On the effect of unit cell parameters in predicting the elastic response of wood particulate-polymer composites

In this article, the modulus of elasticity (MOE) of a wood plastic composite (WPC) as a medium of randomly oriented particles is investigated using the concept of unit cell modeling. Determining the parameters of the unit cell is one of the main challenges in the analysis of WPCs as it is a crucial factor in predicting reliable numerical results. Two particles are included in the proposed unit cell in this work to study the interaction of their parameters. Parameters of the unit cell are then optimized so that the global MOE of the unit cell agrees with that of a specimen experimentally tested according to ASTM D638-02a. It is demonstrated that the particle size, orientation, unit cell length, and particles’ location have the greatest impact on the MOE of the unit cell.

Keywords:

wood plastic composite (WPC) , Representative volume element (RVE) , Unit cell modeling , Inverse identification