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A theoretical study of the effect of an interfacial layer on the properties of composites
Author(s) -
Broutman Lawrence J.,
Agarwal Bhagwan Das
Publication year - 1974
Publication title -
polymer engineering and science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.503
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1548-2634
pISSN - 0032-3888
DOI - 10.1002/pen.760140808
Subject(s) - materials science , composite material , toughness , volume fraction , elastic modulus , modulus , composite number , fiber , finite element method , layer (electronics) , elasticity (physics) , young's modulus , stress (linguistics) , structural engineering , engineering , linguistics , philosophy
A theoretical analysis using finite element methods has been applied to oriented short‐fiber composites and spherical particle composites in order to predict the influence of a finite layer at the interface on mechanical properties. In this study the interfacial layer has been modeled by assuming that a layer surrounds the interface and that this layer has a modulus of elasticity different than both the fiber and the matrix. The stress distribution near the interface has been determined as a function of the elastic constants of the interface layer and the interface layer volume fraction. This analysis has also been performed for two volume fractions of fibers and two fiber length to diameter ratios. From this stress distribution, the composite modulus and toughness have been determined as a function of interface modulus. It is theoretically shown that the toughness, measured by amount of strain energy absorbed, can be maximized by controlling the interface modulus. Furthermore, recent experimental results appear to verify the theory.