Micro-mechanical model for predicting the elasto-plastic behavior of composites based on secant formulation method

To predict the Elasto-Plastic Behaviors (EPBs) of aligned inclusions reinforced composites, this paper develops an interpolative Mori-Tanaka/Double-Inclusion (MT-DI) homogenization model with the secant formulation, and gives the numerical implementation algorithms of the developed MT-DI model with the secant formulation. The Finite Element (FE) homogenization method is implemented to provide the exact EPBs of the composites and thus validate the MT-DI model with the secant formulation. The MT-DI model with the 2nd-order secant formulation is validated to provide the more accurate predictions, while the MT-DI model with the 1st-order secant formulation always gives the stiffer predictions. The results show that using the macro-stress and macro strain as the inputs, the MT-DI model with the secant formulation gives the identical predictions. The predictions of the MT-DI model with the secant formulation vary between those of the MT and DI models with the secant formulation. Meanwhile, the MT-DI model with the secant formulation does not predict the accurate EPBs for the phases of the composites.

Automated summary

This paper introduces an MT-DI homogenization model with the secant formulation for predicting the Elasto-Plastic Behaviors (EPBs) of aligned inclusions reinforced composites. The model is validated to provide more accurate predictions with 2nd-order secant formulation, while the predictions may vary between those of MT and DI models with the secant formulation. However, the model has limitations in predicting the accurate EPBs for the phases of the composites.