A virtual frame work for predication of effect of voids on transverse elasticity of a unidirectionally reinforced composite

This paper introduces a powerful computational technique to study micro-mechanics of composites, particularly, it examines effect of air voids in evaluation of the effective transverse elasticity properties of a unidirectionally reinforced composite. A computational Representative Area Element (RAE) simulation of patterned fibre and void arrangement is used to derive the effective transverse elasticity properties of a transversely isotropic composite. The computational estimates for the elastic constants are found to be in reasonable agreement with typical theoretical estimates for multiphase materials. (C) 2013 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.