Stress field in continuous fiber-reinforced composites with multiple interfacial layers

Using the Composite Cylinders Assemblage (CCA) model, a generalized algorit hm for the microstress analysis of multiply coated continuous fiber-reinfor ced composites under axisymmetric mechanical and/or hygrothermal loading is presented. An arbitrary number (p) of fiber coatings/layers (i.e., concent ric interphases between fiber and matrix) are considered. All the p-phases are assumed to be transversely isotropic with respect to their stiffness an d thermal and moisture expansion coefficients. Temperature and moisture fie lds can be different in each phase; uniform field becomes a specific case. Some of the earlier formulations reported in the literature, which are base d on four- or five-phase CCA models, are derivable from the general algorit hm presented in the paper. The formulation presented is expected to be usef ul especially for the analysis of metal-matrix composites where a number of reaction zones (phases) with distinctly different properties are found to exist between the coating and the matrix, or more than one type of coating is applied on the fiber.