Modeling of filled polymeric composite materials in view of structural features

An algorithm for evaluation the strength properties of reinforced polymer systems based on the analysis of the stress-strain state of a representative volume material is proposed. The paper presents the results of this analysis for the four scale levels, each of which takes into account the different elements of the structure. At the first level, the material is considered to be a homogeneous medium with effective characteristics; the second level considers the presence of the reinforcing inclusions; at the third level the presence of interfacial layers is explicitly taken into account. Finally, at the fourth level the existence of structural supermolecular features in polymer matrix is taken into consideration. Some phenomena typical for heterogeneous medium, such as localization of deformation and stress concentration are shown. (C) 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.