EFIECT OF A VISCOELASTIC INTERFACE ON THE TRANSVERSE BEHAVIOR OF FIBER-REINFORCED COMPOSITES

Abstract-. In this paper we investigate the effect of an inelastic interface layer on the mechanical behavior of a transversely loaded fiber-reinforced composite. A simple linearly viscoelastic model is used to charactenze the stiffness and viscosity of the interface separating the fiber and matrix phases. The mechanical response is obtained using the finite element method and calculations are carried out for a unit cell in a periodic array of hexagonally packed fibers. An approximate representation of ' the time dependent macroscopic behavior of the composite is derived analytic'illy and compared with the numerical results. From a micromechanical perspective, th-. u,,:-nice of interfacial stress relaxation on the stress, field:s in the matrix material contiguous to the interface is examined. 1