Numerical Evaluation of Effective Material Properties of Transversely Randomly Distributed Unidirectional Piezoelectric Fiber Composites

This article presents a method for the evaluation of effective material properties of transversely randomly distributed unidirectional piezoelectric fiber composites using homogenization techniques based on the finite element method (FEM) and representative volume element (RVE) method. Modified random sequential adsorption (RSA) algorithm is used to generate three-dimensional (3D) RVE models of transversely randomly distributed unidirectional fiber composites. Numerical studies are carried out to estimate the influence of diameter and arrangement of fibers on the effective material properties. Using different diameters of fibers, RVE models are generated up to 80% volume fraction. All effective material properties of transversely randomly distributed unidirectional piezoelectric fiber composites are evaluated and comparisons are made with regular packing like square and hexagonal arrangement of piezoelectric fiber composites.