A GENERALIZED SELF-CONSISTENT MECHANICS METHOD FOR COMPOSITE-MATERIALS WITH MULTIPHASE INCLUSIONS

A generalized self-consistent method (GSCM) based on energy equivalenc e and an inclusion matrix-composite model is proposed that has applica bility to composites with three or more phases. For a solid containing single-phase reinforcements, the present approach is equivalent to th e inclusion matrix-composite model. Both particulate-reinforced and un idirectional fiber-reinforced composites are investigated. For a multi phase composite with a phase volume fraction of c1, c2, c3, ..., it is found that the effective moduli are approximately decoupled such that EBAR(c1, c2, c3, ...)/E = E0BAR(c1)/E x E0BAR(c2)/E x E0BAR(c3)/Ex... , where E0BAR(.) is the closed- form effective moduli of the correspon ding composites with single-phase reinforcements, and E is the moduli of the matrix material. Compared with experimental data and results fr om numerical studies, the current approach provides reasonably accurat e predictions for the effective moduli of multiphase composites.