A GENERALIZED SELF-CONSISTENT MECHANICS METHOD FOR COMPOSITE-MATERIALS WITH MULTIPHASE INCLUSIONS

A generalized self-consistent method (GSCM) based on energy equivalence and an inclusion matrix-composite model is proposed that has applicability to composites with three or more phases. For a solid containing single-phase reinforcements, the present approach is equivalent to the inclusion matrix-composite model. Both particulate-reinforced and unidirectional fiber-reinforced composites are investigated. For a multiphase composite with a phase volume fraction of c1, c2, c3, ..., it is found that the effective moduli are approximately decoupled such that EBAR(c1, c2, c3, ...)/E = E0BAR(c1)/E x E0BAR(c2)/E x E0BAR(c3)/Ex..., where E0BAR(.) is the closed- form effective moduli of the corresponding composites with single-phase reinforcements, and E is the moduli of the matrix material. Compared with experimental data and results from numerical studies, the current approach provides reasonably accurate predictions for the effective moduli of multiphase composites.