Hui- Shen^1,2, Zheng Hong Zhu³

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.18, No.2, pp. 155-182, 2010, DOI:10.3970/cmc.2010.018.155

Abstract This paper investigates the buckling and postbuckling of simply supported, nanocomposite plates with functionally graded nanotube reinforcements subjected to uniaxial compression in thermal environments. The nanocomposite plates are assumed to be functionally graded in the thickness direction using single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) serving as reinforcements and the plates' effective material properties are estimated through a micromechanical model. The higher order shear deformation plate theory with a von Kármán-type of kinematic nonlinearity is used to model the composite plates and a two-step perturbation technique is performed to determine the buckling loads and postbuckling equilibrium paths. Numerical… More >

J. Wang¹, D. C. C. Lam²

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.17, No.3, pp. 215-232, 2010, DOI:10.3970/cmc.2010.017.215

Abstract Selected elastic moduli of nanocomposites are higher than the elastic moduli of microcomposites. Molecular immobilization and crystallization at the interfaces had been proposed as potential causes, but studies suggested that these effects are minor and cannot be used to explain the magnitude observed in nanocomposites with >3nm particles. Alternately, molecular simulation of polymer deformation showed that rotation gradients can lead to additional molecular rotations and stiffen the matrix. The stiffening is characterized by the nanostiffening material parameter, l2. In this investigation, an analytical expression for nanostiffening in nanocomposites was developed using finite element analysis. The More >

Surkay D. Akbarov^1,2, Resat Kosker³, Yasemen Ucan³

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.17, No.2, pp. 77-102, 2010, DOI:10.3970/cmc.2010.017.077

Abstract In the framework of the piecewise homogeneous body model with the use of the three-dimensional geometrically non-linear exact equations of the theory of elasticity, the method for determination of the stress-strain state in the infinite body containing periodically located row of periodically curved fibers is developed. It is assumed that the midlines of the fibers are in the same plane. With respect to the location of the fibers according to each other the sinphase and antiphase curving cases are considered. Numerical results on the effect of the geometrical non-linearity to the values of the self More >

Giacomo Landi¹, Surya R. Kalidindi²

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.16, No.3, pp. 273-294, 2010, DOI:10.3970/cmc.2010.016.273

Abstract In this paper, we present a computationally efficient multi-scale framework for predicting the local fields in the representative volume element of a multiphase material system subjected to thermo-mechanical loading conditions. This framework for localization relationships is a natural extension of our recent work on two-phase composites subjected to purely mechanical loading. In this novel approach, the localization relationships take on a simple structure expressed as a series sum, where each term in the series is a convolution product of local structure and the governing physics expressed in the form of influence coefficients. Another salient feature More >

Oliver K. Johnson¹, Calvin J. Gardner¹, David T. Fullwood¹, Brent L.Adams¹, Nathan Hansen², George Hansen²

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.15, No.2, pp. 87-112, 2010, DOI:10.3970/cmc.2010.015.087

Abstract A novel nickel nanostrand-silicone composite material at an optimized 15 vol% filler concentration demonstrates a dramatic piezoresistive effect with a negative gauge factor (ratio of percent change in resistivity to strain). The composite volume resistivity decreases in excess of three orders of magnitude at a 60% strain. The piezoresistivity does decrease slightly as a function of cycles, but not significantly as a function of time. The material's resistivity is also temperature dependent, once again with a negative dependence.
The evidence indicates that nickel strands are physically separated by matrix material even at high volume fractions, and More >

Yang Pu¹, Xiang Zhihai¹, Hu Xiasong², Li Guorong², Zhu Haili², Mao XiaoqinCen², Zhangzhi^1,3

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.10, No.2, pp. 117-138, 2009, DOI:10.3970/cmc.2009.010.117

Abstract This paper studies the influence of root reinforcement on shallow soil protection by using Finite Element (FE) method. Taking the root-soil composite as a periodic material, the homogenization method is used to construct a Representative Volume Element (RVE) that consists of roots and soil. This RVE is discretized by a two-dimensional (2-D) FE mesh, while special formulation is established so that this model is capable of describing three-dimensional (3-D) deformations when the strain is invariant along the fiber axis. The important effect of debonding on the interface between the fiber and the matrix is also More >

I. Smojver¹, J. Sorić²

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.3, No.1, pp. 13-24, 2006, DOI:10.3970/cmc.2007.003.013

Abstract The paper addresses the problem of impact on layered fibre composites. The behaviour of composite laminates under impact loading is dependent not only on the velocity but also on the mass and geometry of the impactor. Using micromechanical Mori-Tanaka approach, mechanical properties of the laminate have been calculated utilizing the material constants of the fibre and matrix. General purpose FEM software ABAQUS has been modified by means of user written subroutines for modelling of composite laminate and rigid impactor. The kinematics of the impact has been simulated using transient dynamic analysis. Employing user defined multi More >