A study on the coefficients of thermal expansion of periodic unidirectional fiber reinforced composites

Resumo

Composite materials have become an attractive alternative to traditional materials because of their
advantages of high strength and stiffness combined with low density, excellent durability, and design flexibility.
In many applications, the composites are subjected to temperature gradient that can produce critical thermal
stress or strain fields. Then, the coefficients of thermal expansion of fiber reinforced composites are very
important parameters for the design and analysis of composite structures. In this work, the effective coefficients
of thermal expansion of periodic unidirectional fiber reinforced composites are studied using a micromechanical
model based on the Levin’s formula. The necessary effective elastic properties of the composites are evaluated
through an analytical procedure based on the Eshelby equivalent inclusion method and expressed in terms of
Fourier series. Numerical examples involving thermal expansion of traditional advanced composites are
analyzed. The results provided by the model are compared with predictions obtained using finite element
procedures and analytical simplified methods, as well as available experimental data. These comparisons
demonstrate a very good performance of the presented micromechanical model.