Thermo-elastic moduli of periodic multilayers with wavy architectures

The recently developed parametric finite-volume direct averaging micromechanics theory for periodic materials is employed to investigate the effective moduli and thermal expansion coefficients of lamellar composites with wavy architectures. In the parametric version, a reference square subvolume is mapped onto a quadrilateral subvolume in the actual discretized microstructure to accurately capture the in situ microstructural details. The mapping is used to construct local stiffness matrices of quadrilateral subvolumes which are employed in the local/global stiffness matrix Solution strategy for the unit cell problem within a homogenization framework. Complete set of homogenized moduli and thermal expansion coefficients of multilayers comprised of alternating soft and hard laminae with two types of waviness is generated for the first time as a function of the volume content of the hard phase for two amplitude-to-wavelength ratios. The observed changes in the homogenized mechanical and thermal properties relative to the reference flat-layer configuration depend on the wavy microstructure orientation and become greater with increasing amplitude-to-wavelength ratios. Examination of local stress fields explains the differences observed in the homogenized moduli of multilayers with sinusoidal and corrugated waveforms for the two amplitude-to-wavelength ratios. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.