MICROMECHANICAL ANALYSIS OF FIBER FRACTURE IN UNIDIRECTIONAL COMPOSITE-MATERIALS

In this paper, the problem of a penny-shaped crack in the center of mu ltiple concentric cylinders is considered. By making appropriate choic es for the stress functions in each of the constituents and making the standard assumptions of linear elasticity, it is possible to reduce t he problem to the solution of a Fredholm integral equation of the seco nd I:ind which may be solved numerically. This solutionis used in conj unction with a geometry approximation to model the stress concentratio ns due to a broken fiber in a unidirectional composite material. The r esults suggest that models of such a shear lag may be missing importan t features of the stress state including surrounding broken fibers in composite materials. Copyright (C) 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd.