Numerical simulation of the influence of particle clustering on tensile behavior of particle-reinforced composites

The spatial distribution of reinforcement particles significantly influences the tensile behavior of particle-reinforced composites. In this study, the role of particle clustering on the macroscopic and microscopic behavior of these composites in the absence of damage was numerically investigated. An infinite material containing a periodic distribution of clustered, elastic, spherical particles was modeled using a unit cell approach. Three types of multi-particle unit cells were simulated with different arrangements of clustered particles as well as different cluster densities. The uniaxial stress–strain curves in tension were compared with the curves obtained from single-particle unit cell simulations. It was shown that clustering of particles increases the plastic strain accumulated in the matrix and slightly increases the work hardening rate. More importantly, it was observed that while the influence of the particle distribution on the overall behavior of the composite was not significant in uniaxial tension, the maximum principal stress inside the particles is acutely sensitive to the particle cluster morphology.