Elastic behaviour of multiply coated fibre-reinforced composites: Simplification of the (n+1)-phase model and extension to imperfect interfaces

The elastic strain and stress fields in an n-layered transversely isotropic cylindrical inclusion surrounded or not by an infinite transversely isotropic cylindrical matrix and subjected to uniform conditions respectively at infinity or on the limit of the n-layered inclusion are derived in a simpler way than before by means of a recently introduced transfer matrix. The interface between the different phases can be perfect or imperfect. These fields are used to calculate the average strain and stress in each phase and in the n-layered inclusion. Thanks to this new transfer matrix the Generalized Self Consistent Scheme named (n+1)-phase model has been simplified and extended to the case of imperfect interfaces. (C) 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.