An enriched continuum model for the design of a hierarchical composite

Hierarchical composites comprise two or more constituent phases where at least one phase is itself a composite at a finer scale. We present a multiscale secant Mori-Tanaka method incorporating length scale effects to describe the composite response. The applicability of the model is illustrated for the Al-based composite developed by Ye et al. [Scripta Materialia 53 (2005) 481], which exhibits impressive strength and some ductility. This rapid analytical approach enables numerical experiments that yield optimal composite architecture to be performed. (C) 2007 Acta Materialia Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.