Effective permittivity of a fiber-reinforced composite with transversely isotropic constituents

Simple closed-form expressions for effective permittivity of fiber-reinforced composites with transversely isotropic constituents are found using asymptotic homogenization. Circular cylindrical fibers are distributed in a square array. The analysis considers four orientations of constituents transverse symmetry axis relative to fibers direction. Local problems defined on a periodic square unit cell are solved by means of complex potential theory using Weierstrassian and Natanzonʹs functions, assuming that the contrast of permittivities is small. Derived closed-form formulas are compared with finite element calculations and, in the isotropic case, with standard mixture rules and classical bounds, obtaining excellent results even when contrast is large.