Finite Element Modelling of the Stress Distribution in Polymer Composites

ABSTRACT: In this paper we present a mathematical model for the analysis of the in-fluence of interlayers on the stress distribution around cylindrical fibres resulting from deformations of the fibre/polymer composites in the transverse directions. The model is based on the Galerkin finite element technique in conjunction with a penalty method, which is normally used to model the flow of incompressible non-Newtonian fluids. The advantage of this method is in its ability to cope very effectively with the non-linear defor-mations. Such deformations are frequently found in polymeric composites. We have adapted this approach to solid systems and used it to model deformations of composites containing coated fibres. The modulus and thickness of coating layers was changed to cover a range of behaviour, varying from that of a typical rubbery material to ductile ther-moplastics. In order to show the validity of our approach we have compared the computed results with known solutions from other published works and some experimental data