MICROMECHANICS OF A PLANAR HYBRID FIBROUS NETWORK

A micromechanical approach is proposed in this work to predict the ini tial tensile response under uniaxial loading of a bonded two-dimension al fibrous network consisting of two kinds of fibers. The probabilitie s and statistical distributions of the hybrid bonding points and free fiber lengths between the bonding points in the structure are first de rived, and the deformations of both the fiber segment and the bonding area of a typical microelement of the network are analyzed and calcula ted, The analysis of an arbitrary microelement is then extended statis tically to an intermediate level of the structure, the mesodomain, thr ough which the macroscopic deformations of the structure are computed. Ultimately, the general expressions of elastic moduli and Poisson's r atios for a hybrid fibrous network are obtained. A parametric study ex amines the relationships between fiber mechanical and dimensional prop erties, fiber volume fractions of the two fiber types, fiber orientati on distributions and the properties of the bonding areas, and the tens ile behavior of the structure for an ideal planar fiber network.