AN EXTENSION TO THE SIMPLIFIED UNIT CELL MODEL FOR ANALYSIS OF FLBER REINFORCED COMPOSITES

A three dimensional, analytical, micro-mechanical model is presented based on extension of the Simplified Unit Cell (SUC) Model. In order to have a more realistic representative volume element (RVE), the RVE of the SUC model is divided into r*c sub-cells. The appropriate governing equations of the unidirectional composites as a heterogeneous media are obtained using theory of elasticity with simplified assumptions. The model is employed to determine overall elastic and thermal properties of unidirectional Metal Matrix Composites (MMC). The model can be used for any combination of thermal and mechanical, normal and shear, loadings. The predicted overall elastic properties of SiC/Ti composite system show good agreement with both finite element (FE) and other analytical models.