Micromechanics Analysis of Rhombus Model via Finite Elements Integrated with Taguchi Method and Principle Component Analysis.

The design of composites is a crucial stage that needs to be systematically considered before its fabrication take place especially when it relates to complex and micromechanics interaction. The purpose of this paper is to develop and optimize the micromechanical mechanism of rhombus unit cell using different types of materials by using finite element analysis integrated with the Taguchi method and principal component analysis (PCA). In this study, three different fibres were selected such as E-glass, Kevlar and Boron and as for matrix materials were epoxy, polyester and aluminium, respectively. Different parameters were controlled and statistically analysed in the optimization phase. The findings showed that the set of optimal parameters in designing the rhombus model related to micromechanics properties were identified as fibre volume fraction of 20%, the vertex angle for rhombus model is 75º, the thickness for a unit cell model is 0.03 mm and the load applied to the model is 100N. As for the best combination of materials were identified as Boron/Aluminium composite. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]