Particle Geometry, Orientation, and the Interlayer as Key Factors in Damping of Particle-Reinforced Composites: Microscale Numerical Study

This study investigates, at the microscale, how particle geometry, orientation, and the interfacial layer affect stress-wave attenuation in particle-reinforced composites de-signed for dynamically loaded components. Representative unit cells with different particle shapes (circular, elliptical, rectangular, annular, and hollow) were modeled in ABAQUS using the explicit finite element analysis. The simulated impulse loading enabled the observation of stress-wave propagation and scattering within the polymer matrix. The results revealed that the presence of reinforcing particles—particularly their shape and the interfacial layer—has a significant influence on wave attenuation. Hollow particles consistently exhibited higher attenuation compared to solid ones. The hollow rectangular particles being the most effective, improving attenuation by more than 20 %. These findings highlight the critical role of microscale morphology in designing com-posite materials with optimized dynamic properties and provide recommendations for engineering applications requiring efficient vibration amplitude suppression.