The flexural modulus of misaligned short-fiber-reinforced polymers

An analytical method has been presented in this study to predict the flexur al modulus of misaligned short-fiber-reinforced polymers (SFRP) by taking i nto account the effects of fiber-length and fiber orientation distributions . The fiber-length distribution (FLD) and the fiber-orientation distributio n (FOD) were modelled by using two probability density functions as done pr eviously. The laminate analogy approach was used to derive the expression f or the flexural modulus of SFRP as a function of the FLD and the FOD. The c ases of uniform FOD, continuous FOD and layered structure were considered. The effects of the FLD (and hence the mean and mode fiber aspect ratio) and the FOD on the flexural modulus of SFRP have been discussed in detail. Thi s theory was then applied to some existing experimental results and the agr eement was found to be satisfactory. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rig hts reserved.