DYNAMIC STRESS-CONCENTRATIONS IN REINFORCED COMPOSITES

Mechanical disturbances propagating in solid media give rise to dynami c stress concentrations when a material discontinuity is encountered. Composite materials are susceptible to damage and failure because the reinforcing particles or fibers present such discontinuities compared to the elastic properties of the surrounding binder. By considering th e scattering of elastic waves from spherical elastic particles and cyl indrical elastic fibers, embedded in solid binders we give, in this pa per, analytic expressions for the corresponding dynamic stress concent rations in particle- and fiber-reinforced composite materials.