TMM4175 Polymer Composites

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2. MECHANICS OF MATERIALS¶

This part is a brief review of some of the fundamental concepts of mechanics of materials, or more general, solid mechanics. The basics of stress, strain and Hooke’s law are presumed to be included in the student’s background and previous knowledge, typically from introductory textbooks on mechanics of materials such as [1]

Stresses and strains as well as Hooke’s law and thermal expansion for general anisotropic, orthotropic, transversely isotropic and isotropic materials are outlined.

The anisotropic nature of composites, combined with the layered structure of multi-axial laminates require transformations of states and properties between different coordinate systems.

Micro-mechanical models is a topics that considers the composite on a micro level in order to understand and to be able to predict material properties on the macro level.

Most polymer matrices will exhibit a form of time dependent load-deformation relation called viscoelastic behavior. Although the topic of viscoelasticity is less central for most composite engineering processes, knowledge of the basic concept and potential consequences are included in the course.

The part concludes with a few notes on plasticity and relevant considerations regarding plastic behavior of composites.

There are several excellent textbooks on mechanics of composites, a few notable suggestions given in the references [2-4].

References and further readings¶

Hibbeler, R.C., and Kai Beng Yap. Mechanics of Materials. Harlow: Pearson, 2018.
Herakovich, Carl T. Mechanics of Fibrous Composites. New York: Wiley, 1998.
Daniel, Isaac M., and Ori Ishai. Engineering Mechanics of Composite Materials. 2nd ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 2006.
Kollár, Lázló P., and George S. Springer. Mechanics of Composite Structures. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003.

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