The interfacial stresses in particulate composite systems

It is postulated that property gradients exist at the interface forming an “interphase” between the insert and the matrix. Such gradients might be caused by partial solubility and diffusivity of the two phases comprising a composite. For simplicity, the “interphase” is replaced by a shell exhibiting averaged properties (E_shell = 1/2 E_insert + 1/2 E_matrix, etc.). An exact linear elastic solution was employed to evaluate stress fields throughout all regions. The possible effect of the “interphase” and its thickness on several physical properties of the composite are evaluated in terms of the particular stress fields.