Applicability of the interface spring model for micromechanical analyses with interfacial imperfections to predict the modified exterior Eshelby tensor and effective modulus

Closed-form solutions for the modified exterior Eshelby tensor, strain concentration tensor, and effective moduli of particle-reinforced composites are presented when the interfacial damage is modeled as a linear-spring layer of vanishing thickness; the solutions are validated against finite element analyses. Based on the closed-form solutions, the applicability of the interface spring model is tested by calculating those quantities using finite element analysis augmented with a matrix–inhomogeneity non-overlapping condition. The results indicate that the interface spring model reasonably captures the characteristics of the stress distribution and effective moduli of composites, despite its well-known problem of unphysical overlapping between the matrix and inhomogeneity.