H. Mahiou et A. Beakou, LOCAL STRESS-CONCENTRATION AND THE PREDICTION OF TENSILE FAILURE IN UNIDIRECTIONAL COMPOSITES, Composites science and technology, 57(12), 1997, pp. 1661-1672
The aim of this paper is to present a new representation of the tensil
e failure of a composite material which accounts for the normal stress
supported by the matrix and allows a study Of the influence of consti
tuent material proper ties and fibre volume fraction on the stress-con
centration factors. This is done by micromechanical analysis which all
ows the stress and strain in the fibres and the matrix to be related t
o the applied stress or strain on the composite. Stress-concentration
factors are calculated in the composite transverse section and are fou
nd to be smaller than previously published analytical solutions. The d
ifference is essentially due to the normal stress supported by the mat
rix which is neglected by the shear-lag analysis bur is taken into acc
ount in our model. The tensile strength is calculated firstly by numer
ical simulations and secondly by Batdorf's methodology which addresses
the formation and propagation of fibre fractures. Comparisons with ex
perimental measures are satisfactory. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. A
ll rights reserved.