Energy Equivalence Based Estimation of Composite Materials Mechanical Properties

In the present work a new approach to effective composite mechanical properties estimation is presented. The formulation, inspired by the methods of continuum damage mechanics, is based on the postulation of the mechanical equivalence between the real, heterogeneous composite configuration and the fictitious quasi-homogeneous material. The influence of the reinforcement on the properties of matrix material is described with the use of a parameter defined as the volumetric content of the reinforcing material (isotropic composite). Special attention is paid to the case of hybrid composites. The validation of the proposed approach is presented, and a very good agreement is obtained between experimentally measured hybrid composite properties and their estimated predictions.