Micromechanical Modeling of Viscoelastic Response of GMT Composite

Abstract

Experimental studies have been performed to obtain creep compliance functions of polypropylene (PP) and Glass Mat reinforced Thermoplastics (GMT) with PP matrix. It was found that both GMT and PP in the considered loading region may be considered as linear viscoelastic materials. The obtained viscoelastic compliance functions were successfully used to describe material behavior in the stress relaxation test. A micromechanical model based on the correspondence principle in the Laplace domain was developed to describe the viscoelastic behavior of GMT. This model considers the GMT composite with a given fiber orientation distribution function as consisting of an infinite number of unidirectional layers with orientations corresponding to this distribution function. The viscoelastic properties of the unidirectional layer are calculated using Hashin's concentric cylinder model that uses the experimentally determined viscoelastic properties of PP matrix. The predictions for GMT have been compared with experimental data. The model predicts rather good initial properties of GMT but it gives slightly less time dependence than compared to experimental data for both relaxation functions and compliance. The cause of the difference (debonding) between matrix and fiber, nonuniform fiber spatial distribution, stress concentrations etc.) is discussed.