Unified micromechanics of magnetoelectric fibrous, particulate, and laminated composite materials

This work presents a unified unit-cell micromechanics model, a novel approach for effectively predicting the fully coupled thermo-magneto-electro-elastic properties of magnetoelectric composites with three connectivity types: 1–3, 0–3, and 2–2. Unlike traditional micromechanics models, the present model allows for the simultaneous modeling of multiple composite configurations while utilizing fewer representative elements, thereby enhancing computational efficiency without sacrificing prediction accuracy. The innovation lies in a distinctive unit cell configuration that utilizes the least number of subcells and dimension parameters. Numerical results are presented, including effective elastic, dielectric, piezoelectric, magnetic permeability, piezomagnetic, magnetoelectric moduli along with coefficient of thermal expansion and associated pyroelectric and pyromagnetic constants. Through comprehensive numerical simulations, the present model predictions are compared with established methods, such as the Mori-Tanaka, simplified unit-cell, and method of cells models, demonstrating its reliability and precision. The model efficacy is further validated by aligning its estimations with experimental data from various multifunctional composite materials. This study marks a significant advancement in micromechanics, offering a flexible and efficient framework for designing and analyzing advanced multifunctional composites.