STRESS-DISTRIBUTION IN DISSIMILAR MATERIALS CONTAINING INHOMOGENEITIES NEAR THE INTERFACE USING A NOVEL FINITE-ELEMENT

This study is concerned with the determination of the elastic behaviou r of two dissimilar materials containing a single and two interacting inhomogeneities near the interface using a novel finite element. The g eneral form of the element, which is constructed from a cell containin g a single circular inhomogeneity in a surrounding matrix, is derived explicitly in a series form using the complex potentials of Muskhelish vili. The strength of the adopted eight-noded plane element lies in it s ability to treat periodically and/or arbitrarily located multiple in homogeneities in dissimilar materials accurately and efficiently. Pert inent stress distributions are examined to illustrate the importance o f the elastic properties of the dissimilar materials, the distance bet ween their interface and the inhomogeneities and the direction of the externally applied load with respect to that interface upon the result ing stress field. The results of our work assist in defining the desig n parameters which govern the elastic behaviour of the examined proble m. This problem relates to fibre reinforcement in advanced composite m aterials, second phase particles in traditional materials and plates s tiffened with stringers commonly used in the aerospace and automotive fields.