A comparative study on two elasto-plastic mean field methods

Micromechanics based mean field approaches provide a powerful tool for the simulation of the overall plastic deformation of fiber reinforced metal matrix composites. The underlying mechanics model and the computational strategy are the major factors influencing the accuracy of results. In this work, the relative performance of two representative Eshelby type elasto-plastic mean field formulations suggested by Pettermann and by Withers, Stobbs and Pedersen, respectively, are discussed. For this, comparative analyses were carried out using a reference composite consisting of copper matrix and continuous SiC fibers. The initial yield loci in a bi-axial stress space and the non-linear stress-strain curves are investigated. In general, the stress-strain curves as well as the initial yield surfaces predicted by the two approaches show a quite remarkable discrepancy. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.