Comparison of the Thermoelastic Properties of a Randomly Reinforced Composite Computed by the Classical Lamination Theory and by the Monte Carlo Simulation

The thermoelastic properties of randomly reinforced composites can be computed with the idealization that a randomly reinforced layer is composed of a large number of thin layers oriented from 0 to 180A degrees. This approach is a modification of the classical lamination theory. The calculation algorithm is based on an image processing method which identifies the fiber orientation histogram. This histogram is used as an input for the Monte Carlo simulation and for computing reduced stiffness matrices. The method is verified on flat plates and is found to be useful for computing the thermoelastic properties of real parts, because it takes into account the actual orientational distribution of fibers.