Predictions of Young's modulus of short inorganic fiber reinforced polymer composites

An expression of Young's modulus of short inorganic fiber reinforced polymer composites was derived based on the tensile strength equation proposed in the previous paper, and the factor affecting the Young's modulus was analyzed. This equation was applied to estimate the Young's modulus of short inorganic fiber reinforced polymer composites. The results showed that the relative Young's modulus increased nonlinearly with increasing fiber volume fraction, while increased linearly with an increase of fiber length-diameter ratio. Finally, the equation was verified preliminarily by using the measured Young's modulus of the short glass fiber (SGF) reinforced polycarbonate/acrylnitrile-butadiene-styrene copolymer composites and the polypropylene reinforced respectively with SGF and short carbon fiber reported from literature, good agreement was found between the predictions and the experimental data. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.