Effects of particle arrangement on stress concentrations in composites

The effects of particle arrangement on stress concentrations within particle-reinforced composites are investigated. Both periodic and random particle arrangement models are employed to calculate stress concentration factors for a composite with a filler volume fraction of 0.3. A self-consistent scheme is used to minimize boundary effects on stress concentrations. It is found that a random particle arrangement predicts significantly greater stress concentrations than periodic particle arrangements because of particle clustering. The stress concentration factor does not have a direct relationship with filler volume fraction, and the stress concentration surrounding a particle is dominated by the nearest-neighbor particle. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.