Micromechanics of composite materials using multivariable finite element method and homogenization theory

Abstract A new method for evaluation of the micro-mechanical properties of composite materials via incompatible multivariable FEM and homogenization theory is proposed in this paper. An incompatible displacement element and a hybrid stress element are developed and extended to predict the effective mechanical properties of composite materials. The mechanical performances obtained by these elements are compared with the experimental data as well as the results by Mori–Tanaka theory and traditional rule-of-mixtures. It turns out that the proposed new method provides with the best results comparing to the experimental results.