Cross-Property Connections for Fiber-Reinforced Composites with Transversely Isotropic Constituents

The paper addresses the problem of the connection between effective elastic and conductive properties of a fiber reinforced material with both phases (the matrix and the fibers) being transversely-isotropic. The exact solution for a square array of fibers and approximate solutions for randomly located parallel fibers are constructed and compared. The results allow one to predict the entire set of macroscopic elastic stiffnesses through one or two measurement of thermal or electrical conductivity. As a side result, it is shown that the mutual positions of inhomogeneities produce only a minor effect and that applicability of the non-interaction approximation is much wider than expected.