Prediction of mechanical properties of hybrid discontinuous composites

Composites are widely used for their high mechanical properties and light weight, but remain brittle and expensive. To tackle these issues, a model has been developed to study composite materials combining (i) the brick-and-mortar architecture found in natural composites to increase the toughness, and (ii) hybridisation to tailor further the mechanical response and reduce the material cost. The model can derive the mechanical properties of various discontinuous hybrid architectures and showed remarkably good agreement with both FE and experimental results. Its fully analytical aspect makes it suitable for parametric studies and it can used as a tool to find optimum configurations and tailor the material for specific applications.