A strain-rate dependent micromechanical constitutive model for glass/epoxy composites

The mechanical behavior of polymeric fibrous composites under dynamic loading is not completely investigated. Therefore, in the preset research, a strain-rate dependent micromechanical constitutive model is developed to predict the dynamic mechanical behavior and elastic properties of fibrous composites under arbitrary loading rates. First, strain rate dependent mechanical behavior of matrix and fibers are experimentally characterized and for each constituent a dynamic empirical material equation is presented. Then, the bridging matrix micromechanical model in combination with a constitutive equation for polymers is utilized to predict the elastic properties and mechanical behavior of fiber-reinforced polymeric composites under arbitrary applied strain rates. Moreover, the strain rate sharing of each constituent of composites (matrix and fiber) is calculated. In order to validate the present method, results predicted by the model are compared with the experimental data. It is shown that the present micromechanical method is able to simulate the rate dependent elastic behavior of fiber-reinforced composites with a good accuracy.