A modified model for the prediction of effective elastic moduli of composite materials

In the present paper, the procedure for successive iteration method proposed by Mori and Wakashima [Micromechanics and Inhomogeneity, 1990] to estimate the effective elastic moduli of composite materials is reviewed. It is observed that the formulations of the method could be modified and generalized by introducing a parameter called concentration factor in the expression of the equivalent eigenstrain. The concentration factor introduced reflects the approximation to the interaction among the reinforcing particles in a composite. With the proper choice of the concentration factor, the dilute and Mori-Tanaka models can be obtained as the specific cases of the modified formulations. The properties of the concentration factor are discussed. Numerical examples show a way to determine the factor through known experimental or numerical results of the considered problems. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.