@Article{JRM.2015.634112,
AUTHOR = {Nassibeh Hosseini, Samad Javid, Ali Amiri, Chad Ulven, Dean C. Webster, Ghodrat Karami},
TITLE = {Micromechanical Viscoelastic Analysis of Flax Fiber  Reinforced Bio-Based Polyurethane Composites},
JOURNAL = {Journal of Renewable Materials},
VOLUME = {3},
YEAR = {2015},
NUMBER = {3},
PAGES = {205--215},
URL = {http://www.techscience.com/jrm/v3n3/49578},
ISSN = {2164-6341},
ABSTRACT = {In this study, a novel, bio-based polyol was used in the formulation of a polyurethane (PU) matrix for a 
composite material where fl ax fi ber was used as the reinforcement. The viscoelastic properties of the matrix 
and fl ax fi ber were determined by a linear viscoelastic model through experimentation and the results were 
used as input for the material properties in the computational model. A fi nite element micromechanical model 
of a representative volume element (RVE) in terms of repeating unit cells (RUC) was developed to predict the 
mechanical properties of composites. Six loading conditions were applied on the RUC to predict and defi ne 
the viscoelastic behavior of the composite unit cell. The time-history of averaged response was determined in 
terms of stress and strains. The results of this study suggest that applying the overall rate-dependent behavior 
of fl ax fi ber to the micromechanical model leads to a good agreement between the micromechanical modeling 
and experimental results. The modeling approach is effi cient and accurate as long as the periodicity in the 
composite rules. This modeling approach can be used as a powerful algorithm in determining linear and 
nonlinear properties in material mechanics analysis and characterization.},
DOI = {10.7569/JRM.2015.634112}
}