Comparison of several closure approximations for evaluating the thermoelastic properties of an injection molded short-fiber composite

The accurate prediction of both the elastic properties and the thermal expansion coefficients is very important for the precise simulation of such processes as injection molding of short-fiber polymer–matrix composites. In this work, a two-step homogenization procedure is applied and compared with experimental values obtained on a polyarylamide/glass fiber composite for a broad range of temperatures. It is observed that the stiffness averaging...