A Model Analysis of the Compressibility of Fiber Assemblies

As a model of the bending unit of fibers, a curved beam is assumed in place of the straight beam used by many workers after van Wyk, and the compressibility of fiber assemblies is discussed on a previously established micromechanical basis. The analysis can reproduce well the real functional dependence of stress on strain of a mass using only its structural quantities such as assembly density, degree of fiber crimp, elasticity of the fiber, etc., without introducing any adjustable parameter. The numerical defect of overestimating the stress, which was unavoidable in the earlier theories of the van Wyk type, can be also improved appreciably by this approach.