Micro-mechanics of the mechanical properties of composites with fractal fiber length distribution

Abstract

In short-fiber composites (SFCs), fiber length distribution (FLD) is complicated and has a considerable impact on the mechanical properties of SFCs. This work proposes a fractal FLD in SFCs on the basis of the fractal theory, and develops a multi-step mean-field homogenization (MSMFH) method to accurately and efficiently predict the mechanical properties of SFCs with fractal FLD. In the developed MSMFH method, SFCs are first decomposed into virtual pseudo-grains (PGs) according to fiber orientation distribution (FOD), followed the further division of the PGs into virtual sub-pseudo-grains (SPGs) according to FLD. The Mori–Tanaka or Double-Inclusion model is adopted to homogenize the mechanical properties of each SPG in the first step, and the Voigt model is implemented to homogenize the mechanical properties of all the SPGs and the PGs, respectively, in the sequential steps. Fiber length and orientation averaging algorithms for the developed MSMFH method are detailed. The developed MSMFH method and the proposed fractal FLD are validated to accurately predict the mechanical properties of SFCs by the means of the comparison with the FE method and the available experimental tests.