A refined analytical model for acoustic waves in elastic fiber composites.

Unidirectional fiber-reinforced composites continue to gain increasing importance in industrial applications particularly in the area of dynamic behavior. Many studies have focused on the determination of wave speed and attenuation of propagating waves in elastic fiber composites. These studies, however, most often use methods which are overly complicated and computationally expensive. Recently, a simple yet effective medium model was developed which provides explicit formulas for the dynamic behavior of P-waves, SV-waves and SH-waves. This model, however, failed to accurately predict the dynamic behavior of fiber-reinforced composites at higher frequencies around and beyond the bandgap region. In the present study, a refined analytical model is presented which supplements the aforementioned model with wave radiation damping. Our results show that the explicit formulas given by the present model are in good agreement with known numerical results in the literature for P-waves, SV-waves, and SH-waves.