Time-dependent and inelastic behaviors of fiber- and particle hybrid composites

Polymer matrix composites are widely used in many engineering applications as they can be customized to meet a desired performance while not only maintaining low cost but also reducing weight. Polymers can experience viscoelastic-viscoplastic response when subjected to external loadings. Various reinforcements and fillers are added to polymers which bring out more complexity in analyzing the timedependent response. This study formulates an integrated micromechanical model and finite element (FE) analysis for predicting effective viscoelastic-viscoplastic response of polymer based hybrid composites. The studied hybrid system consists of unidirectional short-fiber reinforcements and a matrix system which is composed of solid spherical particle fillers dispersed in a homogeneous polymer constituent. The goal is to predict effective performance of hybrid systems having different compositions and properties of the fiber, particle, and matrix constituents. A combined Schapery