Micro-Mechanical Behavior of a Unidirectional Composite Subjected to Transverse Shear Loading

The effects of interphase between fibers and matrix on the micro-and macro-mechanical behaviors of fiber-reinforced composite lamina subjected to transverse shear load at remote distance have been studied. The interphase has been modeled by the compliant spring-layers that are linearly related to the normal and tangential tractions. Numerical analyses on composite basic cells have been carried out using the boundary element method. For undamaged composites the micro-level stresses at the matrix side of the interphase and effective shear modulus have been calculated as a function of the fiber volume fraction and the interphase stiffness. Results are presented for various interphase stiffnesses from perfect bonding to total debonding. For a square array composite results show that for a high interphase stiffness k > 10, an increase in a fiber volume fraction results in a higher effective transverse shear modulus. For a relatively low interphase stiffness k < 1, it is shown that an increase in the fiber volume fraction causes a decrease in the effective transverse shear modulus. For perfect bonding, the effective shear modulus for a hexagonal array composite is slightly larger than that for a square array composite. Also for the damaged composite with partially debonded interphase, local stress fields and effective shear moduli are calculated and a decrease in the effective shear modulus has been observed.