A Hygroelastic Self-consistent Model for Fiber-reinforced Composites

Stress analyses are performed in unidirectional fiber-reinforced composites, exposed to ambient fluid, by extending a classical self-consistent model to hygroelastic solicitations. Constitutive laws are given for the macroscopic elastic properties and Coefficients of Moisture Expansion (CME) by considering a jump in moisture content between the fiber and the matrix. Inverse forms for the unknown CME of the constituent matrix are proposed. The macroscopic (ply) and local (fiber and matrix) internal stress states are evaluated for various moisture content ratios between the matrix and the ply. The macroscopic stresses are calculated by using continuum mechanics formalisms and the local stresses are deduced from the scale transition model.