STIFFNESS OF

UNIDIRECTIONAL
COMPOSITES

INTRODUCTION

A composite in which all the fibers are aligned in one
direction is a unidirectional composite.

The essential point about a unidirectional fiber composite
is that its stiffness and strength are different in different
directions (anisotropic properties).

This contrasts with other isotropic material, which has the
same elastic properties in all directions.

In a unidirectional composite the fiber distribution implies
that the behavior is essentially isotropic in a cross-section
perpendicular to the fibers.
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UNIDIRECTIONAL PLY

Unidirectional fibres are the simplest arrangement of
fibres to analyse.

They provide maximum properties in the fibre
direction, but minimum properties in the transverse
direction.
fibre direction

transverse direction
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UNIDIRECTIONAL PLY

We expect the unidirectional composite to have
different tensile moduli in different directions.

These properties may be labelled in several different
ways:
E1, E11

E2, E22
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UNIDIRECTIONAL PLY

By convention, the principal axes of the ply are
labeled 1, 2, 3.

This is used to denote the fact that ply may be aligned
differently from the Cartesian axes x, y, z.

Figure 1. Orientation of principal material axes.

If we were to conduct a mechanical test by applying a stress in

the '2' direction or in the '3' direction (both normal to the fibre
axes), we would obtain the same elastic properties from each
test.
We say the material is transversely isotropic.
Clearly the properties in the longitudinal ('1') direction are very
different from those in the other two directions.
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UNIDIRECTIONAL PLY - LONGITUDINAL TENSILE

MODULUS
We make the following assumptions in developing a
rule of mixtures:

Fibers are uniform, parallel and continuous.

Perfect bonding between fiber and matrix.

Longitudinal load produces equal strain in fiber
and matrix.

UNIDIRECTIONAL PLY - LONGITUDINAL

TENSILE MODULUS

A load applied in the fibre direction is shared
between fibre and matrix:

F1 = Ff + Fm

The stresses depend on the cross-sectional areas of
fibre and matrix:

where A = (Af + Am) is the total cross-sectional area of

the ply

1A = fAf + mAm

UNIDIRECTIONAL PLY - LONGITUDINAL

TENSILE MODULUS

Applying Hookes law (assuming linear elastic
behavior):

E11 A = Ef f Af + Em m Am

But the strain in fibre, matrix and composite are the
same, so

1 = f = m, and:
E1 A = Ef Af + Em Am
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UNIDIRECTIONAL PLY - LONGITUDINAL

TENSILE MODULUS

Dividing through by area A:

E1 = Ef (Af / A) + Em (Am / A)

But for the unidirectional ply, (Af / A) and (Am / A)
are the same as volume fractions Vf and Vm = 1-Vf

Hence:

E1 = Ef Vf + Em (1-Vf)

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UNIDIRECTIONAL PLY - LONGITUDINAL

TENSILE MODULUS

E1 = Ef Vf + Em ( 1-Vf )
Note the similarity to the rules of mixture expression
for density.
Xc = Xfvf + Xmvm
In polymer composites, Ef >> Em, so

E1 Ef Vf
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Quiz
A unidirectional carbon fibre reinforced epoxy
composite consists of 40 vol% of carbon fibres,
having a modulus of elasticity of 69 GPa and 60
vol% of a epoxy that displays a modulus of 3.4
GPa.
a) Compute the modulus of elasticity of this
composite in the longitudinal direction
b) If the cross-sectional are is 250 mm2 and a stress
of 50 MPa is applied in this longitudinal direction,
compute the magnitude of the load carried by
the fibre and the matrix phase, respectively.