Micromechanical Analysis of Inelastic Deformation of Unidirectional Fibrous Composites under Multiaxial and Shear Loadings

An algorithm is proposed for numerically solving nonlinear 3D problems of micromechanics of a unidirectionally reinforced composite with a regular structure. For the matrix, equations of the deformation theory of plasticity and relations of reduced rigidity in its failure zones are used, whereas the fibers are elastic and indestructible. According to the method of local approximation, fields of microstresses and microstrains are determined in a structural fragment containing nine periodic cells. Boundary conditions of the fragment correspond to an arbitrary combination of longitudinal, transverse, and shear microstresses occurring in the central part of the fragment. The solution to the nonlinear 3D problem is sought by the method of superposition with an iterational refinement based on the successive solution of an antiplane problem and a problem on a generalized plain strain state of the structural segment. Special features of the iteration procedure are considered. The calculated deformation diagrams and ultimate strengths of a unidirectional glass-epoxy composite are presented for several loading trajectories.