Effect of Fiber Waviness on the Nonlinear Elastic Behavior of Flexible Composites

The effect of fiber waviness on the elastic moduli of flexible composites is investigated theoretically and experimentally. The flexible composites examined are composed of con tinuous fibers with sinusoidal waviness in an elastomeric matrix. Both iso-phase and random-phase fiber arrangements are used for this study. The constitutive relations for the longitudinal and transverse tensile behavior have been developed for these models. Tensile tests have been conducted to verify the constitutive relations. Carbon fiber and silicone elastomer were used for the experiments. Techniques for specimen fabrication as well as photoelastic tests are also presented. Experimental results show good agreement with the theoretical predictions.