Prediction of elastic anisotropic thermo-dependent properties of discontinuous fiber-reinforced composites

Abstract

This study focuses on the micromechanical prediction of temperature-dependent elastic properties of a composite made of a polypropylene matrix reinforced with discontinuous glass fibers. Firstly, an experimental investigation of the mechanical behavior is presented. Specimen are cut from injection-molded rectangular plates using a pattern based on fiber orientation. The microstructure is investigated by X-ray tomography at the specimen center and an average orientation tensor is calculated. Tensile tests are performed over a temperature range from ambient temperature to 85℃ and dispersion of mechanical properties is rather low; moreover, they are representative of the ones measured out of an industrial injected part. Then, the evolution of elastic properties with orientation and temperature is analyzed and compared with numerical predictions calculated with Mori–Tanaka homogenization scheme.