Calculation of mechanical properties of short fiber reinforced composites using the elementary volume concept. Part 1: Young's moduli

The calculation of Young's moduli of short fiber reinforced composites base d on the Elementary Volume Concept (EVC) assumes that they are defined by t he properties of the elementary volume. The elementary volume contains a si ngle fiber having equal spacing to all neighboring fibers. For good fiber m atrix adhesion one obtains aspect ratio dependent Young's moduli parallel a nd perpendicular to the fiber axis without any fitting parameters. For high ly oriented quasi unidirectional short fiber reinforced composites as manuf actured by push pull processing, the calculated and measured Young's moduli agree quite well, However, distinct differences occur in the case of conve ntionally processed short fiber reinforced composites with low preferential fiber orientation.