Numerical homogenization of fiber-reinforced composites with complex microstructural features

A micromechanical model for solution of the problem of transverse stiffness of unidirectional fiber reinforced composites taking into account the presence of the interphase and a random distribution of fibers over the transverse cross-section has been developed. The influence of interphase properties on the elastic modulus in the transverse direction of glass/epoxy composites has been investigated. It has been found that numerical computations of transverse Young’s modulus obtained from the unit cell models for different fiber volume fractions are in a good agreement with experimental data.