The effect of irregular fiber distribution and error in assumed transverse fiber CTE on thermally induced fiber/matrix interfacial stresses

Thermally induced interfacial stress states between fiber and matrix at cryogenic temperature were studied using three-dimensional finite element based micromechanics. Mismatch of the coefficient of thermal expansion between fiber and matrix, and mismatch of coefficient of thermal expansion between plies with different fiber orientation were considered. In order to approximate irregular fiber distributions and to model irregular fiber arrangements, various types of unit cells, which can represent nonuniformity, were constructed and from the results the worst case of fiber distributions that can have serious stress states were suggested. Since it is difficult to measure the fiber transverse coefficient of thermal expansion at the micro scale, there is an uncertainty problem for stress analysis. In order to investigate the effect of error in assumed fiber transverse coefficient of thermal expansion on thermally induced interfacial stresses, systematic studies were carried out. In this paper, the effect of measurement errors on the local stress states will be studied. Also, in order to determine fiber transverse CTE values from lamina properties, a back calculation method is used for various composite systems.