A NONLINEAR MICROMECHANICS-BASED ANALYSIS OF METAL-MATRIX COMPOSITE LAMINATES

This paper presents a formulation that performs a direct assembly of a set of equations that relates ply stresses to the constituent microst resses and microstrains up through to the laminate level for any ply l ayup. The basic tenet of the non-linear laminate formulation in this a nalysis is that assumptions of the classical laminated plate (CLP) the ory for the strain variation in the laminate still apply. Complete det ails of this analysis from the micromechanics level to the laminate le vel are presented, and appropriate results of the stress/strain respon se predictions for monotonic and cyclic applied loads are compared to their analytical and experimental counterparts from previous studies. The non-linear effects of viscoplasticity and fiber/matrix debonding a re included in the present formulation, and their impact on both cross ply and quasi-isotropic laminates of metal-matrix composites undergoin g thermomechanical fatigue loads are examined.