Analysis of longitudinal thickness-shear stiffness of a monolayer filamentary composite

The longitudinal thickness-shear behavior of a rectangular cross-section prism containing circular cross-section fibers embedded in a matrix is analyzed. The problem is formulated as a Saint-Venant flexure problem modeled by a tip-loaded cantilever composite beam and solution is obtained by the boundary-point least-squares method. It is shown that the longitudinal thickness-shear modulus is much greater than the in-plane shear modulus for a monofilament composite and therefore an independent analysis is necessary to predict the longitudinal thickness-shear behavior of the composite. Numerical results are presented in graphical form for various values of fiber volume fraction and material parameters typical of modern advanced composites.