable of describing material laws of composites reinforced by curved aligned continuous fibers, insofar as the fiber diameter is small compared to the radius of curvature. In addition, it is shown that the approaches using the hexagonal cell tiling pattern lead to sufficiently accurate results.