Abstract
In discontinuous composite mechanics, shear lag theory is one of the most popular model because of its simplicity and accuracy. However, it does not provide sufficiently accurate strengthening predictions in elastic regime then the fiber aspect ratio is small. This is due to its neglect of stress transfer across the fiber ends and the stress concentrations that exist in the matrix regions near the fiber ends. To overcome this shortcoming, a more simplified shear lag model introducing the stress concentration factor which is a function of several variables, such as the modulus ratio, the fiber volume fraction, the fiber aspect ratio, is proposed. It is found that the modulus ratio($E_f$/$E_m$) is the essential variable among them. Thus, the stress concentration factor is expressed as a function of modulus ratio in the derivation. It is found that the proposed model gives a good agreement with finite element results and has the capability to correctly predict the values of interfacial shear stresses and local stress variations in the small fiber aspect ratio regime.
