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Journal of Composite Materials Volume 19 Issue 3 1985 (Doi 10.1177 - 002199838501900307) Oshima, N. Nomura, S. - A Method To Calculate Effective Modulus of Hybrid Composite Materials PDF
Journal of Composite Materials Volume 19 Issue 3 1985 (Doi 10.1177 - 002199838501900307) Oshima, N. Nomura, S. - A Method To Calculate Effective Modulus of Hybrid Composite Materials PDF
N. OSHIMA
College of Industrial Technology
Nihon University
Narashino, Chiba 275 Japan
S. NOMURA
Department of Mechanical Engineering
University of Texas at Arlington
Arlington, Texas 76019
(Received May 25, 1984)
(Revised November 9, 1984)
ABSTRACT
A theoretical model for estimating the effective elastic modulus of particulate hybrid
composites is proposed. A concept of "equivalent virtual volume fraction" is in-
troduced in order to take interaction among a matrix and inclusions into account. The
model is illustrated by the effective shear modulus of particulate hybrid composites
based upon a modified self-consistent method for two-phase composites. The obtained
results reflect the influence of the matrix phase geometry more adequately than simple
"self-consistent" models.
INTRODUCTION
inclusion phases keeping the same volume fractions one another [2]. This is
not a realistic model for actual matrix-to-inclusion type composites, since if
one interchanges the geometry of the matrix phase with that of inclusion
phases, the overall properties of the composite are expected to change
drastically (e.g. a hard matrix composite and a soft matrix composite).
Kerner [3] considered a three-phase model where the immediate surrounding
of the inclusion is the matrix phase and Christensen and Lo [4] made the
analysis complete.
Meanwhile, theoretical works on the elastic behavior exclusively for hybrid
composites are few. This is because most available formulas for two-phase
composites are symmetrical with the interchange of phases, once the expres-
sion of the effective modulus for two-phase composites is obtained, there is
no difficulty in extending the formula from two-phases to multi-phases.
In this paper, we present a simple and realistic model to predict the effec-
tive elastic modulus for hybrid composites that takes the matrix phase
geometry as well as the interaction among different phases into account. We
introduce a concept of &dquo;equivalent virtual volume fraction&dquo; which originates
in statistical homogeneity of inclusion distribution in the matrix phase that
the overall property of composites is invariant under the translation of the
coordinate origin. The model is demonstrated by comparing the effective
shear modulus of &dquo;hard&dquo; matrix hybrid composites with that of &dquo;soft&dquo;
matrix hybrid composites of the same composition.
where < > denotes the spatial average over the whole material, a,, and €~ are
stress and strain tensors, respectively, and the summation convention is
adopted.
Assume now that the expression of the effective modulus C,,,,* for two-
phase composites (one inclusion phase and one matrix phase) is already
available. Let the formula of the effective modulus be expressed, whether ex-
plicitly or implicitly, as a function of the matrix modulus, C,,k,^‘, the inclusion
modulus C,,,,,, and the inclusion volume fraction, V, as
Now consider the following situation (Figure 1). If we set our coordinate
origin at the center of one of the first kind inclusions (il), and see our sur-
roundings from the coordinate origin, we shall first see a matrix phase as the
immediate surrounding of the inclusion (i 1 ), and beyond the matrix phase, we
shall see a &dquo;sea&dquo; of the effective medium. For this situation, the effective
modulus in Equation (2) should be expressed as
Here, Ct denotes the elastic modulus of the first kind inclusion. V,, is related
with the extent of the matrix phase in the above mentioned model and is
named as an &dquo;equivalent virtual volume fraction.&dquo; The relation between
virtual and real volume fractions will be discussed shortly. Likewise, if we set
our coordinate origin at the center of one of the second kind inclusions, the
effective modulus expression should be
where the quantities with (i2) denote the second kind inclusion and V’2 is an
&dquo;equivalent virtual volume fraction&dquo; of the second kind inclusion.
If the distribution of inclusions in the matrix is uniform, the effective
modulus of the composite must be invariant under the translation of the coor-
dinate origin (assumption of &dquo;statistical homogeneity&dquo;). Therefore, under
this assumption, Equations (3) and (4) should be equal to each other as
It should be noted that the two &dquo;equivalent volume fractions,&dquo; Ki, V’2 are
rather artificial and not necessarily equal to the real volume fractions.
However, there are several restrictions between the virtual volume fractions
and the real volume fractions and if we assume the linear relation between
them, it can be shown that the relation is uniquely determined.
Assume now that a linear relation exists between the virtual volume frac-
tions, V1t, Y,2 and the real volume fractions denoted by Zit and Z,2 as
By knowing the real volume fractions Z,, , Z’2’ we can obtain Ki and Y,Z by
solving a set of simultaneous equations of Equation (5) and Equation (10),
and again, by substituting those values into either Equation (3) or (4), we can
compute the effective modulus C* for the hybrid composite.
As seen from the above derivation, the obtained expression should reflect
the interactions among different kinds of inclusions as well as the interaction
between inclusions and the matrix.
Figure 2. Effective shear modulus versus the volume fractions of the first and the second
inclusions.
Figure 3. Effective shear modulus versus the volume fractions of the matrix phase and the first
inclusion phase.
consistent model for the same data where the immediate surrounding of a
single inclusion has the properties of the composite ([2],[5]). The &dquo;conven-
tional&dquo; self-consistent model gives the same value for the different phase
geometries in those Figures and cannot distinguish the matrix phase from the
inclusion phases. As seen from those figures, the present theory clearly shows
that the effective shear modulus of the &dquo;hard&dquo; matrix composite is higher
than that of the &dquo;soft&dquo; matrix composite for the same composition. More-
over, the effective shear modulus by the &dquo;conventional&dquo; self-consistent
model lies between those of the &dquo;hard&dquo; matrix composite and the &dquo;soft&dquo;
matrix composite. This is reasonable because the self-consistent model of Hill
is more appropriate for grain-to-grain types of composites rather than
matrix-to-inclusion types of composites as discussed in the Introduction. The
CONCLUSION
A simple model was proposed to calculate effective properties of hybrid
composite materials. This model takes the matrix effect properly and gives
more reliable values than the conventional self-consistent model.
REFERENCES
1. Hill, R., "A Self-Consistent Mechanics of Composite Materials," Journal of Mechanics and
, Vol. 13, p. 213 (1965).
Physics of Solids
2. Budiansky, B., "On the Elastic Moduli of Some Heterogeneous Materials," Journal of
Mechanics and Physics of Solids
, Vol. 13, p. 223 (1965).
3. Kerner, E. H., "The Elastic and Thermoelastic Properties of Composite Media," Proceedings
, Vol. B69, p. 808 (1956).
of Physical Society
4. Christensen, R. M. and Lo, K. H., "Solutions for Effective Shear Properties in Three-Phase
, Vol. 27, p. 315
Sphere and Cylinder Models," Journal of Mechanics and Physics of Solids
(1979).
5. Chou, T.-W., Nomura, S. and Taya, M., "A Self-Consistent Approach to the Elastic Stiff-
, Vol. 14, p. 178 (1980).
ness of Short-Fiber Composites," Journal of Composite Materials