Modeling time-dependent and inelastic response of fiber reinforced polymer composites
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This study presents two micromechanical modeling approaches for analyzing a time-dependent and inelastic response of fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) composites. The studied FRP composites consist of unidirectional fibers, which are considered as linearly elastic and transversely isotropic with regards to their mechanical response, and isotropic polymeric matrix, which shows viscoelastic-viscoplastic response. Due to the combined viscoelastic and viscoplastic behavior of the polymeric matrix, the overall FRP composites exhibit the time-dependent and inelastic behavior. The first micromechanical model is based on a simplified unit-cell with four fiber and matrix subcells, which is formulated in terms of the average (uniform) stress and strain fields of each subcell. The unit-cell model is compatible with a displacement based finite element (FE), which is implemented at the Gaussian integration points within the continuum finite elements. The second micromechanics model considers detailed microstructural morphologies of the FRP microstructure, which incorporate the effects of fiber arrangements, stress concentrations, and stress discontinuities at the fiber and matrix interphases on the overall response of the FRP composites. The representative microstructural models of the FRP with detailed microstructural morphologies are generated using continuum finite elements. The overall time-dependent and inelastic responses of the FRP composites determined from the two micromechanical models are studied. The convergence behaviors in the above micromechanics models are also examined. 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.