A Review on the Modelling of Aligned Discontinuous Fibre Composites

Abstract

Aligned discontinuous fibre-reinforced composites are becoming more popular because they have the potential to offer stiffness and strength comparable to their continuous counterparts along with better manufacturability. However, the modelling of highly aligned discontinuous fibre composites is still in its infancy. This paper aims to provide a comprehensive review of the available literature to understand how modelling techniques have developed and consider whether all aspects which could affect the performance of aligned discontinuous fibre composites have been addressed. Here, for the first time, a broad view of the advantages, perspectives, and limitations of current approaches to modelling the performance and behaviour of aligned discontinuous fibre composites during alignment, forming, and mechanical loading is provided in one place as a route to design optimisation.