Versatile Micromechanics Model for Multiscale Analysis of Composite Structures

A general-purpose micromechanics model was developed so that the model could be applied to various composite materials such as reinforced by particles, long fibers and short fibers as well as those containing micro voids. Additionally, the model can be used with hierarchical composite materials. The micromechanics model can be used to compute effective material properties like elastic moduli, shear moduli, Poisson's ratios, and coefficients of thermal expansion for the various composite materials. The model can also calculate the strains and stresses at the constituent material level such as fibers, particles, and whiskers from the composite level stresses and strains. The model was implemented into ABAQUS using the UMAT option for multiscale analysis. An extensive set of examples are presented to demonstrate the reliability and accuracy of the developed micromechanics model for different kinds of composite materials. Another set of examples is provided to study the multiscale analysis of composite structures.