A study on the influence of fiber-matrix interphase properties on ultrasonic wave behavior using effective elastic property models

Abstract

In this paper, a three-phase (fiber-interphase-matrix unit cell) micro-mechanics model (Gardner et al. (1993), Comp. Sci. Technol. 46, 307–318) is used to study the influence of fiber-matrix interphase properties on the overall effective elastic constants. Then, the behavior of measurable ultrasonic parameters such as velocities of the three ultrasonic bulk wave modes, and their reflection factor (as a function of wave orientation and frequency) is discussed as a function of interphase properties. Theoretical results are compared with experimental studies on both glass-epoxy and graphite-epoxy composites.