A combined viscoelastic–viscoplastic behavior of particle reinforced composites

This study formulates a micromechanical model for predicting effective viscoelastic–viscoplastic responses of composites. The studied composites consist of solid spherical particle reinforcements dispersed in a homogeneous matrix. The particle constituent is assumed linear elastic, while the matrix exhibits combined viscoelastic–viscoplastic responses. The Schapery integral model is used for the 3D isotropic non-linear viscoelastic responses. Two viscoplastic models are considered: the Perzyna model, having a rate-independent yield surface and an overstress function, and the Valanis endochronic model based on an irreversible thermodynamics without a yield surface. The Valanis model is suitable for materials when viscoplastic responses occur at early loadings (small stress levels). A unit-cell model with four particle and polymer sub-cells is generated to obtain homogenized responses of the particle-reinforced composites. Available micromechanical models and experimental data in the literature are used to verify the proposed micromechanical model in predicting effective time-dependent and inelastic responses of composites. Field variables in the homogenized composites are compared to the ones in heterogeneous composites. The heterogeneous composites, having detailed particle geometries, are modeled using finite element (FE) method.