Micromechanical analysis of the fully coupled finite thermoelastic response of rubber-like matrix composites

A micromechanical analysis for the prediction of the coupled thermoelastic response of multiphase composites that include rubber-like phases is presented. Rubber-like solids are highly nonlinear thermoelastic materials that exhibit anomalous behavior referred to as the thermoelastic inversion effect. Results are presented which show that the derived micromechanical model is capable of predicting this effect in nylon/rubber composites subjected to appropriate thermal loadings assuming one-way coupling. For full thermomechanical coupling, the nonlinear response and induced temperatures under several types of mechanical loading are investigated. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.