Effect of Stress Shielding on Strengthening of Particles-dispersed Polymer.

The object of this article is to study the stress distribution of particles dispersed in polymer and its effect on strength. Micro-scale finite element cracking models are formulated to study strengthening of hard particles-dispersed polymer. Two aspects are studied. First, the effect of particle aspect ratio, particle modulus and inter-particle distance on stress shielding zones around particles is investigated. Second, the effect of stress shielding zones on initiation of crack propagation is investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]