A comparative study of fiber-matrix interactions by using micromechanical models

The purpose of this study is to describe the interfacial interactions in terms of stress distributions on short fibers in fiber-matrix unit-cell models. The fiber and matrix are subjected to tensile loading. The study consists of three main parts. First, fiber-matrix cell segments are modeled using a 3D finite-element analysis (FEA) with ANSYS. Three different finite-element geometrical unit-cell models are generated in order to simulate the Cox analytical model: a fiber-matrix combination, a single fiber, and a single matrix element. The second part contains the results of 3D FE analyses, which are applied to the Cox formulations by using a computer program developed. In the last part, the analytical solutions for distributions of normal and shear stresses are investigated. Cox 2D linear elasticity solutions, together with finite-element ones, are presented in detail in graphs. The interfacial interactions between the fibers and matrix are also discussed considering the relative changes in the distributions of normal and shear stresses.