A discontinuous fiber-reinforced thermoset material produced by the Sheet Molding Compound process is investigated. Due to the process-related fiber orientation distribution, a composite with an anisotropic microstructure is created which crucially affects the mechanical properties. The central objectives are the modeling of the thermoelastic behavior of the composite accounting for the underlying microstructure, and the experimental characterization of the pure resin and the composite material.

In this work, the dynamic behavior of a lean combustion race engine is investigated with regard to cycle-averaged component temperatures, heat fluxes and piston failure under high cycle fatigue loading. A special focus lies on the influence of various engine settings, like ignition time and the airfuel ratio. For the introduced stationary, as well as transient, temperature calculation method, in cylinder pressure curves are measured and processed statistically by probability density functions.

An overview of different methods for the derivation of extended continuum models is given. A gradient plasticity theory is established in the context of small deformations and single slip by considering the invariance of an extended energy balance with respect to Euclidean transformations, where the plastic slip is considered as an additional degree of freedom. Thermodynamically consistent flow rules at the grain boundary are derived. The theory is applied to a two- and a three-phase laminate.