Static Bending and Free Vibration Analysis of Hybrid Fuzzy-Fiber Reinforced Nanocomposite Beam-A Multiscale Modeling

Abstract

Static and free vibration multiscale analysis of fuzzy-fiber-reinforced composite (FFRC) beam is investigated using a three-dimensional micromechanical model together with two-dimensional elasticity macromechanical theory. In the hybrid nanocomposite, aligned carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are radially grown on the circumferential surfaces of carbon fibers. Influence of the carbon fiber orientation, volume fraction and arrangement; CNT volume fraction and interphase region characteristics on the FFRC beam deflection and natural frequencies are studied. Good agreements are reported for the presented results compared with available experiments and the other modeling strategies at both micro and macro levels. The results reveal that the FFRCs properties are strongly dependent on the carbon fiber off-axis angle. By increasing the off-axis angle from [Formula: see text] to [Formula: see text], the FFRC beam deflection sharply increases up to [Formula: see text] fiber angle and then its value decreases. It is shown that the growth of CNTs on the carbon fiber surface leads to the highest decrease in the beam deflection for 90[Formula: see text] coupon. Also, increasing the interphase thickness decreases the beam deflection and increases the natural frequencies, especially for [Formula: see text] coupon. Moreover, the increasing the interphase Young’s modulus gives maximum 1.74% increase in the natural frequencies.