Analyzing thermo-electro-mechanical response of active composites

We present a micromechanical model for analyzing thermo-electro-mechanical responses of active composites. The studied active composite comprises of ferroelectric inclusions, i.e., unidirectional fibers or spherical particles, dispersed in a polymeric matrix. An overall response of a composite strongly depends on the response of each constituent comprising the composite and the interaction between these constituents when subjected to various external stimuli. We use available micromechanics models such as Mori-Tanaka, Self-consistent and Method of Cells models to evaluate the effective properties and macroscopic response. Due to the viscoelastic nature of polymeric matrix, which becomes more significant at elevated temperatures, we also examine the effects of the viscoelastic matrix on the overall field coupling responses in the active composite at elevated temperatures. We found that the overall time-dependent response in the composites depends not only on the properties and compositions of the constituents, but also on the microstructures of- and prescribed boundary conditions in the composite body.