A hybrid method for computing the effective properties of composites containing arbitrarily shaped inclusions

摘要

A novel hybrid method is developed to compute the effective properties of composites containing arbitrarily shaped inclusions. In this method, finite element analysis of a single inclusion representative volume element model is used to compute the Eshelby tensor of the inclusion. This tensor is substituted into Mori-Tanaka model to compute the effective properties. Predictions by the hybrid method are compared with the predictions by a pure analytical method as well as a pure numerical method. Results indicate that the composites with triangular, rectangular and irregular section inclusions have significantly better effective properties than the corresponding composites with circular section inclusions.