Ultimate strength properties of fiber-reinforced composites

The volume effect and stress heterogeneity effect (i.e., the effect of loading type) on the ultimate strength are analyzed for fiber-reinforced composites. The main failure mechanisms are assumed to be fiber breakage and fiber pull-out. Depending on the load redistribution around a broken fiber, two different regimes can be obtained. The results are applied to the prediction of ultimate strengths of SiC fiber-reinforced composites subjected to tension, pure flexure and three-point flexure. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Limited.