General Mori-Tanaka method for the analysis of effective mechanical properties of ceramic composites reinforced with short-fiber and spherical particle

A theoretical formula (general Mori-Tanaka theory, GMT) combining the Eshelby's inclusion theory with Mori-Tanaka method was derived to analyze the effective mechanical properties of ceramic composites reinforced with short-fiber and spherical particle. The effect of short-fiber and spherical particle on the effective mechanical properties of composites was investigated, and the reliability of the results was verified by the three-dimensional homogenization method (HM), and a good agreement was shown for two methods. The results show that the shapes of inclusions have obvious effect on the effective mechanical properties of ceramic composites, and the short-fiber is prior to the spherical particle to obtain a high longitudinal effective clastic modulus, and to improve the stiffness and strength of multi-phase hybrid ceramic composites. The spherical particle is effective to improve the transverse effective clastic modulus, and to keep the stability of the strength for ceramic composites. The hybrids of inclusions with different shapes arc beneficial to improve the effective mechanical properties of ceramic composites synthetically.