Effective Mechanical Properties Evaluation of Unidirectional and Bidirectional Composites Using Virtual Domain Approach at Microscale

Abstract

In this investigation, a 3D micromechanical modeling methodology based on different types of unit cell configuration and representative volume element (RVE) is used to capture the micro-macro mechanical properties of unidirectional (UD) and bidirectional (BD) fiber-reinforced synthetic resin composites. In this regard, hexagonal unit cell and square unit cell were established in order to explore the influence of packing density on representative microstructure properties, considering no effects at the interphase zone between the fiber and the matrix. The virtual geometric generation of 2D-RVE fibres inclusion model process is driven by statistical Monte Carlo simulation algorithm, which is then incorporated into  FE solver to develop 3D-BDC RVE laminate model within a virtual scheme. In addition, applying the linear constraint of displacement simulation ensures that the RVE behaves as expected under uniaxial and in-plane loading conditions, leading to more accurate results. This remote constraint helps capture the realistic behaviors of the UD and BD composites models and enables the evaluation of mechanical properties, deformation patterns, and stress distributions within the presented RVE.